Computer: The motherboard is an ASUS A8N-E, and the operating system is Win XP x64, w SP2.

Problem:
There is something wrong with my soundcard or it's drivers. The sound is lower than it should and it sounds
filtered, like some of the sound is sent off to some other speaker. The thing is I only have my stereo headphones
plugged in and still the realtek sound manager (under "connector sensing") think Im 5.1 and got 2 microphones and
2 speakers plugged in. I have selected the 2CH speaker setup but it still wont work. I've tried both the connector
at the front and the back of the PC (green one) so it's not a connector issue. Realtex EZ-connections gives me the following error message
"The audio devices may not be connected properly. Please refer to the correct connection and check below connectors:
Rear Speaker, Center/Subwoofer Speaker."



I have tried the following:
-uninstalled all ASUS and nvidia stuff
-run driver cleaner
-started up the pc in safe-mode and installing all the things from the included CD (included with the motherboard that is)
-then I ran the latest chipset drivers (audio, network, etc)
Doing that didn't fix the sound issue though.

Nothing looks weird in the device manager and I have ofc checked all the volume controls (control panel) in windows so it's not that. I've tried several versions of the AC'97 codec, several sound driver and chipset updates, and just about everything else.

According to the sound manager I got the following:
audio driver version: 5.10.0.5870
directX 9.0c
nVidia(0059) audio controller
ALC850 audio codec

Try updating to these Codecs
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...&Software=True
It says on many Google page results, that this fixed it

Please let us KNOW

Doesn't fix it
Sounds are somewhat normal now though, except that the volume is very low (I got it maxed in windows, and maxed on the headphones) and some parts of the sounds seem filtered out.

I bought a cheap soundblaster soundcard today since Im getting sick of this crap. It wont arrive for another few days though.

Far as I'm concerned low volume means it's working
ie Try different speakers, or different media player

Otherwise wait for the new card

You could very well have dust bunnies shorting something in the front and/or rear panel connection area - a little crud goes a long way.

I've tried with both my headset and my creative speakers and the volume is the same. Also, it's not a dust issue for certain.

The only thing it can be is either:
-hardware failure (but then why only the soundcard part and not the network and rest of the motherboard?)
-driver conflict - old driver that refuses to go away even with driver cleaner

My device manager (under sound, video and game controllers) look like this:
Audio codecs
Legacy Audio Drivers
Legacy Video Capture Devices
Media Control Devices
MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device
Realtek AC'97 Audio
Unsupported Standard Game Port
Video Codecs

What exactly are those "legacy" drivers? AFAIK they are basic audio drivers that the operating system has. Im uncertain though if these should be listed when I got the Realtek AC'97 installed. Even if they are supposed not to I have found no way of deleting them because I can't right click them and select disable or uninstall.

Everything looks normal
Have a look at:

Viruses/Spyware/Malware Preliminary Removal Instructions

Just to eliminate that area (while you wait on the new stuff)

Good idea. Malware and viruses can cause all sort of problems.
I'll run Spybot S&D and NOD32 and get back to you tomorrow (have to sleep now).

I prefer MalwareBytes

Spybot results: Nothing except for the usual tracking cookies you always get after surfing around on the net for a few weeks.
NOD32 results: Nothing except for some password-cracking executables and a trojan I got from school (computer security course)

The sound issue is still around, but I'll get my soundcard either today or tomorrow anyway so.

In the mean time... Malwarebytes scan.... ?

i am having the same problem"no sound" its a long long story so here it is please read and help.

right well i got windows xp sp3,reinstalled it just yesterday installed all of the drivers from cd's and updated them.sigmatel audio installs sucessfuly but doesnt run same with realtek wen i installed that.

on my devices on other devices theres PCI device with a ? and a ! "yellow" but wen i go to update it off the cd it wont take :S can some1 help me plz ive just started to give up on it now like

@poynter It's not the same, please create your own thread

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