I just installed a 30-day trial of WinXP Professional on my desktop and

now my sound is gone! I have a Gateway E-2000 with an Intel Pentium 4

CPU 1.80GHz. The DirectX Diagnostic for Sound gave me this error

message: DirectSound test results: Failure at step 3

(DirectSoundCreate): HRESULT = 0x8878000a (The request failed because

DirectSound resources, such as the priority level, were already in use

by another caller.)
It also said Device Name: Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated), Product ID

81. No drivers listed.
Device Manager shows: Yellow question mark - Other devices and under

that lists another yellow question mark and Multimedia Audio

Controller.
Right clicking and using Hardware Update Wizard says cannot find

driver.
I know at one point there was a Soundmax driver installed but I cannot find the file anywhere. The ones I downloaded and tried to installed gave me same error message - cannot find driver - try again. This is SO frustrating!
Here is Everest Summary Report:
--------[ EVEREST Ultimate Edition ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v4.50.1408 Beta
Benchmark Module 2.3.225.0
Homepage Lavalys - Comprehensive IT Security and Management (http://www.lavalys.com/)
Report Type Quick Report [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Computer MARY-75975C8D0E
Generator Administrator
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2008-06-27
Time 21:54


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Computer Type ACPI Uniprocessor PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Internet Explorer 6.0.2900.2180 (IE 6.0 SP2)
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name MARY-75975C8D0E
User Name Administrator
Logon Domain [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Date / Time 2008-06-27 / 21:54

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 1800 MHz (18 x 100)
Motherboard Name Intel Rexburg D845GRG (3 PCI, 1 AGP, 2 DIMM, Audio, Video)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Brookdale-G i845G
System Memory [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DIMM1: Samsung M3 68L3223DTL-CB0 256 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM (2.5-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz) (2.0-2-2-5 @ 100 MHz)
BIOS Type AMI (08/21/03)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter Intel(R) 82845G Graphics Controller (64 MB)
3D Accelerator Intel Extreme Graphics
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (0000000000)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Analog Devices AD1981A @ Intel 82801DB ICH4 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-1]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801DB Ultra ATA Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive Maxtor 5T020H2 (20 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (40x/12x/40x CD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Total Size [ TRIAL VERSION ]

Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse

Network:
Primary IP Address [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Primary MAC Address 00-11-50-D4-CF-4F
Network Adapter Belkin Wireless G Desktop Card (192. [ TRIAL VERSION ])
Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Modem BCM V.90 56K Modem

Peripherals:
USB1 Controller Intel 82801DB ICH4 - USB Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801DB ICH4 - USB Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801DB ICH4 - USB Controller [A-1]
USB2 Controller Intel 82801DB ICH4 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-1]

DMI:
DMI BIOS Vendor Intel Corp.
DMI BIOS Version RG84510A.15A.0057.P19.0308210949
DMI System Manufacturer Gateway
DMI System Product E-2000
DMI System Version 4000792
DMI System Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI System UUID [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer Intel Corporation
DMI Motherboard Product D845GRG
DMI Motherboard Version AAA86577-301
DMI Motherboard Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Manufacturer Gateway
DMI Chassis Version NSC03A03
DMI Chassis Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Asset Tag [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Type Desktop Case
DMI Total / Free Memory Sockets 2 / 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It looks like I need this driver:
Audio Adapter Analog Devices AD1981A @ Intel 82801DB ICH4 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-1]
I can download it but when I try to install it says "driver not found, please restart your computer and try again"... or something like that.

I am tearing my hair out here trying to figure out what to do. I also tried repairing the XP install but have the same problem. Can anyone help?

thank you!
mary
:confused:

Well I'm not exactly sure how I fixed it but I now have sound. I reinstalled WindowsXP AGAIN for the third time and POOF there was sound! Hmmmmmmmm...
:)

So you're aware of what happened. Windows does have some default drivers that it can install for things like sound. This was a case where Windows either a) didn't install the correct drivers due to a glitch or simply not having them, or b) the drivers were corrupted during install. I would recommend going to your computer manufacturer's website and downloading all the available drivers for your model of computer.

A yellow question mark next to device information usually indicates that Windows cannot find a usable driver for the device. It knows that it's there, which tells you that your connections are good, it just doesn't know what to do with it.

I have the SAME PROBLEM except mine hasn't been resolved. I've tried re-installing windows but it did not fix the problem. I have a Gateway E-2000 desktop with Windows XP Professional with a Intel D845GRG MoBo. I've gone to the Intel website and have downloaded the "Chipset: INF Update Utility for 845 Chipset-Based Intel Desktop Boards" first and then tried installing the "Audio: AC 97 ADI* " driver but I get the "driver not found, please restart your computer and try again" message.

I also have the same "Audio Adapter Analog Devices AD1981A @ Intel 82801DB ICH4 - AC'97 Audio Controller"

I just figured out the fix! I had the same problems described here about losing my "Multimedia Audio controller" so I downloaded a new AC"97 codec driver from drivers.softpedia.com. After the driver was installed I still had no sound so I clicked the speaker icon in the tray to open the "Play Control" panel, clicked "advanced" and UNchecked the box beside "1 Digital Output Only" and voilà! Sound came on instantly & works perfectly!. hope this helps someone out there!

... sorry guys, the exact file I downloaded is
WDM_A406.exe
It's 17.87mb and it is a full self extracting / installing application available from Realtek.. . don't forget to UNcheck the Digital Output Only box in the Play Control Panel > Advanced menu!