Basically, my sound stopped working yesterday, but after checking out the hardware and drivers in Control Panel, I found no conflicts or driver errors of any kind (I even re-installed the drivers, to no avail), and of course all the volume setting are correct. Aditionally, attempting to play sound files will not produce error messages, and the program playing them will behave normally (with the exception of no audible sound) so as far as Windows is concerned, the card is working properly.
Using headphones produces no sound at all, but with speakers (which of course have an external power source) you get mostly static, but faintly you can hear the sound that's supposed to be playing. I'm thinking this is a hardware problem, which means replacing the sound card: It's a cheap 7-year old card, (an SB Live Value), so I'm not too concerned about losing it, however I'd just like a second opinion before going out and buying a new card.
Sound Card problem
Moderator: Thanas
Sound Card problem
Last edited by Ma Deuce on 2008-06-07 12:03pm, edited 1 time in total.
HAB: Crew-Served Weapons Specialist
"Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope." --P.J. O'Rourke
"A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." --J.S. Mill
Had the same card years ago, which started acting strange and eventually ended with the exact symptoms you describe. A few days after that it stopped being detected at all. So I'm going to say that yours is probably dieing on you. Nowdays I just use the onboard, most newish motherboards come with pretty good onboard sound chips now days, and creative hasn't released a new sound chip in years. They just keep updating it. (and the fact that many audigy's can be "turned into" more powerful ones simply by driver hacks backs this up). Of course if your onboard is the shit-tastic AC97, I wouldn't use it 
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” - Oscar Wilde.
Yeah, figured as much: thanks for the input. I'll be off now to replace it.Had the same card years ago, which started acting strange and eventually ended with the exact symptoms you describe. A few days after that it stopped being detected at all. So I'm going to say that yours is probably dieing on you.
Yes, it is AC97: The mobo is as old as the sound card, which puts it before the advent of IHDA.Of course if your onboard is the shit-tastic AC97, I wouldn't use it
HAB: Crew-Served Weapons Specialist
"Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope." --P.J. O'Rourke
"A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." --J.S. Mill