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Hardware Troubleshooting Guide
Troubleshooting Tips for a New Sound Card
No sound is heard from audio (music) CDs
Various conditions may cause this problem. To troubleshoot,
check the following:
-
Microsoft Volume Control or your mixer program mute
options and volume sliders.
-
Connect headphones to the stereo phone jack on your CD-ROM
drive’s front panel; adjust the volume control settings on
the drive. If there is sound from your headphones, check
the CD audio cable connection from the CD-ROM drive to the
audio card.
-
Ensure the speakers are properly connected to the audio
card’s output connector.
Joystick port is not working
To troubleshoot, check the following:
-
The
audio card joystick port conflicts with another joystick
port in the system. Disable the audio card joystick port,
and use the system’s joystick port.
-
The
joystick drivers, MSJSTICK.DRV and VJOYD.VXD, may not be
installed. Uninstall the joystick, then reinstall to load
the drivers. The drivers should come with the driver CD or
floppy diskette with your sound card.
Computer hangs or restarts during installation
A hardware conflict may cause the computer to hang or
restart during the installation procedure. Check the
following to resolve the conflict:
-
A
hardware conflict with another device in your system.
-
Previously installed sound card hardware or software needs
to be removed.
-
The
audio card is not seated in the slot properly.
-
PCI
bus mastering devices may be interfering with the
operation of the audio card. Temporarily remove
non-essential PCI bus mastering devices.
Resolving hardware conflicts
Hardware conflicts occur when two or more devices contend
for the same resources. Conflicts between your audio card
and another device may occur regarding the I/O address, IRQ
line, or DMA channel:
-
Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop,
and select Properties. The System Properties dialog
appears.
-
Click the Device Manager tab. In the Device
Manager, a plus sign(+) represents an expandable list of
items. A minus sign (-) represents an expanded list. A
circled exclamation mark denotes a conflict.
-
Double-click Sound, video, game controllers. A list
of multimedia devices appears.
-
Select your audio card.
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Choose the Properties button.
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Click the Resources tab.
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Uncheck the Use automatic settings option.
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Change "Settings based on:" if alternate settings are
available.
-
Determine the conflict by reviewing the "Conflicting
device list".
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Select the conflicting item in the "Resource Settings"
list.
-
Click the Change Settings button.
-
Use
the mouse to select a new setting.
-
Select OK to close each of the properties windows, and
restart your computer.
Audio card is not automatically detected
To manually configure your audio card for Windows 95/98:
-
Click "Start" on the taskbar, and select Settings
from the Start menu.
-
Select Control Panel. The Control Panel group
appears.
-
Double-click the Add New Hardware icon. The Add New
Hardware Wizard dialog appears.
-
Select Next to continue.
-
Choose Yes to have Windows search for new hardware,
then select Next
-
Select Next to continue.
-
Select Finish, and follow the prompts to complete
the new hardware installation.
CD does not automatically run when you insert it in the
drive
To enable the "Audio insert notification" feature:
-
Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop,
and select Properties. The System Properties dialog
appears.
-
Click the Device Manager tab. A list of devices
appears.
-
Double-click CD-ROM, and select your CD-ROM drive.
-
Choose the Properties button. The CD-ROM drive
properties dialog appears.
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Choose the Settings tab.
-
Click the "Auto insert notification" option to enable.
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Select OK until all Properties dialogs are closed, and
restart Windows for the changes to take effect.
No sound is heard from speakers
Verify the following:
-
Check the Microsoft Volume Control or the Audio Mixer
Program mute options and volume sliders.
-
Ensure the speakers are properly connected to the audio
card’s output connector.
-
Check the volume control and power connection of the
speakers, if they are amplified. (Refer to the speakers
documentation for detailed information).
-
Ensure a hardware conflict does not exist between your
audio card and another device in your system.
-
PCI
bus mastering devices may be interfering with the
operation of the audio card. Temporarily remove
non-essential PCI bus mastering devices. If the device is
a display card, upgrade the display card drivers, or set
the card to the default Windows VGA mode.
If you are experiencing no sound only during audio CD
playback, see "No sound is heard from audio (music) CDs"
above.
Static sounds are heard in wave files
Check to see if the static sounds are heard in all wave
files. If the difficulty occurs only with certain games,
refer to the software manufacturer’s documentation. To
troubleshoot static sounds heard in all wave files:
-
Try
different resource settings for the audio card, or set the
card to use low DMA.
-
Move
the audio card to another PCI slot. Feedback from the
power supply or another device may be responsible.
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