Article: How To Troubleshoot Sound Issues
             If you have ever experienced issues with your sound in Windows XP, then you probably know how frustrating figuring out what is causing the problem can be.  
   
[/url]
 
    This article will walk you through a few ways to debug and fix sound problems, including: static sound, fuzzy sound, distorted sound or no sound.
         


          First make sure that your sound drivers are installed.  Go to Start, then Add/Remove Programs and skim through the list of programs for a sound driver.  On my system, mine is called “Soundmax”,
                         

                              This may not be the same for your system. C-Media or Audio Driver are other names that I am aware of but yours could be something else.  It should have either the word Sound or Audio in it’s name. 
             
             If you do not see your sound driver, then visit windows update and check for updates.  (http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us) If your sound driver is not on your system, windows update should find it. 
                              Most of the time, a missing driver isn’t the problem.   The rest of this article will focus on what to do if you have already verified that your sound driver is installed.
                                        To begin, do you see a speaker icon down by your clock?
                     
 
                       
                      If you don’t see a speaker icon down by your clock begin with the instructions in Part I.  If you already have a speaker icon down by your clock then skip Part I of this tutorial, and begin with Part II. 
                          **************************  Part I ******************************
                         For those that don’t see a speaker icon by their clock, Click Start then go to Control Panel.  Then Once You Are In Control Panel Open Sound and Audio Devices, the icon looks like this:
                     

       
                     
              When Sound and Audio Devices opens up, place a check mark in the box for “Place volume icon in the taskbar”  then click Apply.
         
 
         Now you should have an speaker icon by your clock. 
                
                **************************  Part II  *****************************
                
                You should now have a speaker icon down by your clock.   Double click on the speaker. 
                     
                     

       
           
              Then you should get a window like this:
          

       
        Click On Options then Properties
       

       
          Then Scroll down and make sure all boxes are check Marked
       

       
                           
              Then Go Back To The Volume Control and make sure all boxes are Muted Except For the  Master and Wave (see Below Pic)
       

       
       
              That should Stop the Static (once static is gone, to figure out which one was causing it, you can one by one un-mute each item until you hear the static again)
                     
       If the above method does not make the static go away, then do the following:
       Right Click on the Speaker Icon
       
 
         
              Choose Adjust Audio Properties and this window will pop up:
       

          
              Choose Advanced  and then make sure that the audio configuration says “Desktop Speakers”  Try changing the type using the drop down menu (try to see if a diff selection fixes it)
       

 
              
            
     

---

This guide was written by Jason LeDuc.   Copyright ©  2005-2006.  All rights reserved.
    
 

---