no sound from xp

there is no sound on atall
no start up noise, log off sound not a thing
i have windows xp and dont no what to do
please can you help

 

In the absence of any great detail let's start with the obvious - apologies in advance if some of this is patronising but best to cover all bases ....

Ensure speakers jack is connected to the correct port and speakers are powered on if they have their own power supply . Also ensure volume is turned up .
If laptop user check the volume is turned up on your machine (usually hold down the Fn key while pressing another key - the other key varies depending on brand and model) .
Do you have a multimedia keyboard ? Make sure you/the kids/the cat havent hit the Mute button !
Go to Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices/Volume . Check all the settings , paying particular attention that Mute is unchecked and Device Volume slider is not set too low . Also check the sliders in the Speaker Volume tab . Under Speaker Settings click Advanced and make sure the speaker setup is appropriate for your speaker arrangement . Apply any changes .

Still no sound ? Right-click My Computer, click Properties/Device Manager/Hardware . Any yellow question marks , specifically under Sound,Video and Game Controllers ? If so this indicates your hardware (sound card ) is recognised as present but has no driver installed (this often arises after a format/fresh OS instal) .
If your motherboard/Computer or added-on sound card came with a drivers CD run it to load the driver . If no CD and you are connected to the internet right-click on the 'problem device' in Device manager and click Update Driver . Allow the wizard to connect to the net and you might get lucky .

If not , you'll need to go to your manufacturer's website and locate any drivers for your model in their Support section . Ensure to download the correct driver for your operating system and model version . I advise saving the driver to your desktop or other convenient location so you can save it to CD once it's installed and working . If the driver is an .exe file you can simply run it to load the driver . If not you may need to go back to Device Manager and Update Driver , this time pointing the wizard at a specific location ( your 'save' location ) .
It's not always possible to obtain a driver from manufacturer's website , as I've discovered time and time again . In these cases Google ( and TSG ! ) is your friend . You'll need to identify your specific sound card by make and model and search for the drivers . There are plenty of sites that archive drivers so chances are you'll meet with success . When you do , instal as in the previous paragraph . This being the internet and all , if you download from an unknown site it's wise to scan anything before running it .

This is by no means a definitive guide to troubleshooting lack of audio , nor is it exhaustive . I'm an amateur techie and this is just the order I work through when searching for the obvious . There are plenty of issues I havent covered (the majority of which I am blissfully unaware of lol!) but hopefully this will be of some help to some folk

 

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
System Manufacturer GATEWA
System Model D915GAG_
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2666 Mhz
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
BIOS Version/Date Intel Corp. EV91510A.15A.0067.2004.0722.1717, 22/07/2004
emachines 3240
( i dont no what any of this means)

i have run the checks you said but still no sound

i have the drivers ( realtek hd audio driver 5.10.0.5582 ) for the audio
i ran the file signature verification and the results say this driver is not assigned
do you no how to assign it

 

i have assigned the drivers and the sound works again

 

always a driver issue.