I'm totally new at this, so any help will be appreciated. I had pc problems, and lost the Windows sound. Current profile says I have ENSONIQ AudioPCI ES1371, and Wave Device for Voice Modem. Have Creative speakers, Model# SBS10, which tested good. Windows Media says I have no sound device, and I have no sound on RealPlayer. Do I just need to download a driver, and if so, will ES1370 work? Or is there an ES1371? I'm using Windows 98SE.
Also need to know what is R4, R4.5, R5, and how do I determine which I have or need?
Sorry this is so long, but I'm getting desperate, and I'm an old lady, so please humor me.
joellen

Heres the driver you need http://www.soundcard-drivers.com/drivers/130/130524.htm

Thanks, vegasgmc, I have another question

:blush:

Thanks so much for the help.

Well, actually, two questions ... Windows update and Driver Guide both say I have the latest audio driver, but I still have no sound, even though my sound card and speakers are good, so where do I go from there to find my problem?

On the offchance that my sound card could be the culprit, how do I check it out, to know?

I haven't been able to get the new driver to install, but I really don't know the proper way to do that ... is it because I already have the driver I need?
I'm a total newbie at all this, and I do appreciate any suggestions from anyone who can help. I'm missing some important conference calls by not having sound and am going bananas.

Hope I'm not asking for too much, but I'm spending literally hours trying to figure it out on my own.

joellen

Thats what we're here for :giddy:
What PC problems did you have before and what was done to the computer?
What does R4, R4.5 and R5 relate to?

It all started with a download

The R4, 4.5 and 5 were 'cautions' in the download page of Driver Guide. It listed es1370 as compatible with WIN98SE sound card. The problem started when I upgraded Windows Media to 9.0 and installed Real Player. I got no sound on either, but I had sound on Windows startup. Now I don't even have that. In the Control Panel, Sound Properties, the 'Name' field is grayed out. I set it to chimes.wav, and the 'scheme' field to Windows default. This showed the sound icon (bell), but when I click 'apply' and 'ok', and close that window, it reverts back to grayed out and no icon. In Multimedia Audio, 'playback' and 'recording' is 'use any device available'. Windows update says I have the latest drivers. PCI Multimedia Audio Device Properties says drivers are not installed (code28). I tried to reinstall the driver, but Windows was 'unable to locate a driver'. I don't even know where to start to clean up this mess. The download for es1371 that you pointed me to, unzipped to about a dozen items, and I don't have a clue about installing them. I tried typing the file name in 'add hardware', but it wouldn't install. I'm sorry, but at $90 plus per email or call, I just can't afford to have Microsoft get me back on track. I'l be forever grateful for any help from anyone.

joellen

Two things:

First; Do you know where you extracted the files you downloaded to? They more than likely created a folder on the desktop.

Second; When you are in Device Manager and you see the "PCI Multimedia audio device" (or whatever it's called) does it have an exclaimation mark on it? If it does, you should be able to install the drivers from the files you downloaded.

Try this:
1) In device manager, right click audio card listed and select 'reinstall driver'
If it's not on the right click menu double click it, and look for a reinstall
drivers button on the properties page. Let us know if you need further
help finding where to start the reinstall.

2) On the reinstall window, you should be able to select 'Have Disk'
3) When it asks you the location of the disk, you should be able to select 'Browse'
4) When the browse window opens, browse to the folder you extracted earlier. I don't know the file structure so you may be able to just open the main folder. If there are drivers for other operating systems there may be more folders containing drivers for each supported OS. So essentially you may have to browse to a subfolder called 'WIN98_ME' or something.
5)Hit next until you are done. If it still says it doesn't have a driver let me know.

Of course this is all negated if there is a setup.exe in the folder you downloaded and extracted.

Sorry about the mess. Let me know if this is too confusing, i'm not really good at typing out instructions.

Been there and done it, Hoopajoop

Your instructions were very clear, and I had no problem following them. Thanks so much. I think I'm on the right track, but still don't have sound. The file only downloaded 95%, I tried it again, same thing. When I try to install the two components that are missing, I get the old dance ...device exists, but has a problem ... is not working properly or does not have all the drivers installed. Update driver. On update, window says you have the latest driver, or Windows unable to locate driver for this device. The drivers not working are AWE64-compatible 16-bit audio (sb16 compatible) and SB16.VXD. Would it make more sense to uninstall everything, including Real Player and Windows Media player and starting from scratch? If so, would I need to uninstall the driver folder before installing again, or would a new install override the first one? If that isn't workable, what can you sugggest that I try? I can't tell you how much I appreciate finding this forum and all the great people so willing to help. It means a lot to us newbie nerds.

joellen

You shouldn't need to uninstall any audio, or video players. It just seems to me like the driver is not installed properly.

Have you successfully downloaded the drivers from the internet?

hoopajoop,a how to?

I got the link for the driver download from forum member vegasgmc. I think it came from Driver Guide.com. I went to 'add hardware' in the control panel, and used the folder file name (es1371). I think everything must have loaded ok except for these two items. It only installed 95% and stopped.

Creative AWE compatible 16-bit Audio (SB16 compatible)
Creative AWE64-compatible Wavetable MIDI (AWE32 compatible)

Properties on them say there is a problem with them, go to device manager, which says update. Update says they are already installed, and won't update. If I use my own source for installing, I don't know what to type into the source field. If I type in the es1371, it takes me into the same circle.

How do I install just these two drivers?? Or, as I asked in my last post, should I uninstall the driver download, and reinstall, to see if it will do a full install? And if so, will a reinstall override the present one, or would a complete uninstall on the old one be necessary first.
I'm open to try anything that might work.

joellen

I'm downloading the drivers, and will look at them shortly.

There are essentially two driver install methods. If the drivers come with a packaged installer (a .exe) then you can install them by simply running the installer. If there is no packaged installer then you have to find the .ini file for your device.

I'll need to look at them to see where to continue.

I'm not sure that the previously listed driver is correct.

Try this one.

You may need to delete your sound card from device manager. Just try installing it before that and let me know what happens.

download install got stalled!

geez,Louise ... I take one step ahead and three back! I downloaded from the link you gave me and it started to install, but a window came up saying, 'Setup could not detect any Sound Blaster Audio Card on your system. Ensure that your Sound Blaster hardware is properly installed before running this set up program'.

I feel so dumb about all this ... is the audio card separate from the sound card? And wouldn't it have come with my computer the same as the sound card did? And ... how do I fix that problem? How do I check it out, and how do I install one --- as a download, or is it something I have to buy and install or what?
I'm thinking the sound blaster file installed when I installed the es1371 file, but would have to go back into it to know for sure. Does that have something to do with the two files that didn't install before? I didn't see anything that said I had to delete my sound card.

Looks like I'm going to keep you busy for a while, huh?!? Sorry, I wish I knew how to do more of these 'repairs', but believe me, I'm learning!

joellen

audio card and sound card are the same thing.

Try uninstalling the sound card from device manager in Safe Mode, then shut down, remove the card from its slot and reseat it(make note of any visible signs of damage)
Boot up in normal mode, install the new driver. Windows should detect the card and prompt you for a driver, if not and the driver still tells you there is no sound card, you might have a bad card or slot.

Take me by the hand, Please

uuhhh, Im a real newbie, and getting nevouser and nervouser about getting inside my pc, but if all else fails, I'll take the plunge. Can't get anyone to bring it down from it's perch, on the top shelf of my desk, until after the Christmas rush is over . When you get too old (and weak) to do your own thing, you have to wait until someone takes notice and gives you a hand.
In the meantime I'm open to any suggestions.
StormBringer, I talked to a tech person at Best Buy, who told me my sound is integrated into the motherboard on the type of processor I have, and if it is bad I can purchase a card that can be plugged in.
My question to you is .... if I do an uninstall and download the drivers, how do I re-install the sound device to see if that works? What I have is a rebuilt HP, and have no disk. The audio device listed is 'Creative Ensoniq Audio PCI Legacy Device' and is dated 2/23/1999. Is this what I need to uninstall if I go that route?

Another thought I have is ... I used Registry Cleaner around the same time I started having a problem with sound. Is it likely that RC could have deleted something I need for the sound? The program archives the deleted items for recovery, so I can check the archives if that's a possibility, if I know what to look for.
I hope I'm not becoming a pain with all this, but after surfing for many hours, this forum is the only place I've found any real help.
Looking forward,
joellen

Still fighting the sound/driver problem, really need help

My last post on this was, I believe, 12/22/04, but had to get through the holidys before tackling it again.
At that time Stormbringer suggested that I uninstall my sound card, install new driver...to see if Windows detects the card and prompts for a driver.
My sound is integrated into the motherboard, so my question is ... how do I uninstall the sound and reinstall after downloading the driver?
What I have is a rebuilt HP (Win98SE) and didn't get a rescue disk for re-installing.
Would I be better off to purchase a Windows setup disk, and install it over the present one?
Another possibility is ... I used Registry Cleaner around the same time I started having the problem. The program archives the deleted items for recovery. What would I need to look for there, that might be a missing sound file?
I've been struggling with this for almost a month now, and really need to get back into conferences, audio tutorials, etc., and will very much appreciate any help out there.

joellen

How to get the Sound Blaster Uni-Pack drivers to work

http://www.tweaksforgeeks.com/Install_Sound_Blaster_Web_Drivers.html