How to Restart a Sound Device
A sound device, also known as a sound card, is the hardware that gives your computer the capability to produce sound. When you find you have no sound on your computer, one of the first steps in troubleshooting the problem is to restart the sound device. Most operating systems offer several methods to restart a sound device from within the software. You can restart the audio device manually if it will not restart with the help of the hardware control functions on your operating system.
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Instructions
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Access the Device Manager function on a Windows XP PC. Right-click "My Computer," which is usually located on the desktop or within the Start menu. Select "Properties." In the window that opens, select the tab labeled "Hardware." Select the button labeled "Device Manager."
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Locate the Start menu in Windows 7. Access the Control Panel from the Start menu. Select "Hardware and Sound," then "Device Manager."
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Disable the device from within the Device Manager. Locate the "Sound, video and game controllers" menu option and expand it by pressing the plus symbol next to it. Right-click the hardware you wish to disable and select "Disable." Restart the computer.
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Go back to the Device Manager. Right-click the disabled sound device and select "Enable."
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Play a sound on the newly restarted sound device to ensure that the restart fixed the audio problem.
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Tips & Warnings
On Mac OS, sound devices restart when you reboot the computer.
If restarting the sound device does not fix it, try uninstalling and reinstalling the sound device and drivers. The option to uninstall a hardware device is located in the same menu of the Device Manager as the option to disable and enable a hardware device.
Have the driver disk for your sound device handy before you make any changes from within the Device Manager.
References
- Photo Credit soun card image by TEA from Fotolia.com
