RE: On startup following Windows Update update of hardware drivers

Hi woggie,

Does Device Manager show any yellow exclamation point (!) or question mark
(?) icons before any of the devices listed? Are there any red
(X) icons? (In "View" of the menubar of Device Manager, put a check next to
"Show hidden devices").

Here are some ideas/hunches. It appears, from re-reading your list of
hardware devices that were updated, that you may have more than one soundcard
in your computer, perhaps both a built-in soundcard on your motherboard, and
another soundcard plugged into a bus. (Check this by looking at the back of
your computer to see if there are more than one set of speaker plug-in
"holes". If there are, plug your speakers into the alternative soundcard and
see if you have sound.

Try running the Microsoft DirectX Diagnostic Tool (start > Run... > digs),
to see which drivers are in control of your Sound and Music devices by
clicking on the appropriate tabs, and whether their are "Problems found"
under "Notes". The latest DirectX end-User runtime, DirectX 9.0c
(4.09.0000.0904) can be installed from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&DisplayLang=en

Basically, a soundcard uses files provided by both the soundcard
manufacturer and Microsoft to compose the driver. The Audio Mixer part of it
should be mapped through the card you are using. To check the status of your
audio mixer go to Control Panel and open Sounds and Audio Devices. On the
"Audio" tab, check to see what the Default device is for Sound playback (is
Gamesurround Fortissimo an option?). On the "Hardware" tab, select the Name
of the sound card device that was listed as the Default device on the "Audio"
tab, and click on the Properties button. On the Properties dialogue that
pops up, go to the "Properties" tab, expand "Mixer Devices", select the
soundcard that you want to use, and click on the Properties button. Make
sure "Use Mixer features on this device" is selected (Apply,OK).

If, indeed, you do have more than one soundcard, if it's possible, remove
the one you don't want to use. If, on the other hand, the soundcard (that
you don't want to use) is part of your motherboard, try disabling it with
Device Manager, or at least disable Mixer features through that device.

Another option, to check for problems with Windows files, is to go to the
Run box on the Start Menu and type in: sfc /scannow
Here's an explanation:

http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html


If these ideas aren't applicable/helpful, let me know.

Dean

"woggie" wrote:

Thanks for the reply, Dean-Dean -

I had tried the driver rollback method and it seemed to proceed without
problems, but had no effect - still no sound.

I purchased the components for this computer and built it myself about 3
years ago. For the most part it's worked fine and any problems I've had I've
been able to resolve by myself, sometimes with the aid of other users in
discussion groups like this. I have the retail version of the Hercules card
and the original CD that came with it. I've tried uninstalling all the
software that came on it and then reinstalling but this too has not helped.

I went to the link you provided and downloaded the appropriate install file
and, again, uninstalled all the relevant software and drivers, then ran the
install file. Again, it seemed to complete normally but didn't fix the issue.

Any otherideas? Anyone else?

Thanks again, woggie

"Dean-Dean" wrote:

Hi woggie,

I've always found updating hardware drivers from Windows Update a bit of a
crapshoot.

That being said, check Device Manager (start > Run...> devmgmt.msc) for
drivers with errors: usually there's an exclamation point (!) icon in front
of drivers with problems. Double click on the driver with a problem, go to
the "Driver" tab of the dialogue that pops up, and try the "Roll Back Driver"
button to reinstall the previous version of the driver.

If the above doesn't work, and lacking an OEM CD with the original drivers
for devices in your computer, you may have to search your computer's
manufacturer's website for original/updated drivers for devices for your
particular computer model. You can also search the websites of the
manufacturers of individual hardware components in your computer for drivers,
especially if you installed the hardware yourself. E.g., here is the
download site for Hercules' Gamesurround Fortissimo 7.1:

http://ts.hercules.com/eng/index.php?pg=view_files&gid=2&fid=23&pid=170&cid=1

Always take due care, of course, that the drivers that you download are the
correct ones for your hardware.

Hope this helps,
Dean





"woggie" wrote:

... I get the dialog from Gamesurround Fortissimo 7.1 (Hercules sound card)
saying "No audio mixer device found."

I'm using XP Pro on a P4 2.4GHz machine with 1GB RAM and the Hercules
Gamesurround Fortissimo 7.1 card and a Monsoon 5.1 speaker system. It was all
working fine before the update and restart. Now there is no sound at all.

Can anyone advise me?

16 updates were done at once - as follows:

Update for Windows XP (KB904942)
Update for Windows XP (KB912475)
Update for Windows XP (KB912945)
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0: x86 (KB829019)
Windows Media Connect 2.0 (KB909993)
Microsoft Base Smart Card Cryptographic Service Provider Package: x86
(KB909520)
Update for WMDRM-enabled Media Players (KB891122)
Update for Windows XP (KB900930)
Update for Windows XP (KB896344)
Cumulative Update for Outlook Express for Windows XP (KB887797)
Powerware Corporation - Other Hardware - WinDriver
C-Media Electronics Incorporation - Sound - CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Device
Microsoft Corporation - Sound - Unsupported customized Crystal Sound Fusion
Audio device
Guillemot Corporation - Sound - Hercules (R) Game Port
Samsung Electronics CO., LTD. - Monitors - Syncmaster
955B(T)/905B(T)/950B(T), Syncmaster Magic CM195A(M)
Yamaha - Sound - YAMAHA XG WDM SoftSynthesizer

.