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espresso

travel_freak wrote: »

The only problem I have is that it flashed up an error message saying:

"The computer has no sound board installed - you cannot play a message"

Is this likely to be another missing cable inside or does it mean there is physically no sound board? And does this mean I can't play CDs, radio or get any sound?!? It won't be much use to me if that's the case.

How expensive is it to buy a sound board if that is what I need and can I install this myself?

Thanks once again!

Lots of office PC's have no sound card as they are not necessary and they don't want you listening to music when you should be working. However they can easily be fitted into a spare expansion slot, some examples here.

travel_freak

Hello again (!)

Right, I've delved inside its inner workings again, this may make no sense at all but this is what I've found:

There is a headphone socket and a microphone socket. These computers should have been used for doing dictation on so I guess there would have been a sound card and don't think (!) IT would have removed these on sale.

Running from the point where you put in your headphones, on the inside, there is a black cable (and a black cable from the microphone point). I've followed these and they run into an adaptor/end which is plugged into the circuit board on the bottom. I've given the connections a tug and a prod and they seem to be bedded in firmly.

Have looked around inside. The only other "unplugged" bits I can find are as follows. Attached to the CD unit there is a white adaptor ("p6") which has several very thin coloured cables running from it - this is plugged in at either end but it also branches off. On this branched off bit there are two "ends/adapters" which are just hanging and not plugged in anywhere. One is about 2 cm wide, black and has 5 individual small coloured wires running to it (yellow/black/red/black/orange). The other end/adapter is white, about 1 cm wide and has 4 small coloured wires running to it (red/black/black/yellow).

So these two ends are hanging loose, not plugged in anywhere. I've had a nose about but can't see anywhere obvious where they should be plugged. So not sure about these.

The PC is a Hewlett Packard Compaq, Intel(R), Pentium (R) D CPU 3.4Ghz, 504 MB RAM.

I also went through the troubleshooting help section. In "Sounts and Audio Device Properties" it says "no audio device".

In Device Manager, Sound, Video & Game Controllers, it says the following:

• Audio Codecs
• Legacy Audio Drives
• Legacy Video Capture Devices
• Media Control Device
• Video Codecs

I right clicked Properties for each of the above and it said words to the effect this device is working fine.

On the very slim possibility this isn't utter gobbledygook to anyone reading (!) and anyone has any suggestions as to whether I have a sound card and, if so, how I can get it working, or if I need one I would be enormously indebted!

Thanks for the links to dabs and others - when I look at these sound cards, I can't see how I could put one in because there is already a slot on the outside of the PC (sort of integrated) for headphones and microphone sockets and these already have thickish black cables running from them which look to be wired in, rather than with those detachable end/adaptor things. Clueless!

m.colak

travel_freak wrote: »

Hello again (!)

Right, I've delved inside its inner workings again, this may make no sense at all but this is what I've found:

There is a headphone socket and a microphone socket. These computers should have been used for doing dictation on so I guess there would have been a sound card and don't think (!) IT would have removed these on sale.

Running from the point where you put in your headphones, on the inside, there is a black cable (and a black cable from the microphone point). I've followed these and they run into an adaptor/end which is plugged into the circuit board on the bottom. I've given the connections a tug and a prod and they seem to be bedded in firmly.

Have looked around inside. The only other "unplugged" bits I can find are as follows. Attached to the CD unit there is a white adaptor ("p6") which has several very thin coloured cables running from it - this is plugged in at either end but it also branches off. On this branched off bit there are two "ends/adapters" which are just hanging and not plugged in anywhere. One is about 2 cm wide, black and has 5 individual small coloured wires running to it (yellow/black/red/black/orange). The other end/adapter is white, about 1 cm wide and has 4 small coloured wires running to it (red/black/black/yellow).

So these two ends are hanging loose, not plugged in anywhere. I've had a nose about but can't see anywhere obvious where they should be plugged. So not sure about these.

The PC is a Hewlett Packard Compaq, Intel(R), Pentium (R) D CPU 3.4Ghz, 504 MB RAM.

I also went through the troubleshooting help section. In "Sounts and Audio Device Properties" it says "no audio device".

In Device Manager, Sound, Video & Game Controllers, it says the following:

• Audio Codecs
• Legacy Audio Drives
• Legacy Video Capture Devices
• Media Control Device
• Video Codecs

I right clicked Properties for each of the above and it said words to the effect this device is working fine.

On the very slim possibility this isn't utter gobbledygook to anyone reading (!) and anyone has any suggestions as to whether I have a sound card and, if so, how I can get it working, or if I need one I would be enormously indebted!

Thanks for the links to dabs and others - when I look at these sound cards, I can't see how I could put one in because there is already a slot on the outside of the PC (sort of integrated) for headphones and microphone sockets and these already have thickish black cables running from them which look to be wired in, rather than with those detachable end/adaptor things. Clueless!

Hi it sounds like you actually do have a sound card there maybe a little basic one but one there anyway. It could be a simple solution that maybe the drivers you have are out of date in which case try and copy the sound card type and do a search for drivers for that one on the internet. Second idea is that you don't have speakers attached to the computer and you might need them if its a older computer anyway. It might be easiest to go onto control panel again in settings and double click on add/remove hardware. If there is a sound card which it hadn't spotted before you can make it automatically search the internet from there too.

spaceman5

have you got speakers plugged into the computer, try windows update, if you have a soundcard, but no drivers, maybe windows update wil find the drivers, another way of doing this, is by going to control panel, click hardware, if your computer detects that you have a sound card, it should tell you, then it is a case of getting the drivers, let the wizard search the internet for the best driver

spaceman5

this may be worth a shot, try this driver, it is the second one down for xp(after you tick that you accept the terms, then click the next button), i may be wrong, but with every pc i have brought with on board sound this was the driver i needed for it, until i got around to installing my own soundcard, like i say i could be wrong, but the worst that will happen is it wont work, so you just uninstall it, but first make sure the speakers are plugged in :rotfl: , hth dave

iyiarz

Hello again,

Go here
http://welcome.hp.com/country/uk/en/support.html?pageDisplay=drivers
and enter the product information in the box near the top.
You will need its proper product name/number. There may be a sticker somewhere on the box with this information and a bar code.

It should direct you to a list of software for that machine. You'll need to see if a sound card driver is listed there.