JD: Windows 7, no sound, new sound cards won't install, no way to go back to XP

[Johnny Dangerously]

So, I have a PC with no sound now, and no way to get it.

Thanks, Windows.

 

[expendable]

Windows 7 with no sound: It was JD's idea.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Any suggestions out there? I'm frustrated.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

The longer short version: I have a Dell Dimension 4400 I bought in 2002. It's been a really good buy. It came with XP. Before I moved my stuff into storage, I did a few things that corrupted part of XP. When I got my PC out of storage, it worked, but it took 30 minutes to boot up.

To try to speed that up, I installed Windows 7. Now it boots up quickly. But there's no sound.

Dell sold me a new sound card. It wouldn't install. It shut down Windows while installing. So Dell sent me another. Same thing. Now Dell says "it's your motherboard." How so? My computer had sound a week ago. It doesn't now, not with the old sound card (which wasn't compatible with Windows 7), and not with the new sound card.

Can't go back to XP. Windows won't let you. So I'm screwed. Or am I?

Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?

 

[Buck]

Did you address this thread to yourself?

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Any suggestions out there? I'm frustrated.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Download the install disk and go from there. There's no need to be comfortable in a linux environment either. I've installed it on two older computers and they run like champs now. Most everything you could possibly need is also included or is available for download.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Do you think it would let me install the new sound card that is crashing when I try to install it in Windows? If it doesn't, then I am at the same place I am now, with a new system I don't understand how to use. What's your confidence level about it letting me install the sound card with the sound card CD?

 

[Armchair_QB]

Buy a Mac.

 

[mustangj17]

Reset the bios?

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

That sounds tricky
Is it?

 

[Azrael]

Does a computer that old even meet the system requirements for Windows 7? You may just have a box that can't run it successfully. You might check the support forum at MS of that's the case. Or call their support line.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

The person who bought the version of Windows 7 for me said it would work, but I don't know how extensively she checked into that. Thing is, Windows 7 seems to work like a charm on this PC. It just won't recognize the sound card or let me install it.

 

[Sic semper tyrannis]

Might it be because of this?

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK _ Computers in companies, hospitals and schools around the world got stuck repeatedly rebooting themselves Wednesday after an antivirus program identified a normal Windows file as a virus.
McAfee Inc. confirmed that a software update it posted at 9 a.m. ET caused its antivirus program for corporate customers to misidentify a harmless file. It has posted a replacement update for download.
``We are not aware of significant impact on consumers and believe we have effectively limited such occurrence,'' the company said in a statement.
Online posters begged to differ, saying thousands of computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 were rendered useless.
The problem caused a ``campus-wide disruption'' at the University of Calgary, with between 1,500 to 2,000 computers hit, the school reported.
About a third of the hospitals in Rhode Island were forced to stop treating patients without traumas in emergency rooms. The hospitals also postponed some elective surgeries, said Nancy Jean, a spokeswoman for the Lifespan system of hospitals. The system includes Rhode Island Hospital, the state's largest, and Newport Hospital, the only hospital on Aquidneck Island.
Jean said patients who required emergency care for gunshot wounds, car accidents, blunt trauma and other potentially fatal injuries were still being admitted to the emergency rooms.
In Kentucky, state police were told to shut down the computers in their patrol cars as technicians tried to fix the problem. The National Science Foundation headquarters in Arlington, Va., also lost computer access.
Peter Juvinall, systems administrator at Illinois State University in Normal, said that when the first computer started rebooting it quickly became evident that it was a major problem, affecting dozens of computers at the College of Business alone.
``I originally thought it was a virus,'' he said. When the tech support people concluded McAfee's update was to blame, they stopped further downloads of the faulty software update and started shuttling from computer to computer to get them working again.
Such personal attention to each PC from a technician appeared to be the only way to fix the problem because the computers weren't receptive to remote software updates when stuck in the reboot cycle. That slowed the recovery.
Intel Corp. appeared to be among the victims, according to employee posts on Twitter. Intel did not immediately return calls for comment.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

I don't use McAfee.

 

[amraeder]

Did your computer recognize your old sound card?

 

[amraeder]

(Via a Google search I see people recommending going here: http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=gen&~ck=pn and downloading the Windows Vista version of the appropriate driver for your sound card).

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

No

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

I have sound!

I tried all that, then saw on Windows Update an optional update for Sound Blaster, downloaded it, and voila!

Thanks for the suggestions.

It's a Festivus miracle!

 

[amraeder]

Woot! Congrats!

Now go enjoy your airing of grievances

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I have the exact same issue. I upgraded to Windows 7 and then my sound stopped working. I had to buy a portable speaker to attach.

I called tech support and they said they couldn't help me because I was no longer using the system that was on the computer when I bought it. Essentially, I voided my warranty by upgrading.