# IBM ThinkCentre No Audio Device



## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

Ok, so over christmas vacation our thinkcentre (MT-M 8183-36U) was working fine. I have it hooked up to our 42" LCD in the attic. I had unhooked the computer and plugged the audio and vga cables into my laptop to do something with my friend.

I plug the cables in after he leaves, thinking everything is fine (it has been all the other times i have done this).

The computer was left, unused for about one or two weeks. I get on a few days ago to find...no audio?

It must have restarted due to an update (it was at welcome screen), and i logged in and there is no audio icon down in the taskbar.

I went into the control panel (speakers & audio) and it says no device installed (found, etc). 


I have no idea what could have caused this. I have done a system restore back until the 25th. No audio either.

Any thoughts? I tried updating the drivers, but the site is horrible and i have no idea my specific model. I assume the MT-M that i listed above is it. So i downloaded those drivers and still had no effect. 

The sound options is greyed out. I cannot select what hardware to use. It simply says no hardware/device.

I still get system beeps that come from the computer itself. Nothing more.

It is running XP SP3


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

In Control Panel -> System -> Select the Device Manager and find the Sound entry. 

Click the entry for High Definition Audio Device with the right mouse button. Uninstall it.

Then reboot the computer, windows will find and reinstall automatically.


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

There are two possible scenarios;

Scenario One

1. In Sounds and Audio Devices you are told there is "No Audio Device"
2. In Device Manager your Audio Device is "Working Properly" and
3. You DO have "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" listed under System Devices


Carry out the following steps;

* Copy C:\WINDOWS\inf\machine.inf to a temporary location
* Edit your copy of machine.inf in Notepad
* Remove line 20 (ExcludeFromSelect=*)
* Right-click “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator” and click “Update Driver”
* Choose “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)” and click Next
* Choose “Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install” and click Next
* Click “Have Disk”
* Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf and click OK
* Select “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator” and click Next
* Wait for the software to install then click Finish


Scenario Two

1. In Sounds and Audio Devices you are told there is "No Audio Device"
2. In Device Manager your Audio Device is "Working Properly" and
3. You DON’T have "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" listed under System Devices


Carry out the following steps;

* Copy C:\WINDOWS\inf\machine.inf to a temporary location
* Edit your copy of machine.inf in Notepad
* Remove line 20 (ExcludeFromSelect=*)
* Go to the Control Panel and run “Add Hardware”
* When the Add Hardware Wizard appears, click Next
* Wait for it to search for new hardware
* Choose Yes, I have already connected the hardware and click Next
* Scroll all the way down and select “Add a new hardware device”, click Next
* Choose “Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced)”, click Next
* Select “Show All Devices” and click Next
* Click “Have Disk”
* Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf and click OK
* Under Model, select “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator”, click Next
* To start installing the drivers, click Next
* Wait for the software to install then click Finish

Your audio device should now be recognised in Sounds and Audio Devices.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

Yeah, i had to go through installing the Enumerator on another forum earlier. Didn't work...

and now out of random it found the audio controller. Five hours later after being shutdown and unplugged (i had to move the entertainment center in the attic so we can do more woodwork).

It literally JUST popped up, but it is sitting there saying "SoundMax audio controller found". It just installed but said "Device was not installed correctly".

I look at the hardware profile, and it says This device cannot start. (Code 10)


I just restarted to see if it would make it usable. After the restart the audio device doesn't show up in the computer management window (it did before restart with an exclamation mark).


Also, it shows two Plug and Play Device Enumerators


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

Try reinstalling sound max see what it does.


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

Try this website see if you can run through those steps.


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

also Try 

Once you are in the Bios, you can load the defaults.

In the Award/Phoenix Bios, select “Load Fail-Safe Defaults” and then press the F10 key to save the settings.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

defaulted bios , reinstall drivers (IBM) neither helped Now reinstalling service pack and
what website No link (Typed by Blast's friend)


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

Im sorry,

http://www.pcauthorities.com/windows-xp/how-to-troubleshoot-sound-problems-in-windows-xp


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

You may need to reinstall your motherboard chipset driver..reboot the system...and then reinstall the audio driver

If you need help with the mobo details, use the following program to give "mainboard/chipset" details

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.phpensure 

ensure you install the "chipset software installation utility" first and then reboot the machine...then download and install any further further drivers you require


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

Alright, that site didn't help me at all 

I found my motherboard model, but intel's site appears to be just as terrible as ibm's for drivers (for this computer).

I got to the download page, clicked download, and it searches and brings up 11 potential installers.

I tried what seemed most likely (INF Update Utility installer or something).

Didn't help. Reinstalled SP3, didn't help. Tried system restoring farther back (twice) and it said incomplete. I honestly have no idea what is up with this computer. [i know how to fix the system restore problem, by clearing previous points]


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

I believe it is a bios issue.

When i go in to the bios and view system summary, it says Audio Support: Disabled

When i move over to my settings, i go down to audio. I enter that tab and it says Audio Support: [Enabled].


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## Random12113 (Jan 18, 2010)

Blast said:


> I believe it is a bios issue.
> 
> When i go in to the bios and view system summary, it says Audio Support: Disabled
> 
> When i move over to my settings, i go down to audio. I enter that tab and it says Audio Support: [Enabled].


This is NOT a BIOS issue - I had a similar experience with my mother's. You have to find someone with the driver for it (C:/Drivers) copy of to your IBM and run the setup.exe in the folder with the Soundmax stuff. note that there are four folders in the "drivers" folder. otherwise, check the connection 90% of problems are bad connections.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

In the C drive there is no folder labeled drivers. The ones that are not hidden are:

Documents & Settings
Downloads
IBMTools
Intel
Nexon
Program FIles
Softwares [Works 2000]
Windows

However, in the IBMTools there is a drivers folder, however mine contains 6.

What do you mean by run the setup.exe in the folder with the Soundmax stuff? In program files? If so, soundmax isn't listed. I have tried to install the soundmax drivers from the default IBM unpacking point (C:\IBMTools\Drivers\).

When it tries to install, it says no driver found, or something along those lines.

And connections? This is integrated audio. If they were bad connections wouldn't i have more than just this issue?


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

Little update, it is either the OS or bios.

As i stated above, the bios shows the audio is disabled (it has shutdown hard a few times >_>) and i tried installing another OS.

I popped in a diff hard drive and tried to boot from the CD (ubuntu or windows, tried both) and it would load the hard-drive instead. Doesn't matter which HD or disc i use. Yes, i changed the boot order.

So, i was unable to try another OS. I did pop in another sound card however (we had a SoundBlaster Live! 24-Bit laying around) and i installed the drivers.



No go. It is installed, along with drivers, but when i run the diagnostics tool it sees the soundcard but all the driver tests fail. It is as if either windows isn't allowing audio drivers, or the motherboard is dying/messed up and is not allowing for audio from either PCI or integrated.


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

If you are using USB speakers or a full USB sound card, try connecting them to a different USB port. USB ports often break inside the PC when the cords are jerked or tripped over. If you can't get the USB sound device to function on the PC, test it on any other PC or laptop. If it works on another computer, you know that the problem is either that all of your USB ports have failed, which would usually mean the USB controller on the motherboard popped, that the driver software is incompatible, or that you didn't find a "mute" in the OS.


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

Also 

Go to the Control Panel

Then Go to Administrative Tools

Then Go to Component Services

Then go to Local Services and expand the window

Then scroll down to Windows Audio change it to automatic and/or start it (under status)


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

It is the usual 1/8th inch connection. 

The card i put in uses the same style (1/8th inch).

Our Vizio has a 1/8th inch socket on the back, so i just grabbed a cord with 2 male ends.

I will surely try changing services tomorrow morning (trying to keep my dad from finding out, he tends to blow things out of proportion) -_-'


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

If Device Manager only registers the sound card when you strip out all the adapters except the video card, it's definitely a conflict. If it's a new build or a new sound card, make sure you followed the installation instructions, which may have specified that you must install the software before installing the hardware. If that was the case and you did it backwards, remove the sound card, uninstall the software through Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, and start over.


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## patton (Dec 29, 2009)

clearly the issue is in the sound card possibly the configuration of the card is incorrect or the card itself is defective. The first thing to try is clearing the ESCD in the BIOS Setup. This essentially forces the plug-and-play routines to reconfigure the system, which can resolve any conflicts. If this doesn't help, try removing and reinstalling the sound card drivers. Finally, if that doesn't help, physically remove and replace the card from the system. You might try replacing it first in the same slot and then in a different slot because timing issues can sometimes exist from one slot to the next. If that doesn't work, you must try replacing the card. If the sound "card" really isn't a card but is integrated into the motherboard, first try the ESCD reset and driver reinstallation. Then, if that doesn't work, you have to try disabling the integrated sound and perhaps installing a replacement card or replacement motherboard.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

Ok, the one the problem originated on is the integrated audio (soundmax). I found a soundblaster card in our basement (WinXP & 2000 it says). 

The soundblaster drivers gave me the same issue as the integrated, where it is as if didn't exist.

HOWEVER, with the soundblaster, in the sounds & audio devices under the audio tab, it did give me MIDI playback options, which were set to the SB. This did not ungrey the other areas and gave me no sound.

I uninstalled the drivers and i let windows install the card. Now it says SB Live! 24bit in the computer management, however again, i have no sound.

How do i clear the ESCD? (and what is it)


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

I have some screenshots btw:

Note: The audio icon in the taskbar is for SB, which when clicked displays that error message.

http://i48.tinypic.com/mlnlgo.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/5ezwhw.jpg

I would also like to note that i removed the SB software completely, and tried reinstalling to see if it would help. I got the same results as before. I for one honestly could care less which sound card gets working, as long as one of them does work.

Edit: one last little thing, i tried running Creative's Device Control and i get a rundll error.

An exception occurred while trying to run "shell32,Control_RunDLL USBAudio.CPL"

Again...i don't have usb audio. In fact, my keyboard is hooked up via usb.


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

bump

does anyone seem to have a clue for this issue?

My dad found out and started spurting stuff off XD

To chill him out, does unplugging the audio cable (while the computer is on) harm the audio card?


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## Blast (Jun 7, 2008)

bump....again o.o


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