No Sound When Running Win XP on Dell Inspiron 9400

[c3333g]

My laptop stopped playing all sounds except for the system sound (a loud beep). I think this may have happened after a Windows update installation. The laptop says "No Audio Device" when I checked under "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties."

A similar issue came up for someone running Vista (see thread titled "No Sound On Dell Inspiron 9400 When Running Vista RC1" at "http://neosmart.net/forums/showthread.php?t=148"). I tried most of the suggestions on that thread including:
- Going to the Dell website, downloading, and installing the latest sound driver (called "SigmaTel STAC92XX C-Major HD Audio") for my model laptop, based on my Service Tag.
- Uninstalling all modem drivers (since this apparently causes the audio driver not to work).

I have not tried running Driver Cleaner. I'm hoping not to have to do anything with my BIOS.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mak 2.0]

Moved to correct area. The Bug Central is for products of NeoSmart Technologies.

You need to find your sound drivers.

http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&cat=sup&k=inspiron+9400+drivers&rpp=12&p=1&subcat=dyd&rf=all&nk=f&sort=K&nf=19019~7~141294&navla=19019~7~141294&ira=False&~srd=False&ipsys=False&advsrch=False&~ck=anav

That is the page you need. Just find the sound device you have and download and install the driver.

 

[zxo]

Hi, I'm experiencing the same problem as the OP. I recently reinstalled XP on my Dell Inspiron E1705 laptop, and downloaded and installed all of the drivers based on my service tag. Device Manager does not detect a sound card, although the if I enter Setup while booting, it indicates correctly the Sigmatel 9200 card. I've run all of the drivers under 'Audio' from the page linked earlier, and they all install OK, but obviously a driver doesn't do any good if the computer can't detect the device.

Thanks!

Addendum:

Some more info:
EVEREST indicates the following:
Audio Adapter: Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - High Definition Audio Controller [A-1]

However, I cannot find this device listed in Device Manager.

Computer:
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition OS
Service Pack: Service Pack 3
DirectX: 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Motherboard:
CPU Type: Mobile DualCore Intel Pentium M, 2000 MHz (12 x 167)
Motherboard Name: Dell MP061
Motherboard Chipset: Intel Calistoga i945GM/PM
System Memory: 1024 MB (DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type: Phoenix (06/09/06)

...

High Definition Audio:
Audio Controller Type: Intel 82801GB(M) ICH7
Codec Name : SigmaTel STAC9200
Codec ID :83847690h
Codec Revision : 00102201h

...

Sound, video and game controllers:
Audio Codecs: 5.1.2535.0
Legacy Audio Drivers: 5.1.2535.0
Legacy Video Capture Devices: 5.1.2535.0
Media Control Devices 5.1.2535.0:
SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC: 5.10.0.4691 Video Codecs 5.1.2535.0

...

[ Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - High Definition Audio Controller [A-1] ]
Device Properties:
Device Description : Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M - High Definition Audio Controller [A-1]
Bus Type: PCI Express
Bus / Device / Function: 0 / 27 / 0
Device ID: 8086-27D8
Subsystem ID: 1028-01CD
Device Class: 0403 (High Definition Audio)

 

[Mak 2.0]

Use Driver Cleaner Pro and remove the drivers.

Repairing the Windows Vista Bootloader - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

From there reboot adn try to install the latest set of drivers again.

 

[zxo]

Wiped the drivers... didn't work. Even tried reinstalling XP and then the drivers... didn't work.

The diagnostic test you can run before booting was successful though, so it's definitely software-related. Very curious. Perhaps the drivers need to be installed in a certain order?

 

[Mak 2.0]

Try installing the chipset drivers as well. Some sound drivers for onboard sound also need those drivers installed. Since it allows for the OS to communicate with the hardware much better.