# [SOLVED] STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w



## tim19889 (Jan 24, 2010)

Hi All, I've been having this REALLY weird issue with an Elitebook 8540w laptop. Originally, sound worked fine on this thing, until it needed a motherboard replacement, and HP came out and replaced the motherboard. The guy who did it didn't do a good job, after he left, the touchpad didn't work, modem card was damaged, and the sound didn't work. I fixed the touchpad issue, it was just a loose plug, and the modem. The sound I have been unable to fix however, and it's been months since this happened.

We were running Windows XP Professional on this thing, and it just says "no sound device detected" when you go into Sound properties. I've tried pretty much everything I can think of to fix this, but with no luck. Below are the things I've tried so far.

1. Reinstalling the drivers from HP Website. Driver install fails, says no device detected.

2. Reseating the sound card.

3. Replacing the sound card.

4. Replacing the motherboard.

5. Flashing the BIOS to latest version.

6. Check to see if sound device is enabled in BIOS. It is.

7. Installed Windows 7 x64 (dual boot situation with XP). Same problem continues with Windows 7 however.

An HP tech came in here to try to fix it, and he couldn't get it working. The only thing he could suggest, was to try with a Windows 7 installation, which I've tried, and does not work.

Also, something else to note is that the little sound device icon next to the power button on the laptop, is green when you initially turn on the laptop. As soon as Windows starts to load though (XP or 7), it turns red.

If anyone has any ideas I would LOVE to hear them. You'll be my hero if you can help me get the sound working. 

Thanks!


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

*Re: STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w*

Check Device Manager. The audio chipset should be listed.

Based on the error ("no sound device detected"), I'd say you won't see it listed. Which would indicate a hardware fault. The sound card is faulty, or the port in which it is installed is faulty.

Any hardware detected by Windows will be listed in Device Manager. If it's not listed, there is a hardware fault and the hardware is not being detected by Windows.

Having said all of that, I assume the speakers and ports connect to the sound card in some fashion (likely a cable). Try disconnecting the cable, then test to see if the audio chipset is detected.


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## tim19889 (Jan 24, 2010)

*Re: STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w*

The only thing that shows up under Sound in Device Manager is "NVIDIA HD Audio". There are four instances of that.

I don't think it's a hardware problem, for the following two reasons:

1. The sound card AND motherboard were already replaced.
2. Green light comes on for the audio when booting up the PC, indicating (I guess) that it's alright. Light goes red as soon as Windows starts to load.

Any other ideas?


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

*Re: STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w*

For a desktop, "nVidia HD Audio" would be the audio chipset on the video card to support audio output over HDMI. As this is a laptop, there is likely only ONE audio chipset. 

Uninstall ALL of the nVidia HD Audio references and reboot.

1) I understand that. That's why I was thinking it may be a cabling issue. A bad port or cable could interfere with the chipset operation.

2) The light may not mean anything. All LED's on a PC typically illuminate during boot as part of a self test. That does not mean the hardware is actually functional.


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## tim19889 (Jan 24, 2010)

*Re: STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w*

Thanks, I will try that next time I can work on this user's laptop. He's been pretty busy lately, so it might be a little bit. 

So other than checking the wires, do you have any other ideas? We've taken this thing apart three or four times now, I just can't imagine that it's a hardware issue. The mobo has been replaced so I seriously doubt it's a bad port. Maybe the HP people didn't hook up the wires correctly though, I guess that's always a possibility. Anyway thanks for your suggestions.


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

*Re: STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w*

That's the only thing that makes sense at the moment. As the hardware (motherboard and sound card) have both been replaced twice, I'd suspect something else (such as the cabling or external ports which attach to the sound card.

Aside from that, an OS issue. But it's not often that I've seen an OS issue cause hardware to not be detected and listed within Device Manager.


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## tim19889 (Jan 24, 2010)

*Re: STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w*

You called it Dogg. I opened up the laptop again, took a good close look at all the wires, and sure enough, the wire that connect the sound card to the motherboard had a slight rip in it. We have an identical model laptop that is not being used where I work, so I took the hard drive out of the laptop with no sound, and stuck it in the other laptop. Of course the sound worked as soon as I booted up, proving it was a hardware issue and not a software/driver issue. I've called HP and they are going to come out and replace the ripped wire since it is still under warranty. Glad to finally have this mystery solved though ! Thanks for your help!


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

*Re: STRANGE No Sound Device Detected on HP Elitebook 8540w*

Cool....glad you found it.


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