Member Avatar for charlieS

I am running XP Home on a motherboard with code M811 VER 3.1 using an AMD Athlon 1.33MHz chip with a VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8367-8235 chipset (I think!?)
I have run Belarc Advisor & got info below;

Board: VT8367-8235
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG 09/10/2003

The PC has been working fine for many months after upgrading to XP from Me. About a week ago I did a windows update :evil: and later realised I'd lost sound and that when trying to run SIMS & CSI games I get a 'running debugger error - please shutdown debugger'. After much searching found the problem below. Forgot to set system restore point so can't go back :evil:

My onboard audio device (C-Media AC97 Audio Device) has a yellow exclamation mark next to it in Device Manager. When I look at it's 'Properties' the device status is listed as "This device cannot start (code 10)".

I found the thread from 'cevans' posted Oct 2nd 2004 & have tried to get the right C-Media driver but can't find M811 VER 3.1 on site that 'cevans' used. Been to C-Media & can't work out what CODEC I've got.

Anybody help - Catweazle maybe??

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by ashbeel john

Dani AI

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Brief summary: this thread documents an onboard C‑Media AC97 device in Windows XP showing a yellow exclamation and "This device cannot start (Code 10)". Rolling back the driver (as suggested) restored sound for . The notes below explain why that typically fixes the problem, give a compact diagnostic checklist, and offer practical steps for a fresh XP install like reported.

Why rollback often helps: Code 10 means the driver failed while initializing the device. Common causes are an incompatible or corrupted driver (sometimes pushed by Windows Update), a mismatch between AC97 vs. HD Audio drivers, or the device being disabled in BIOS. Rolling back restores the previously working driver and its settings, which is why it fixed the issue here.

Steps to diagnose and fix:

  1. Check Device Manager: note the exact error and copy the device Hardware IDs (Details tab). Use that string to identify the correct vendor driver if needed.
  2. If "Roll Back Driver" is available, use it (this fixed the problem in this thread). If not, uninstall the audio device, reboot and let XP redetect it, or install the motherboard/vendor audio driver (install chipset drivers first).
  3. Confirm onboard audio is enabled in BIOS/CMOS and that any AC97/HD Audio option matches the driver being installed.
  4. If Windows Update likely replaced a working driver, create a restore point, keep a copy of the working driver package, and hide the offending driver update to prevent recurrence.
  5. For a fresh XP install (see @ashbeeljohn): install chipset drivers first, then the audio driver; if an unknown device remains, use its Hardware ID to locate the exact driver. If onboard audio proves unsupported, a cheap PCI or USB sound adapter is a reliable fallback.

Recommended follow-ups: after sound is restored, create a system restore point and archive the working driver installer so future updates do not reintroduce the fault.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for nanosani

Uninstall the devices that have yellow exclamation marks in the device manager and restart ... windows xp will automatically reinstall the drivers if your sound card is plug n play ... and I hope it is ...

Another option can be to roll back the driver installations ...

Member Avatar for charlieS

Hi nanosani,
sound is an on-board C-Media AC97 so I don't think this is a plug n play.

will windows automatically re-install if I un-install drivers?
what does roll back do if the drivers have been corrupted and there aren't any previous ones?

Member Avatar for nanosani

Roll back will replace the drivers with the last installed drivers that were working fine ....

You should first roll back the drivers ... if the problem persists .. then you should uninstall drivers ... windows xp will install drivers automatically.

Member Avatar for charlieS

Yo! Rollback fixed the problem :mrgreen: - why did I try all the clever stuff first :idea:

Thanks a million for your help :cheesy:

Member Avatar for ashbeel john

i istall widows xp but there is no sound

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