Member Avatar for buddyb

I'm obviously overlooking something, but don't know what. The system is an ASUS KM2M Combo series with 1.7 GHz processor, built-in audio and video. The operating system is Win2000 pro and there's 256 megs of RAM on board. I know the speakers work, 'cause I can here them when I pull out the mini and stick it back in. The manual says it needs the Avance ALC650 driver, which translates to the Realtek AC.97. This, according to the results of Googling for the driver. I also went to "Sound" in "My Computer." Normally if what you have is not installed correctly the audio stuff is greyed, as is the Windows sounds. However, everything appears to be alright.

If anyone can clue me, say with a check list of some kind I should be able to pin the problem down and get back my Wife's sound before she trades me in on a computer tech :). Any assist will be appreciated.

BuddyB

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Short checklist and next steps for (building on points from , , and ).

Reformatting the OS does not change BIOS settings, so start at the firmware level. Enter the motherboard setup at boot (watch the POST message for the key) and make sure the onboard/AC97 audio is enabled. If it is already enabled, treat the problem as either a driver/OS routing issue or a physical jack/header problem.

Immediate troubleshooting (do these in order):

  • Verify the audio entry actually appears under System → Hardware → Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers. If the device is present but little or no sound, uninstall the audio device (choose to remove driver files if offered), reboot, then install the motherboard/vendor AC97 codec driver — install chipset/VIA drivers first, audio codec second.
  • Check Windows volume mixer and the default playback device in Control Panel → Sounds/Audio. Confirm nothing is muted and the app’s channel is up.
  • Test speakers/headphones on a known-good source to rule out speaker/amp failure. Verify the rear line-out jack (not a line-in or mic jack) is being used and that any front-panel header cable is seated correctly on the motherboard.

Hardware fallback and cautions:

  • If the onboard codec still produces no audio, try a cheap PCI (or USB) sound adapter, then disable onboard audio in BIOS. That isolates whether the motherboard audio circuitry failed. Follow ESD precautions when opening the case and power down before reseating cables or cards.

Extra checks for the archive reader: scan the Event Viewer for driver load errors and confirm you’re using the vendor-specific AC97/Realtek package for Windows 2000 rather than a generic driver. If those checks fail, the symptoms (device present in Device Manager but no output, or no device listed at all) narrow the cause: driver/order problem or a hardware/header fault respectively.

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Member Avatar for emkie

Hello,

Hold down your windows key and then press the pause/break key. This brings you directly into system info(minus all the clicks). Go to hardware tab, and then device manager. Look under sound.

Do you see any yellow exclamation marks? Yellow exclamation marks indicate faulty devices.

You could always try adding in an old sound card (they are usually cheap if they are used-- or better yet, borrow one from another computer to test) via a pci slot. You can then disable the integrated in the BIOS (or possibly on the motherboard via a jumper, but it's more likely to be in the BIOS. <-- This would be my next step.

Step by step instruction: http://www.infopackets.com/channels/en/windows/gazette/2004/20041228_install_sound_card_to_computer_with_onboard_integrated_sound.htm

Regards,
-Emily

Member Avatar for buddyb

Alrighty, I checked and no exclamation marks in my "Device Manager." If I stick a sound card in, disable the integrated, and still no sound what might you suggest. I will follow the link and see what I can pick up on. Thanks for your input.
BuddyB

Member Avatar for lloyd

have you loaded the original driver on your system? for built-in audio, video chip may need to get the driver for your mother board include the driver for controller. sometimes the drivers come with os are not suitable, eventhough it seems working properly in device manager

Member Avatar for Josh Holden

Did you enable on board sound card via BIOS?

Member Avatar for buddyb

That wouldn't be necessary with just a reformat and re-install would it?
Thanks, BuddyB

Member Avatar for Justin01

Did you check and make sure the volume is turned up and not muted?

Hey, gotta cover all the bases, right? lol

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