First, check that the green speaker pin is connected to the green jack on the back of the computer, like someone else mentioned. Also, check that the speaker icon in the system tray isn’t muted. Try plugging in headphones in place of the speakers, to check you can hear any sound.
Another quick thing that you can do is to do a system restore. Restore it to a date that you know, your sound and speakers worked. Check out the following links to know more about System Restore:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/systemrestore.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Restore
If system restore doesn’t help, try the following:
Run the following command from the Start -> Run box and then press Enter: dxdiag
Click on the Sound tab and you can see the details of your sound card. You can also test your sound card from this tab. Note the name of the sound card, on paper.
Start the Device Manager (Right-click My Computer -> Properties -> Hardware -> Device Manager) In Device Manager, Click the + sign next to “Sound, video and game controllers”. See that the sound driver that you noted above, is listed. Doube-clicking it should give a message that the driver is working fine. If the driver isn’t there, or if it shows a yellow exclamation mark or you get any other message about the sound driver, then reinstall the driver.
In any case, it doesn’t harm, trying a driver uninstall and reinstall. There’s an easier way to do this, as given below:
You could try to use this driver scanning tool, which scans the computer for needed drivers and has an option to automatically retrieve them for you.
After you have downloaded the above file, double-click on it and follow the simple steps to install it. Then, when it asks if you want to run it, just answer yes. This is easier than manually searching, downloading and installing the drivers.
Continue reading >> XP Driver
