Ion LP2 flash record player - no sound

I have an ION IO2 LP2 Flash Record Player, which enables customers to play records at 33 and 45 rpm via a hi-fi or a computer and transfer the records to a USB stick among other options.

I wish to play records via my computer, but I have a dilemma:

Although my records spin fine on the turntable, when I connect the USB lead to the back of my computer (I currently have Windows Vista if relevant), there is no sound.

What is preventing the sound?, and how do I achieve sound?

I'd thought that sound would be instant, once the lead was connected, but I am very keen to find a solution so I can make the most of my record deck and recording options.

Also, is Audacity easy to set up?
(there are 2 options - the eZ Player, which is good but has least Scratch Filter options, and Audacity)

I look forward to your feedback.

Seeking help

Can anyone assist me?

Thinking further, as I'm not a technical expert, is the cause of No Sound due to a setting in my Computer?

I imagine it's not a fault in the record player, but either way, I can't get any sound out of the record player.

If whatever's blocking the sound is in the computer, which settings do I need to look for to achieve sound?, and/or

Is it because I don't yet have Audacity set up that I'm getting no sound?

I'm very keen to use my record player.

Although record players will vary and I'm not sure if any of you have an ION record player, perhaps there are other record players where Sound has to be activated a specific way where some of you have had the same muted sound on your record players of a different brand or different model or ION.

Please help asap.

When you plug in / unplug the USB cable are you hearing the Windows device connect/disconnect ding dong each time?

I assume your player has its own AC adapter? It's plugged in and turned on?

Open device manager and look (in general but especially under the USB category) as you plug/unplug the cable. Does a device appear/disappear?

Record Player - Update on results of checks

Yes.

I'm not sure. How do I find this out?

The record player has two sets of leads, one for use plugging into a hi-fi, and the other, a USB lead (the one I've been using to try to achieve sound).

The player itself is working, as I've tested a record on the turntable, which spins and I can hear the sound of the record playing from the record deck surface, but sadly not through my computer loudspeakers.

I've visited Youtube and other web sites which have sound, which have played fine through my speakers, which rules out the speakers being faulty, but it's a complete mystery as to why I can't get any sound from my player, unless I need to set up Audacity first, which I'll look into shortly.

I don't know if it's relevant that I have Windows Vista, or if there are any other technical details I need to quote or look for on my computer to try to trace the source of the lack of sound, but I checked the Device Manager and noticed the following differences between plugging and unplugging the cable.

Still no sound, but this is what I found:

"Human Interface Devices" -
(Unplugged): 1 HID-compliant consumer control device
(Plugged): 2 HID-compliant consumer control devices

"Human Interface Devices" -
(Unplugged): 2 USB Human Interface Devices
(Plugged): 3 USB Human Interface Devices

"Sound, Video and Game Controllers" -
(Unplugged): 1 High Definition Audio Device
(Plugged): 1 High Definition Audio Device and 1 USB Audio CODEC

"Universal Serial Bus controllers" -
(Unplugged): 1 USB Composite Device
(Plugged): 2 USB Composite Devices

just based on quick skim, your info above appears OK. One quick thought:

Open Ctl Pnl->Sound->Audio tab. Click the pull down menu for the default recording device. Do you have more then one choice?? You may just need to change the default input/recording device

/* edit */
yea, i think your default device selections may well be your problem <fingers crossed> as i also just googled ion usb player default device and found THIS. So make sure BOTH the default Playback and Recording devices are set correctly

Update - Still no sound

Many thanks for your help, but unfortunately, as the ION link doesn't give details for Windows Vista, I sadly can't find the options you've quoted, unless it's these, listed differently, as there's no Audio tab in the options, which are also found via the Volume Mixer:

"Volume Mixer" -
Device - Speakers - In optimum volume level position
Applications - Windows Sounds - Also in optimum volume level position
"Name not available" - This one's intriguing me. It was on "Mute", which I've unmuted and the bar was in Middle position, then upon checking today, no sign of the “Name not available” program in the Mixer and still no sound

"Playback" -
Speakers - High Definition Audio Device - Working (this is ticked)
Headphones - High Definition Audio Device - Not plugged in
Digital Output Device (SPDIF) - High Definition Audio Device - Working

"Recording" -
Microphone - High Definition Audio Device - Not plugged in
Microphone - High Definition Audio Device - Not plugged in (there must be 2 Microphone jacks, as this is listed twice)
LIne In - High Definition Audio Advice - Not plugged in

"Sounds" -
No Sounds
Windows Default
Windows Default (modified) (modified) - This option is activated
Windows Default (modified)

Is there a fault with my record player or my computer?

Thanks for taking the time to post all the info in your last post.. I think you're running with the Windows generic audio driver. You need to install the hardware specific driver first. And then go check your default devices.

Go to the vendor site for computer. Look for their Support or Download link. They'll tell you the audio driver for your specific model. Download and install.

if you need help finding it you'll need to indicate your computer vendor make/model

Latest Update - Still no sound; No drivers on ION site

Thanks again for your efforts.

Unfortunately, once again, I'm getting nowhere, as there are yet more obstacles beyond your control and mine.

I've gone to the ION web site, which lists a section "Documents and Downloads", but there are no Downloads or details of the audio driver I'll need for the ION "LP2 Flash" model, so it doesn't look very promising that I'm ever going to get any sound from this machine. I'd assumed ION had made a machine that is plug and play, which would have enabled instant sound. I imagine I'm not the only owner of this record player to have experienced this dilemma, but it's a shame, as I would looking forward to transferring my records.

http://www.ionaudio.com/stuff/conte...ebf6f/file/lp2flash_quickstart_guide_v1.3.pdf

In one part of the instructions it says "WARNING: Do not attempt to connect the LP2FLASH to a phonolevel input.".

As far as I know, I've not done this, as I have only connected the record player to my computer, but am unsure if the "phonolevel" jack is in a computer or a hi-fi.

Also, in another part of the document it states "Note: The LP2FLASH does not support USB hubs.".

This confuses me. The record player has a USB lead to connect to computers, yet the Flash doesn't support USB hubs.

What does this mean?, and is this the reason why I'm getting no sound?

Sorry if I sound grumpy, but I'm just frustrated that I still can't get any sound out of my machine. I'm almost sure it's not faulty, as the turntable spins, I can hear sound from the surface of the deck and all the lights are lit up on the front of it, but for some reason, ION have no drivers for this. I have found two other companies which list drivers, but they are also malware. It seems peculiar that ION don't have drivers on their own site, but sadly they don't.

Sorry for misunderstanding. I meant you get the audio driver download from your computer vendor (not ION). What is the make (who's the vendor?) and model number of your computer?

/* EDIT */
btw... if you aren't certain of the model number, there's usually a tag on the computer with the information (like model number, serial number, etc.). I only need the Model #. If you can't find it, other ways still to figure it out. just let me know

No worries. I initially misunderstood what you meant, thinking you were referring to drivers from ION, the manufacturer of the record player.

Looking at my computer, there are different details on the front, top and back. I'm not sure which you mean, but they include details that I have a Windows Vista Home Premium OEM computer, which lists a Product Key.

On the back of my computer it states "CE", which I presume means certified;

The computer itself is an Intel Pentium 4 with a Dual Core processor.

As far as I know, this record player will still be compatible with Windows 7, which I plan to upgrade to at some later date, as Vista is now being gradually phased out.

Please advise me if one of the above details covers the Model number.

If not, please bear with me, and I'll check further upon your advice.

Many thanks for your patience. Hopefully it's just a matter of time before I can hear my record player through my computer's loudspeakers, but I shall persevere and am very grateful to you for your assistance.

No worries. I'm sure we'll find the info we need

Do you know who made your computer (e.g. Dell, Sony, Toshiba, HP, etc)

In any case, try this
> Click Start (in lower left corner) to open the menu. Type msinfo32 in the search box along the bottom of menu
> You should see msinfo32.exe appear in Program List towards top of menu
> Rt click msinfo32.exe, select Run as Admin

On the System Summary page, it should include System Manufacturer and System Model. What do they say?

I'm afraid I'm not that technically minded, so please bear with me.

I'm not sure who made my computer, unless it's Intel Pentium.

However, I've found the System Summary information you requested -

The System Manufacturer is: Foxconn

The System Model is: G33M03

No worries. Take your time. We'll try to work through this together and take it step-by-step. Everyone here is glad to try and help

just fyi.... Vista (and Windows 7) both include "generic" audio drivers. I think your first issue is that you're still running with the generic drivers and need the hardware specific drivers installed on your machine
> The device names "High Definition Audio Device" I saw in your earlier post HERE make me think you're still using the generic drivers
> I want you to download and install the Realtek audio drivers for your machine

1. Download the zip file HERE
2. Unzip the file and save the contents on your disk (instructions HERE)
3. Now look for the Setup.exe file, rt click it select Run as Admin
4. Once the installation completes, you can look at your devices again and now i believe your devices will now be named "Realtek High Definition Audio" (or something similar but with the name Realtek in it)

Now you can check again the Default Playback and Recording devices are set correctly

If you still have a problem or you have any question, also generate and attach a DirectX report as well to your next post

• Click Start->Run, enter dxdiag
• Notice progress in lower left window corner
• When done, click Save Information button and save to your Desktop
• In TechSpot, use the paper clip icon to attach the report. (If you don't see icon you may need to first click Go Advanced)

Before I do this, can I check something with you?

Last night I downloaded, but didn't run, the EXE file, as I was about to finish for the night.

However, upon checking "Downloads" this morning, where I'm struggling to trace the file, which I could re-download and overwrite "(2)" over the original, I found a folder that I didn't create called "Realtek Audio Drivers". Difficult to tell if it was already there or whether it's appeared since I downloaded the "dl.dropbox.com" file, but when I clicked on this folder I then came across another folder called "HDA".

What's puzzling is that the only file for 17/02/11 is "Config" but timed at 2.34pm, even though I didn't download this file and I only downloaded the file you recommended late yesterday evening and in the listings there are four other folders:

MSHDQFE
Vista
Vista64
WDM

Then, following these, there are 16 very technical system files (installed between 2001 and 2008), which I'd prefer not to open, to avoid risking damaging my computer.

Whatever these various folder and stand alone files are, they must be missing an additional Realtek file, due to there being no sound, despite all the files.

While looking up further information on Realtek, I found that they have their own web site, which I'd never visited before including these links.

http://www.realtek.com/downloads/

http://www.realtek.com/downloads/do...=3&GetDown=false#High Definition Audio Codecs

Before I proceed, are there differences between the dl.dropbox.com EXE file and the Realtek EXE files, directly from the Realtek site?

Also, how safe are the Dropbox files compared with the ones from Realtek's own site?

I'm not doubting you in the least, you've been very helpful from the start , but I'm asking this, as I've read on occasions some horror stories about downloading EXE files from Third Party sites. Not all are unsafe by any means, but I've read some are full of malware, which is why I'm being extra cautious, but this is no reflection on you or anyone else who recommends specific EXE files.

As both Vista and Windows 7 include generic audio drivers, it looks like, once the sound is made available while I use Vista, I should have no difficulty in re-installing files and hearing sound whenever I switch to Windows 7.

Of course, In fact, you are being a wise "cyber" consumer to carefully consider just what it is you are downloading :approve:

First, some background info. And, btw, you may want to keep this link if you need this info again in the future) for the info about your computer motherboard http://www.techspot.com/vb/post1006819-15.html

Your computer
Best I could tell, based on the System info you reported, your system has a Foxconn G33M motherboard
> Foxconn's link to its G33M product info HERE and Foxconn's link to the G33M drivers drivers HERE
> If you look at list of drivers, you'll see a selection for "Onboard Audio Drivers". If you click View Detail these are the Realtek drivers

I would have preferred giving you the direct link to Foxconn's download file but for 2 problems

Java
Their link was displayed "using Java" - which basically means you can't simply copy it and give to someone else to use. Instead i would have given you the link to the Foxconn G33M product page plus instruction on how to navigate through the product page to find the audio drivers needed. This, in and of itself, wouldn't have been tooo bad except one more thing


I found the Foxconn servers yesterday were very slowwww and unreliable
I tried downloading first tried downloading the audio drivers myself yesterday from the foxconn server - and it wasn't a simple task. Their server was having problems making the download very slow, not-dependable, and all-in-all became annoying download process. A process I had to repeat (3 times in my case) before i received a good (i.e. "not corrupt") download file that could be used for an install

Once i finally downloaded the file successfully, I unzipped it to verify the files within looked correct, then zipped it back up and moved it to my own personal DropBox Account. Then gave you a link to the file in my Dropbox account because I know that downloads from DropBox are always fast and reliable

Now that you know the full story, you can can choose to try downloading the file directly from Foxconn (maybe their server issues are fixed today.) Once downloaded, everything else is the same (including the HDA folder and my installation instructions)

btw... Also feel free to tell your anti-virus software to scan the download as well...

As to Vista vs Windows 7, if you look at the Foxconn list of driver for your motherboard, look at the Details the provide about the driver. For O/S Support: they don't include Windows 7 in that list! That doesn't mean its not possible to upgrade to Win 7 but it does mean alot of homework needed to determine if the drivers you have (or will have to go looking for) will work on Windows 7. Also would STRONGLY recommend you create a full disk image "backup" of your current system before attempting a Win7 upgrade. Thus, if during the process you find Windows 7 won't work on your machine, you can easily restore the backup image to at least get back to the Vista system you had working in the first place

/* EDIT */
Oh. And to clarify the "Realtek Audio Drivers" folder was created when you unzipped the "Realtek Audio Drivers.zip" zip file (it was created using the same file base name). The HDA folder was already in the zip file. As to dates on files/folders extracted from the zip file, they typically reflect the same dates AFTER extraction as the date/times they had when they were zipped.

Thanks again for your efforts with links, instructions and advice, which I shall keep a note of.

I've managed to download the Realtek file from Dropbox.com, but I've encountered yet more obstacles while following the How to Unzip a File in Vista.

I've double-clicked the zipped file "Realtek Audio Drivers", where there is the option to "Extract All", but a window does not open and display all of the files that are stored in the zipped file. Instead, I first see an uncompressed Folder "HDA".

As HDA is not a zipped folder, when I click on it, while there is a display of all the files stored in it, they are all uncompressed, and there is no setup.EXE file, only other Setup files.

Due to the above, I frustratingly can't presently proceed with the instructions.

Although I can't see any listing of a Setup.EXE file in the HDA folder of files, is it disguised under one of the following "Setup" files?:

Name - Type columns

Setup - Application
setup - Configuration Settings
setup.ibt - IBT file
setup.inx - INX file
setup.isn - ISN file
setup.iss - ISS file
USetup.iss - ISS file

Yes! It is disguised!

I forgot. I'm sure you're running with the Vista default where Vista hides file extensions. I suggest you change the option. I think seeing filenames including their extension make it much more clear to distinguish between files by seeing the name. extension. It also makes it harder for some types of malware to hide when you can see the filename+extension)

so
1. fyi. This is setup.exe disguised! when the extension isn't show
Setup - Application

2. To change the Vista default to show file extensions see HERE

/* EDIT */
Also, you'll find if you ever need help from forums again, people will give you instruction referring to filename+extension.. so you want to be able to see both

By the way, as another fyi...

As to the question of "where should i download my driver from" as in this case there are both Realtek drivers from Foxconn for the G33M as well as Realtek drivers available from the Realtek site itself

The rule is: You always want to start with the drivers from your system or motherboard supplier first.

Reason: The driver from the system/motherboard supplier is tested by them and should be the one they say will work. This driver may or may not be identical to what's supplied by the product vendor (e.g. Realtek, in this case) but, in any case, you know is the one that they offer with their hardware so should be working with the system / motherboard you have.

New Update

Thanks for your two replies.

It looks like the instructions relate to the standard view, as there were some differences, but this is immaterial, as I successfully completed each step and have now enabled the file extensions to be displayed.

Upon your instructions and advice, I've visited
http://www.realtek.com/downloads/

There are three options listed, but I'm unsure which of the latter two would be what I need:

ALC5621 (Datasheets)
High Definition Audio Codecs (Software)
AC'97 Audio Codecs (Software)

I've also gone back to the Foxconn links you gave me in an earlier reply. There are drop down menus for Categories, Series and Models. Would these all be the correct ones?: Motherboards, Socket 775 and G33M?

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-us0000319 and

http://www.foxconnsupport.com/downl...01&series=en-us0000002&keywords=&sort=Drivers

If I've read correctly, even if they're not the exact drivers, they'll still be suitable to enable Sound from my record player?

You've referred to "G33M", which must be suitable for my record player. It sounds very promising from your description. Although there was already a Realtek folder on my computer, which lists files as far back as 2001, when I had Windows 98 Second Edition, prior to switching to XP around 2003, there was clearly a missing Sound file. It's a pity Windows Vista and 7 don't automatically include it with the Generic sound file, as I imagine I won't be the only person who's had no sound from a presumably working record player. The lights and turntable movement give me the strong impression the machine itself is not faulty.

When the time comes that I upgrade to Windows 7, fingers crossed that it will be a simple process to resume restoring the sound, but I'll probably stick with Vista until the end of the year or beginning of next year. By those times, hopefully all drivers will have probably been implemented for that operating system.

Meanwhile, as you've described one of the Setup files ("Application") as being the one that's the EXE file, and I've downloaded it from Dropbox.com, should I now delete it and start from scratch with the Download process? or should I re-download it from Foxconn or Realtek, which I presume would overwrite the Dropbox download?

You probably don't get many forum members requiring assistance beyond one or two messages, but thanks for persevering with me.

Along the way, not only is your advice invaluable but I'm getting to learn more about the technical side of computing, which I'm not that well up on generally, which will come in very handy for the future.

Yes. From the info you provided earlier, I believe the Foxconn G33M is the "motherboard" in your computer (see HERE). The audio chips for your sound is on that motherboard so we want to try installing the audio driver that Foxconn provides for their G33M product.

We're going to first work on installing the motherboard driver from Foxconn. But if it came to it, we'd next try the High Definition Audio from Realtek. (you may also find some of the info provided HERE helpful for future reference)

If we couldn't find drivers for the motherboard that worked, the drives on the Realtek site would be the next thing to try.

Having generic drivers in Vista and Win 7 is a "mixed blessing". On the one hand, it allows a user to get "basic" functionality working quickly on their computer but many don't realize when they have generic vs. specific installed until something doesn't work! If only Windows provided a pop-up message to notify/remind users they were still using generic

The audio driver you downloaded from Dropbox is what i put there myself (its what ii downloaded myself from Foxconn and checked it). So you can run the Setup.exe from the Dropbox download or if you want try downloading direct from Foxconn. In either case, rt click the Setup.exe file, select Run as admin. (sometime after we're done i'll be deleting the download on Dropbox. But you can always get it again from Foxconn if needed now that you know where to find it again

At least from everything to date, there's nothing to indicate your ION problem isn't anything more then driver and Default Playback installation/config issues. So here's hoping <fingers crossed we'll have good news when we;re all done!>

No problem. We all have to start from the beginning at some time