First we have to determine whether or not you have the required drivers installed in order for the operating system to communicate with your sound playback device. Following is the keyin sequence for Windows XP - The key-ins will differ somewhat for other Windows operating systems:
Click on START
Right Click on MY COMPUTER
Tnen click on PROPERTIES followed by HARDWARE and then DEVICE MANAGER.
Double click on SOUND, VIDEO and GAME CONTROLLERS
Your sound playback device (Soundblaster) should be listed. And there should NOT be a yellow exclamation mark in the left margin (If there is, this is an indication that the device is not working properly - see CORRECTIVE ACTIONS below.
Double click on your sound playback device.
In the device status box you should see the statement "This device is working properly"
If you get any other messages indicating that drivers are required or need to be updated, see CORRECTIVE ACTIONS below.
If everything look OK, click on the "X" in the upper right corner to close device manager.
If everything was OK in device manager we will now see if the operating systen is sending sound to your playback device.
Click on START
Click on CONTROL PANEL
Select the Classic View (If not already displayed)
Click on SOUNDS AND AUDIO DEVICES
Double Click on AUDIO DEVICES
Click on the AUDIO tab.
In the Sound Playback dialog box your sound device should be listed. If it is not, click on the pull-down menu and select it if you can..
If it is NOT listed, see CORRECTIVE ACTIONS below.
If it is listed, perform the following tests:
Click on the SOUNDS tab
Set the Sound Scheme to WINDOWS DEFAULT
Click on APPLY and OK
In the Program Events dialog box, click on any event that has a speaker Icon to the left of it
Underneath the Program Events dialog box you will see a small box with a triangle inside
If the triangle is black that means that the operating system has recognized your sound playback device (sound card).
Click on the triangle.
You should hear the sound through your speakers (the triangle will change to a rectangle while the sound is playing)
After the sound plays the black triangle will re-appear.
If the triangle is black and changes to a rectangle when you click on it and you DO NOT hear sound through your speakers
either your speakers are plugged into the wrong jack or you have a problem with your speakers. Test or replace the speakers.
If the triange is gray that means that the operating system does not recognize your sound playback device (sound card). See CORRECTIVE ACTIONS below.
CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
If your playback device is installed and enabled and either you have an error indication, drivers are not installed, or device manager reccommends a driver update, you will have to download drivers from manufacturer's web site. For soundblaster your link is http://www.creativelabs.com/support
Also, if the drivers are installed and you no have no error messages, but you do not hear sound when you click the black triangle, you may have a hardware conflict between your sound card and another device. At this point, you will require some help from a qualified PC technician.
If you have any additional questions contact me by clicking on the "Add a comment" link located under your problem description on FixYa. Also, if you believe that this information was helpful to you, please return to the FixYa website and rate my response to your question.
Best regards,
Yavacotech
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