Copyright © 1997-2008 Elizabeth Boston, The Computer Lady

Dear Computer Lady,

 

Could you please help us.  I have three other people that use this

computer, however, the children or husband has lost all of the sound.  I

can't get the sound back.  I am using Window's 98 but Office 2000, if

that helps or hurts.  

 

Hoping to find out soon.  Thanks so much for your wonderful column, I

have learn quite allot from you so far, I have even forwarded you column

to my husband and children.

 

Thanks again. Gloria in OH   

    

 

 

Dear Gloria,

 

There are a number of things that could be causing this problem, but

lets look at some of the simpler things.

First, did someone mute the sound on your computer? Look down near the

clock in the lower right corner of the screen. Is there a speaker icon

there? If so, does it have a red circle with a line through it?

 

If so, click once on the speaker, and click to remove the check mark

from the "Mute" section.

 

Second, check the speakers. Did they accidentally get unplugged from the

computer or their power source? A good way to check the speakers, is to

plug a set of headphones in the speaker jack on the back of your

computer and see if you can get any sound out of that. If you get sound

using headphones, there is a problem with the speakers, if not, the

problem is on the computer.

 

Third, Once you have ruled out simple software solutions like having the

sound on mute, and you have determined that the speakers are good, you

really should think about having a computer shop take a look at it.

 

You could need to have your sound card drivers re-installed or updated,

or you might need a whole new sound card. Those procedures are beyond

the scope of this newsletter.

 

If you want to try these things on your own, I would suggest you join a

hardware tech support list like PCBUILD at http://freepctech.com . The

people on that list are great at answering questions about fixing

hardware problems.

 

Elizabeth