No audio - but not the typical thing

[TimRude]

I'm a computer repair tech who's run into a head-scratcher.

Dell Dimension 8200 desktop w/XP Home SP2 system comes in for repair. No sound. Sound drivers for onboard audio are all installed and show no errors in device manager. Just no sound.

Tried uninstalling and reinstalling fresh drivers from Dell. All ok in device manager but still no sound.

So I think - maybe onboard sound has fizzled. So then I tried installing a new sound card and drivers after first disabling onboard sound in BIOS. New card installs fine, ok in device manager, but still NO SOUND!

Before you ask - of course I've done the obvious things. I checked the speakers. Even tried multiple sets of speakers. I've also made sure that all of the volume controls in the system tray mixer are up and un-muted.

I've checked to make sure that the Audio Codecs listed in device manager match those on a working XP machine. They do.

Windows thinks it's working. Shows the speaker icon in system tray. If you play an MP3 or wav in Media Player, it acts like it's playing. Just no actual sound comes out of any program or utility.

Any ideas here?

[Galt]

I'm a computer repair tech who's run into a head-scratcher.

Dell Dimension 8200 desktop w/XP Home SP2 system comes in for repair. No sound. Sound drivers for onboard audio are all installed and show no errors in device manager. Just no sound.

Putting aside the fact it's a *ell (Fill in H) fun, fun , fun repair job, and I'm also a computer repair tech. Sounds like you have done everything but hit it with a hammer. However couple of thoughts..

1. Have your tried causing a (beep code) error for system sound here: Dell Codes

2. Have you really looked at the control panel (Sounds and Audio Devices settings) in detail?

3. With add on power speakers, are you getting any "static sound" when plugging in the green plug for the speakers?

4. Have you also tried a different Media Player such as VLC Media Player, All Player, Media Monkey..etc. I use Windows Media Player when I want to punish myself...

5 Has your cust been playing patty-cake with any onboard settings, jumpers etc. NEVER TRUST A CUSTOMER TO TELL THE TRUTH...a Houseism...(grin)

6. Hammer? (Kidding)