Sound level randomly changing

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

jerry wrote:

> My sound level has been going up and down recently without warning or
> control. At first I thought it was just the application I was using,
> but the same thing has been happening whether I use Winamp, Windows
> Media Player, or
> PowerDVD. Any ideas?

Some areas to troubleshoot (and in all t-shooting, make one change and
test before going onto the next step):

1. As always, your first question to answer is "Since this worked once,
what has changed between the time things worked and the time they
didn't?" - i.e.; any new software/hardware installs? If there was a
change, try undoing it and see if that was the cause.

2. Software - update your soundcard drivers. Get the drivers from the
soundcard mftr.'s website, not Windows Update. If you have an OEM
machine (HP, Sony, Dell, etc.) get the drivers for your specific model
computer from the OEM's website. If the sound is onboard (chip on the
motherboard and not a separate PCI card) and the computer is a
generic-built, get the drivers from the motherboard mftr.'s site.

3. If the above doesn't help, look to hardware:

a. Make sure the connection from the soundcard to the speakers is nice
and tight.

b. Swap out your speakers for a known-working set.

c. Reseat the soundcard in its PCI slot. If this is onboard sound,
obviously you can't do this.

d. Uninstall the current soundcard and swap out for a known-working one.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User