Member Avatar for adkona

My mother just got a used pc from her friend
I cant hear anything
even with speakers
It says i need a souncard or something
what are those?
can you download them
or do i have to buy it?
i got limewire and i cant hear my songs because it says i need a soundcard
what is that??

  • 3 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 98 Views
  • 10 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by flyingdoc

Dani AI

Generated

Short practical plan, building on suggestions from and so you do not buy anything unnecessarily.

First checks you can do in the operating system: open the system sound control panel (right‑click the speaker icon) and confirm a playback device is listed and not muted. If nothing appears, open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and look for any audio device entries or for devices listed as unknown. If a device shows a warning symbol, try Update Driver from the context menu. If Device Manager shows nothing related to audio, note the PC or motherboard model (run msinfo32 or look for the model printed on the case/board) so you can get drivers on another computer and transfer them with a USB stick.

Also check the Windows audio services (run services.msc and restart Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder if present). Test with a simple system sound or a browser video rather than relying only on LimeWire—if other apps are silent too, the issue is at the system level.

If the system truly lacks working audio hardware or you prefer a quick fix, a low‑cost USB audio adapter (USB->headphone jack) will usually provide sound immediately and is plug‑and‑play on modern Windows builds. If you want internal hardware, a PCIe sound card will work but requires opening the case and installing drivers. When installing anything inside the PC, always power down and unplug first.

Quick troubleshooting checklist: confirm speakers/headphones are powered and volume knobs are up; try a different cable or headset; verify the app (LimeWire) is producing output; get the correct drivers for the PC model if needed; consider a USB audio dongle as the fastest solution.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for flyingdoc

it is very possible that if this pc has had ffr (fdisk format reinstall) that there is a soundcard already installed - just no drivers.

Please look at the back of the PC and tell me if there is a physical place to plug in your speakers (not the front - as most pc's cases have sockets there)

If the sockets are colour coded it will be light green.

Please let me know

Thanks

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.