The sound on my computer stopped working, no sound option on taskbar?

Question

The sound on my computer (Toshiba laptop, Windows XP Home Edition) stopped working today. When I went to check the sound options on my task bar (the speaker icon) I noticed it was gone. I did troubleshooting all through Microsoft but with no avail. When I would open up my sound options through the control panel, the sound slides were disabled and gray, I couldn't even click on them. What could the problem be?

Answer 1

Hi,

Not sure why it would stop working but if you have a restore point from just before it quit working you could try that. If not, you could try to uninstall the sound card driver then reinstall it or if that doesn't work, you could try to update driver. You go into device manager click on audio properties then right click on your sound card to bring up the update driver option. Or go to Toshiba's website type in your model number on the support page and it should list drivers for your computer, make sure the sound card driver is for Win XP. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You are gonna need to DOWNLOAD and INSTALL the correct SOUND/AUDIO DRIVERS.



1)GO to Start ( at the bottom of your screen)

GO to Run

Type in devmgmt.msc



This will take you to the device manager. Once you are in the device manager:



2)Look for any YELLOW MARKERS

Making sure that you've scrolled down if, if scrolling down is an option, make sure if there are or are not any Yellow Markers on the page.



If yellow markers ARE there, make a note of the driver(s)that the YELLOW MARKER(s) is beside. This represents a "bad driver". Which will probably be of the device that you are having trouble with.



Right click on the "bad driver" (beside the Yellow Marker) and choose uninstall.

In the Confirm Device Removal dialog box, click OK.



3)Restart/Reboot your pc



Once your PC has been restarted - Give it about 1 minute to Recognize the "NEW HardWare" and to install the correct drivers.



Restart your PC again and this should fix the problem.



______________________________________...

If after you've done this, and the correct driver still isn't found and installed - just

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Download the freeware Application - EVEREST HOME EDITION.

Use EVEREST to find out the MODEL and MANUFACTURER of your MOTHERBOARD.



Go to your PC MANUFACTURERS website or the MOTHERBOARD'S MANUFACTURER'S website. And DOWNLOAD the needed DRIVERS.



1)GO to Start ( at the bottom of your screen)

GO to Run

Type in devmgmt.msc



This will take you to the device manager. Once you are in the device manager:



2)Look for any YELLOW MARKERS

Making sure that you've scrolled down if, if scrolling down is an option, make sure if there are or are not any Yellow Markers on the page.



If yellow markers ARE there, make a note of the driver(s)that the YELLOW MARKER(s) is beside. This represents a "bad driver".



After you have made a note to remember the driver(s) that you need; Right click on the "bad driver"(beside the Yellow Marker) and choose uninstall.

In the Confirm Device Removal dialog box, click OK.



3)Restart/Reboot your pc



4)Now, Go to the Manufacturer's website (your pc maker's website, or either of the unit/device that is in question.



5)Download the correct needed driver.



Choose the Run option if given. If choosing to Run is not an option and you must save the file, be sure to save the file to a place that you can easily find it. Then, download the driver/file and double click on the downloaded driver/file.)



6)Allow the wizard to install the driver(s).



Restart/Reboot your pc.



Success !!! Enjoy

Answer 3

Your sound drivers may be out-dated.

Go into the Device Manager (right click "My Computer," select properties, then select the hardware tab and click on device manager).



Look for your sound driver, right click on it and update.



It'll find the driver for you automatically. Your sound should return along with the ability to move the sound sliders.

Answer 4

By not reading the rest of the answers heres a more accurate and shorter answer.



1.Start/Run/services.msc

2.Windows Audio (scroll all the way down)

3.Double click it

4.Start

5.Ok