AnimeSuki Forums

ChibiDusk · 2006-12-25, 12:24

Recently, out of nowhere (ie - nothing installed, uninstalled, changed) my sound card decided... "hey, I'm not going to play any sound." I don't know if it was the sound card that made this decision or something else, but for a while I had no sound. Occasionally after rebooting I would have sound until the next reboot. For the last week I have had NO sound whatsoever, even after reboots. Those periods have gone away. I have the latest drivers, tried installing older drivers, tried plugging in headphones to see if it was just the speakers... but nothing.

Question; is my sound card dead? And if so, if this a decent brand to replace it with?
Dynax 5.1 Sound card.

Green² · 2006-12-25, 12:55

I'd probably try (With computer off & power unplugged of course.) putting the sound card in a different PCI slot, be if the motherboard or operating system may be having some kind of problem configuring the card. Device Manager, if using Windows, would tell more if the OS even sees the card, or if reporting some kind of other problem. dxdiag in a Run window will bring up the DirectX Diagnostic Tool for other sound testing and troubleshooters.

...of course, do check to make sure nothing is stuck on mute & volume down after startup, in case some program is just messing with you.

Zero Shinohara · 2006-12-25, 18:12

Well, the above idea is good only if you have a offboard sound card. If your card is onboard, like most people have, you're probably better off buying an offboard PCI card and installing it yourself.

My other comp. wouldn't play any sounds, the same way you described, and after a few months, I decided to buy another card and now it works fine. It was really the onboard soundcard that fried, so it was either getting an offboard of buying another mobo. Cheaper, easier and faster to just drop by CompUSA and get a 15-dollar PCI card and install it.

As for brand names and things like that... well, it's gonna depend on how well you want your sounds to be played. Cheaper ones work for most people, while some preffer cards with more power. That I'll leave to someone else, 'cause I'm just your average music-listener guy.

ChibiDusk · 2006-12-28, 11:08

Right now I have a Santa Cruz. I tried installing it into another slot, and nothing. The Device Manager shows it working fine. I ran the troubleshooting program that came with it, and it detects an error on the "hardware scan". Doesn't say what it is though.

Green² · 2006-12-29, 20:14

Short of reinstalling DirectX and doing "KeinikuSuki's End All(?), "My Codecs are Screwed Up" Guide" (Edit: Forgot to echo that like his step 13 & final note, treated like an clean OS install, some/all players, filters/codecs, and splitters should be reinstalled, as for them to be reregistered with the system), to be certain that the card is dead, I'd probably try loading a live CD/DVD such as Knoppix & try running a audio file off of the mounted hard drive there after.

Otherwise for a replacement though, I'd probably go with the CHAINTECH AV-710. ...about the same price as the Dynex 5.1, but with a greater sampling rate and 24bit audio resolution ... 7.1 channel... if you want all that stuff.

2006-12-25, 12:24	Link #1
ChibiDusk Back From The Dead? Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canada Age: 34	Sound Card Broken? Recently, out of nowhere (ie - nothing installed, uninstalled, changed) my sound card decided... "hey, I'm not going to play any sound." I don't know if it was the sound card that made this decision or something else, but for a while I had no sound. Occasionally after rebooting I would have sound until the next reboot. For the last week I have had NO sound whatsoever, even after reboots. Those periods have gone away. I have the latest drivers, tried installing older drivers, tried plugging in headphones to see if it was just the speakers... but nothing. Question; is my sound card dead? And if so, if this a decent brand to replace it with? Dynax 5.1 Sound card.

2006-12-25, 12:55	Link #2
Green² It's bacon! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Up and to the Left Age: 43	I'd probably try (With computer off & power unplugged of course.) putting the sound card in a different PCI slot, be if the motherboard or operating system may be having some kind of problem configuring the card. Device Manager, if using Windows, would tell more if the OS even sees the card, or if reporting some kind of other problem. dxdiag in a Run window will bring up the DirectX Diagnostic Tool for other sound testing and troubleshooters. ...of course, do check to make sure nothing is stuck on mute & volume down after startup, in case some program is just messing with you. Last edited by Green²; 2006-12-25 at 13:05.

2006-12-25, 18:12	Link #3
Zero Shinohara I'll keep walking. Artist Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: This is FLORIDAAAAAAaaa Age: 37	Well, the above idea is good only if you have a offboard sound card. If your card is onboard, like most people have, you're probably better off buying an offboard PCI card and installing it yourself. My other comp. wouldn't play any sounds, the same way you described, and after a few months, I decided to buy another card and now it works fine. It was really the onboard soundcard that fried, so it was either getting an offboard of buying another mobo. Cheaper, easier and faster to just drop by CompUSA and get a 15-dollar PCI card and install it. As for brand names and things like that... well, it's gonna depend on how well you want your sounds to be played. Cheaper ones work for most people, while some preffer cards with more power. That I'll leave to someone else, 'cause I'm just your average music-listener guy. __________________ Sometimes I look back and think to myself, "how the hell did I manage to screw this up?"

2006-12-29, 20:14	Link #5
Green² It's bacon! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Up and to the Left Age: 43	Short of reinstalling DirectX and doing "KeinikuSuki's End All(?), "My Codecs are Screwed Up" Guide" (Edit: Forgot to echo that like his step 13 & final note, treated like an clean OS install, some/all players, filters/codecs, and splitters should be reinstalled, as for them to be reregistered with the system), to be certain that the card is dead, I'd probably try loading a live CD/DVD such as Knoppix & try running a audio file off of the mounted hard drive there after. Otherwise for a replacement though, I'd probably go with the CHAINTECH AV-710. ...about the same price as the Dynex 5.1, but with a greater sampling rate and 24bit audio resolution ... 7.1 channel... if you want all that stuff. Last edited by Green²; 2006-12-29 at 21:51.

2006-12-28, 11:08	Link #4
ChibiDusk Back From The Dead? Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canada Age: 34	Right now I have a Santa Cruz. I tried installing it into another slot, and nothing. The Device Manager shows it working fine. I ran the troubleshooting program that came with it, and it detects an error on the "hardware scan". Doesn't say what it is though.