Tech: Sound files make no sound

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 08:00 PM

Three Sheds -

It sounds like you just haven't put the finishing touches on the new sound card installation. Often the instructions that come with them stop at "Windows recognizes the card." You may have lost codex files needed to "translate" the digits into music, and/or some of the settings you need to tweak in the sound card control panel(s) aren't all there. If the troubleshooting help that were linked up at "From: bobad – PM, Date: 27 Nov 06 - 09:59 PM" don't help, the sound card maker most likely has a web site to offer suggestions.

leenia -

There's really none I trust fully, largely because of the continual/continuing battle over "Digital Rights." The various players nearly all try to call home to rat on you about what you play, in the hope of catching you doing something illegal. Most of the players are shot full of "vulnerabilities" that can open your machine up to malware, and they're typically very slow patching anything. The player manufacturers, and perhaps more so the "media producers" seem to think they have to keep their methods of spying on you some kind of secret - and as the Sony incidents, which keep recurring, show - the "media idiots" aren't really very competent at computer technology.

Windows Media Player is probably as "general purpose" and as stable as you'll find; but you will run into music/video files that it doesn't play, so most people eventually have a selection of "player" programs. Each program has to be whipped into complying with your intentions, if you don't want to just live with what "they" think you're supposed to enjoy.

Almost any of the common players can be made to behave, at least to some minimally tolerable level. Every one of them (including the freeware/shareware alternates) likely will take some caution in getting it right during installation¹ and in making adjustments after it's in place.

¹ ... of course you do read the EULAS before you start an installation ... (?)

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: leeneia
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 05:17 PM

Well then, what media player can I trust? Windows Media Player?

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: terrier
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 04:27 PM

Hi Michealr
Try Control panel/sounds and audio devices. Hit the AUDIO tab and look for anything to do with MIDI. You should also be able to right click the speaker volume icon if you can find one (choose adjust audio properties.
Then try the drop down box in MIDI just in case something has changed it. This happened to me some time ago and I never found out what changed it, but afterwards all was OK. Try any settings available, if they don't work,put them back the way you found them.Good Luck, T.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: ThreeSheds
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 12:02 PM

I'm having similar bother with XP I kept geting error messages and had to disable the sound card as the machine got to the point where it wouldnt boot. I've put a new sound card in, it boots fine emails ok surfs ok but but theres still nowt to listen to, there must be be a less invasive way of sorting things out rather than clearing the hard drive.
I've made sure that all my updates are the latest but I have come across situations where the latet version of an update has stopped an application from working!!!

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 12:01 PM

If you've got Windows XP it might be a good idea to use System Restore, and put things back to an earlier time when it was all working fine - Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 05:37 AM

QUOTE
"Multimedia" brings up separate "Audio" and "Devices" tabs, but no Volume or Advanced -- see my post above.
UNQUOTE


Win98SE - uncorrupted

Settings - Control Panel - Multimedia -
on the Audio tab panel there is a tick box near the bottom that says

"Show volume control on the taskbar"

This should be ticked.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 05:18 AM

The link that bobad posted does go through most of the standard checks. I'd suggest printing the page and then working through it.

As noted by others, if you're downloading a lot of mp3 you probably are encountering stuff posted by FTP users, even if you're not "file sharing" via one of the FTP programs. ALL SUCH PROGRAMS must be considered as "containing spyware." Mostly it's so that the program makers can blame you if there's a DRM charge. Some users consider it an acceptable risk, but it can "leak out" if compromised files are posted where you can get them via more trusted sources, and there are "exploits" that make use of vulnerabilities in the FTP programs to attach more malicious stuff to the individual files. (This probably is fairly rare, as a fraction of the files that get traded.)

Some people consider Real Player to be malware, but that's probably an "extreme attitude." I've had problems with it trying to take over everything, but I think I've got it tamed and do use it once in a while. I don't like to poke about in it much, since I might undo the magic.

"Macromedia Flash" is another intrusive player that I really dislike having on my machine. It has a long history of vulnerabilities that have not been patched "in timely manner." Since the acquisition by Adobe I've had hopes it will get better; but I'm not really convinced - yet. Expect to see it a lot more, since it makes it "harder" to copy images to your own machine.

Quick Time - for Windows - is another noxious one that has a habit of trying to take over everything. I think that recent versions are less invasive, if you're careful. (No guarantees.)

In addition to the steps in the linked article, you should check your "file associations" to make sure that your machine knows what program to use for the filetype you're trying to play. Looking there will also tell you (confirm) what program to look in for setup adjustments.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: Scrump
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 03:56 AM

Definitely sounds as if you've accidentally muted one of the sound channels. That happened to me once when I (foolishly as I never used it) installed some MS Voice Recognition software, which unknown to me, muted everything except the mic input. I spent ages trying to work out what had happened before I twigged.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: Bert
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 10:55 PM

Did you open the sound files in a forest?

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: bobad
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 09:59 PM

There is information about this problem at this site:

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000208.htm

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 09:51 PM

Been a while since I used 98. On the control panel, there should be SOME kind of audio option. If there is and you find it, maybe you can poke around and find the multi-slider thing. I've exhausted my limited knowledge of this and can only recommend taking a hammer to the thing now. Good luck.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: leeneia
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 09:51 PM

Have you been listening to mp3 files and other evil things? Sometimes other people's sites invade a computer and appropriate the the sound system.

One of my life's pleasures is downloading and arranging MIDI files to play (live) with my friends. I have found that even the sweetest, most innocent-looking sites can skulk around my computer and mess with the connections of Noteworthy Composer, my MIDI program.

I've decided that any music file which is not a MIDI is not worth the threat to my individuality.

Open Help and see what you can find out Restore or System restore.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 09:43 PM

Guest, I don't know which version of Windows you're referring to, but in my 98SE there is no "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon in the Control Panel. As I said, there is "Sounds", which appears only to refer to the Windows alert "ping".

"Multimedia" brings up separate "Audio" and "Devices" tabs, but no Volume or Advanced -- see my post above.

I'm baffled...

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 09:35 PM

No speaker icon?

You can find it by going to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices. Double-click Sounds and Audio Devices and you should get a 5-tab box. First tab is Volume, and in the middle of that window is an Advanced button. Click it. The multi-slider volume box should come up. Check to make sure all Mute boxes at the bottom are UNchecked.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: leeneia
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 09:32 PM

I have an actual volume control, a dial that one turns by hand, on a speaker. If that's turned down too low, then everything is playing but the sound can't get out. Do you have anything like that?

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 08:47 PM

Both statements you just made show that you are on the right track michaelr. Persistence, mate! :-)

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 08:38 PM

There is no speaker icon lower right! I think there used to be... What's going on here?

I haven't installed anything new in ages, other that a Real Player update just the other day, to see if it would solve the problem.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 08:30 PM

Always ask yourself what you may have done since it all last worked that may have stopped it working. Have you installed new software or hardware? Have you refused to allow RealPlayer or Windows Media to "upgrade" themselves when they wanted to? They do sometimes sulk.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 08:00 PM

If you double-click the speaker icon lower right, you get the big board, equalizer-looking sound control (single click gets the single slider, double click should bring up several sliders, mute boxes down at the bottom). You could check those.

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 07:51 PM

Hmm -- I have "Audio Devices" under "Multimedia" (I'm using Win98SE), and all devices I can find are working and enabled. No Volume or Advanced tabs anywhere. "Sounds" appears only to relate to the Windows attention signal.

Please keep `em coming!

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: Bernard
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 07:31 PM

If you open the sound properties, you may find the CD player isn't muted, but other things are...

Go into Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, the Volume tab opens by default, and click on Advanced... all should be revealed!

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 07:24 PM

Like I said, they work when I put in a CD. What do you mean by "computer settings"?

Subject: RE: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 07:14 PM

I suppose you've checked that ALL your speakers are switched on and not muted on the computer settings?

LTS

Subject: Tech: Sound files make no sound
From: michaelr
Date: 27 Nov 06 - 07:08 PM

Strange new thing happening on my computer: When I open a sound file from my hard drive in Real Player, the player window opens, the counter starts, the marker moves and the psychedelic light show begins -- but there's no sound! Same thing happens with Windows Media Player.

The computer plays CDs just fine, so I know it's not a problem with my speaker hookup. Any ideas?

Cheers,
Michael