Another Computer Question (Sound Card)

Factual Questions
1

I’m having trouble with my soundcard at the moment, or at least I think it’s my soundcard.

As of yesterday early evening, all was fine. It played mp3’s, movie files, you name it. Then I tried to listen to an mp3 last night at about 9 and it would play for a few seconds, then stop for a split second, then play, then stop. Like it couldn’t handle the computing. It also occasionally slows it down, like it can’t keep up.

I’ve fun spybot and adaware, just in case it’s something sapping systems resources. Still did it. I defragged my hard drive. Still did it. Had it check my drives for errors. Same story.

I just restarted my machine and when I booted up again, it said my soundcard, which is a RealTek AC97, was having a problem (Code 10, whatever that means) and could not start properly. So I had no sound at all. Then, I uninstalled the device and re-installed it and now find myself back where I began.

Any ideas as to what could be wrong? How to fix it?

I’m currently running Windows XP and, like I said before, my soundcard is a RealTek AC97. It has trouble running audio files, but also has trouble with the windows shut-down and start-up sounds, as well.

Any help is greatly appreciated! This is driving me nuts.

2

My steps to solving this problem would be:

  1. Check the manufacturer’s website for an updated driver (especially if you upgraded to SP1 in the last few days). Or just download whatever the most recent driver they have posted, and update the driver for your soundcard.

  2. Get another soundcard. This is such a basic soundcard that you should be able to find a replacement for less than $15. (I keep my eyes open for cheap soundcards–especially “free after rebate” so I always have one or two available for situations like this.)