Hi
I've been having some issues with sound not being on my pc when online & various Windows noises!
CCleaner has found more than a 100 issues in analizing & am wondering if an issue in the registry could be the cause!
Am i ok to fix all issues that CCleaner finds as i'm worried that it may mess up my registry! If i back up registry i may not be able to get Windows started to back it up!!
If i can get back online, will a simple system restore be sufficient?
Thanks
Hi superowl, and welcome to Piriform.
Where do I start?
Right, CCleaner will more than likely not help you fix your sound problem. That's something you will need to fix by other means, and I'll come back to that.
If you are worried that a program may mess up your registry, and therefore give you a problem starting Windows, or any problem, then most definitely do one of two things.
Either steer well clear of it, or do as you have very wisely done, and get advice first. That goes for any software to fall under the description of risky.
For now, run the "Clean Temp Files" part of CCleaner, and leave the registry alone.
System Restore is a good fall back to have, but you will have a better recovery option by making a backup of your entire registry with a small utility called ERUNT.
Many members on here have this configured to make a registry backup at the first boot of every day, and to keep a set number of days, in my case 3, and delete the old ones. All automatic once configured, and if you go for that and need help with it, just ask.
Using ERUNT can be a real life saver.
With it's daily backup you can be more confident of running maintenance programs like CCleaner, knowing that even from Safe Mode, you can restore the entire registry you had before it got messed up.
Of course you still have to exercise "good practice", and follow the dialogue in CCleaner and similar programs to make backups as you go, and remember where you save them.
Always make backups.
Now, can you give us more details about your current sound problems?
What Operating System and Service Pack are you using, and can you describe in as much detail as possible what's happening with your sound. I'm not saying we can fix it, but there are a lot of clever guys on here who might just be able to help.
Also, have you scanned recently with any Antivirus/Spyware software?
Hi & Thanks
I've tried everything from updating drivers to running SuperAntiSpyware, Malwarbytes, posting HijackThis logs on forums, to changing speakers, to things in device manager etc & nothing!
My sounds are ok when playing WMP files, & in Windows messenger, just online like YouTube, BBC Iplayer, etc, nothing! I get no sounds from Windows either like startup or shutdown, new devices or email notification!!
I'm running Windows XP Pro, Version 2002, Service pack 3.
I noticed my sound issue start when i downloaded a lot of Microsoft updates (around 60) as i was unaware being a novice that updating was off!!
I have ERUNT, but am thinking if anything happens where i can't access Windows, how do i restore my registry?
Should i save my Registry backup to a USB stick & go from there? & if i only have BIOS, how do i restore?
How do i restore using ERUNT.?
Thanks
Open Internet Explorer - Internet Options- advanced - and under Multimedia make sure 'play sounds in webpages' is ticked.
Hi & ThanksI've tried everything from updating drivers to running SuperAntiSpyware, Malwarbytes, posting HijackThis logs on forums, to changing speakers, to things in device manager etc & nothing!
My sounds are ok when playing WMP files, & in Windows messenger, just online like YouTube, BBC Iplayer, etc, nothing! I get no sounds from Windows either like startup or shutdown, new devices or email notification!!
I'm running Windows XP Pro, Version 2002, Service pack 3.
I noticed my sound issue start when i downloaded a lot of Microsoft updates (around 60) as i was unaware being a novice that updating was off!!
I have ERUNT, but am thinking if anything happens where i can't access Windows, how do i restore my registry?
Should i save my Registry backup to a USB stick & go from there? & if i only have BIOS, how do i restore?
How do i restore using ERUNT.?
Thanks
To restore, look into This
Hi & thanks
I will have a good read about ERUNT later & absorb all i need to know.
Hazlenut, yeh, as i say i've done everything possible, even downloaded drivers from Compaq. I've done lots of diagnosis tests, used Registry Editor Version 5 & many other things.
Play sound in multi-media is checked & my device in Device manager seems to be installed ok.
Thanks
SO
I noticed my sound issue start when i downloaded a lot of Microsoft updates (around 60) as i was unaware being a novice that updating was off!!
Updates are a hazard - but not updating is even more hazardous.
M.S. recognise their patches are dangerous, so every patch has a reference identity, e.g. KB923561,
and when installed it includes a corresponding uninstaller C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB923561$ that should put the system back as it was.
Via Control Panel "Add or Remove Programs" you can see all the Windows and I.E. updates with their reference identities,
and you can choose to remove them - BUT NOT YET.
I chose KB923561 at random, and Googled for "KB923561 Sound issues", getting 4970 results.
Googled for "Sound issues" and got 1,020,000,000 results - most of which are not the fault of KB923561.
Googled for " KB923561" and got 24,000 results - most of which are not Sound issues.
I suggest for each of your 60 KB?????? updates you do 60 Google searches of "KB?????? Sound issues", only making a note of the number of results,
and then return to the high scorers and look for complaints like yours - and see how they fixed them.
After "Due Diligence" above, you may know exactly how to easily fix the problem,
and if not you have a "hit list" of possible culprits to remove - but wait a few days in case a better suggestion is posted.
If you do remove security patches, you increase vulnerability to infection.
Only remove the top suspect then retest (after reboot as may be recommended) whether sound is repaired, and if that fails remove the next top suspect.
Once you have got your sound back, allow Windows to notify but NOT download updates,
and from the list it offers you deselect the patch that killed your sound and allow the rest to be installed.
If sound is broken again, remove one at a time until it is repaired, then you know TWO patches that broke your sound.
Eventually you will have a list of known sound breakers, and all the other patches will be back in place and protecting you.
You should then be able to get specific advice to resolve your particular problems.
Living with missing security patches is not recommended, you must decide for yourself what is most important,
protecting my identity and credit cards etc., or being able to listen to music ?
The above is only theory - after more than 30 years with computers the only security patch problem was with a .NET framework that never installed and could not be removed - I just rolled the system back with an earlier Acronis image.
There are more battle hardened warriors here that may offer better advice, and can warn of probable problems.
Regards
Alan
Thanks Alan for your thorough information.
Due to my naivety, i was using my pc without these updates for a long time & never had any security issues, which i obviously now know i was vulnerable to.
I have many security updates that start with KB... including the one you mention KB923561 & about 38 in all other KB...'S
Some are security updates, some are normal updates & some are Media player updates & a solitary update for a hotfix!
Also i have SP3 installed at the same time.
Could i not uninstall all of for a temporary time & then see if my sound arrives back & then i know that it isn't a registry issue!! & then reinstall?
Just to mention, the only sound i have is in Windows Live messenger & Media player files, no other windows noises like new mail or device & totally nothing online like youtube, so i guess it could be an individual patch!
Thanks
so
Ok, i did the KB.... tests in google & only a few stood out & if you wrote 'no sound issue' instead of 'sound issue', the result was different.
KB951978 & KB950760 stood out & a lot of the updates said they were unable to uninstall!!
so
I did this reply before I saw the replies from the other guys, so apologies if I go over already mentioned ideas. I'm buggered if I'm gonna do this again.
First of all Erunt.
Erunt is a complete backup of your registry, but it isn't a rescue package.
If you have a problem with your computer, you can navigate to the default install location of the registry backups located in C:\Windows\ERDNT.
Go into the folder of the date you want to restore and double click the "ERDNT" exe file you'll find there. This will ask if you want to restore that particular backup. Yes, and it's done.
If you have a problem such as a BSOD, you will still probably be able to get into "Safe Mode", and restore the registry backup in the same way as above.
If you cannot boot your Operating System at all, you would need some form of "Rescue CD" like BARTPE, to enable you to boot, and then access the files on your PC, and you could then restore an ERUNT registry backup in the same way as above.
Using BARTPE or similar it is possible to run ERDNT and restore a backup. I always try these things before I post about them, and this does work with BartPE.
Now your sound.
A few suggestions which you may or may not have tried, although I've seen a lot of stuff on the web re lost sound in XP Pro.
Basic, obvious things first.
Check in "C:\Windows\Media" to see if your sound files are still there. A folder full of wave files.
Assuming XP Pro is the same as XP, then go to "Start\Control Panel\Sounds, Speech And Audio Devices\Sounds And Audio Devices", and click the "Sounds" tab.
Check each sound, and see if it actually plays.
Check all the settings in the various tabs to make sure everything is set the way it should be, such as the correct sound playback device.
Then via the speaker icon in your system tray, open the "Master Volume Control", and make sure there isn't anything muted which shouldn't be. In particular Master Volume or Wave.
Let us know how that goes.
With your Online sound, which browser are you using? If it's IE, make sure that in "Tools\Internet Options\Advanced\Multimedia", the "Play Sounds In Web Pages" is still checked.
You also need to check your Flash Players are installed and working correctly.
Go here:
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/
Check to see if your Flash Players are working OK. If not they need to be uninstalled with the proper tool and then install the latest versions here:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
Flash Uninstall Tools available here:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/141/tn_14157.html
For what it's worth, if you access that page with IE, it will install the IE version. If you use Firefox, go to that address with Firefox and it will again install the version relevant to the browser you access the page with.
And then come back and let us know if you had any success. I've seen other suggestions for fixing sound in XP Pro involving registry editing, but see if we can get the Online problem sorted.
Dennis
I have a registry backup from ERUNT on a USB stick. I have done all the tests you say about a million times.
Windows media files work, just online & all noises except in windows messenger, they work fine!
I use firefox, i have uninstalled & installed adobe flash.
i have gone to explore, c:\ & can't find windows media!! , but i guess i don't need to as WMP is working.
I have shockplayer version 11.5
All in device manager says is working ok, i even downloaded SoundMAX again & its in my taskbar, it's like a whole new programme with a control panel etc, i don't think i need it as i never had it when sound was ok!!
totally stumped!!
so
OK. Have you tried all the various settings in Messenger?
and
You would also need to check that the Messenger sound files are actually there in "C:\Program Files\MSN". This time they are wma files.
Just for info, the Windows sounds are in "C:\Windows\Media". The folder is called Media inside the Windows folder.
Could i not uninstall all of for a temporary time & then see if my sound arrives back & then i know that it isn't a registry issue!! & then reinstall?
I think you will learn nothing about possible registry errors when you do the uninstall.
When a system patch is installed folders and files, and also registry keys and values, will be added.
When you uninstall these things should be removed - give or take a bit.
It is the bit that is NOT removed that gives the CCleaner Registry purger a purpose in life ! !
I recommend that you do not remove all those security patches - if you do then prepare for visiting "Spyware Hell" ! !
I removed 99% of the Google results by searching for
XP SOUND KB923561 REPAIR OR CURE -MALWARE -VIRUS
i.e. that gives 48 results that may detail how to fix KB923561 issues - better than reading 4900 posts.
You can similarly get a much smaller and more useful set of results for your other KB??????
Upon review I see that SP3 was installed at the same time as the security patches.
Google found 3,390,000 results for "SP3 Sound" - much worse than any one KB??????.
Instead of 48 results for KB923561, I got 49,100 results for SP3 when using
XP SOUND SP3 REPAIR OR CURE -MALWARE -VIRUS
Conclusion - SP3 is 1000 times more likely to kill sound than the worst of the individual KB security patches.
I strongly recommend that you visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307918
for "How to troubleshoot sound problems in Windows XP".
If that does not help, then look for how problems were fixed by searching various
XP SOUND KB923561 REPAIR OR CURE -MALWARE -VIRUS
trying for cures that do not require uninstalling security.
Regards
Alan
Hi
Can i then uninstall SP3 without uninstalling security!
I see it at the bottom of the list in add/remove programmes, but i don't see any way to uninstall it!!
I have no malware on my pc or spyware as i have done so many tests & nothing has shown up!
The speaker/earphone jack issue started when i did all my downloads so i'm assuming some part of what i downloaded when i turned on auto update is the cause of no sound!
As i say, i do have some sound, just not online/streaming sounds or most Windows sounds!
so
Can i then uninstall SP3 without uninstalling security!
Not sure.
A normal Security patch includes an UNinstal facility, and any code that is replaced is preserved elsewhere, so Control Panel Add/Remove can make everything as it used to be.
I believe when SP3 is installed it replaces all existing security patches, and makes no UNinstal provision.
Google for REMOVE SP3
The first result is the Microsoft answer to your problem.
There are 2,200,000 additional results that may give you pause for thought.
I think you will lose security when SP3 is removed, after which you should not use the Internet.
If you download security patches AFTER SP3 is removed, you are vulnerable.
Removing SP3 is very much a last resort. Try anything else first.
Final thought - try http://keepvid.com/
That will (without playing) download from YouTube etc. as a file.
Then you can, off-line, try playing that file with both W.M.P. and also VLC.
A few simple tests may show if W.M.P has lost capability with some formats,
or if your Firewall is blocking you in some situations.
Regards
Alan
Well i uninstalled SP3 & all hell broke loose.
My System Restore broke, just didn't work at all, no calendar, nothing!, i couldn't send emails in Outlook Express, my Messenger kept wanting to be fixed, my CCleaner was uninstalled totally, my browser wouldn't let me do anything at all, like send links!!
My IE version 8 i downloaded was deleted, my
I backed up using ERUNT & thank god it worked, back to normal, apart from sound!!
so
Have you tried hazels link above?
There are reg fixes for sound problems, and that link seems to fit your symptoms.
Thumbs up for ERUNT. I hope folk who don't use it take heed of your post.
Please superowl read the link I gave above, the info bit you need is a little way down the page which starts with
''Here is a simple trick to fix Windows system no sound problem. The trick works by using a tool built into K-Lite Codec Pack.''
I think uninstalling sp3 was a bit drastic and as Dennis said, proves the value of Erunt.
I think i tried that!
The 1st 2 links to download don't work & the 3rd takes me to a page i recall!!
Which one do i download, i think i downloaded the 'mega' one & it didn't work!! but the pic in the link doesn't ring a bell!!, so maybe i downloaded the wrong one!
There are a few more!
I can't recall checking no 'Registry', fix none working sound' boxes!!
SO