No Audio device installed?
You’ve got your computer speakers connected and turned on, you open your media player and then you get an error: No audio device installed, and you can’t help but wonder, what do you mean by this? Well, this is also a driver related problem.
Sound systems usually consist of a sound card connected to the pc’s motherboard and it is on the sound card that you insert the output jack for the speakers. Then there is the speakers or headphones to output the sound and lastly a device driver for your sound card. This is a common problem mainly because most people assume that with the sound card and the speakers you should be able to play sound on your computer. It is very easy to forget that you also require drivers because drivers are not physical devices that you can see with your naked eye.
When dealing with a driver related problem, it is always important to remember that all operating systems and even application software have platforms that support specific hardware components and thus require their drivers as well. It is therefore paramount for you as the user to consult the specifications of your sound card to confirm whether it is compatible with your pc or not. It is easy to tell whether your problem is a driver related issue by going to the device manager tool. Once in the device manager, double-click sound, video and game controllers and from there you will be able to see the devices that are not properly installed and this should give you an option to update your drivers. If you have a CD with the drivers you can use it to update the drivers or you may as well use a driver updating tool such as the one found at http://www.fixyourdrivers.com
In case you are sure that your problem is not driver related and you are still unable to hear any sound from your speakers, you may need to look at other possible causes that could also be related to your hardware or your operating system. A good starting point is checking if all the data cable connectors from your speakers to your pc are properly plugged or if they are working. You may also need to check if all the power cables from your speakers to power source are in order. Also make sure that your speakers are turned on.
You may also need to look at the volume controls in the control panel and ensure that the mute check box is not checked. You may also try increasing the volume because it could be a case of the volume being too low and therefore you are not able to hear anything. Also make sure that whatever media you are trying to play has sound in it because you could be playing soundless animations or video and hence no sound will be output.
If the sound has been playing and then all over sudden it stops playing then it could be a case of hardware failure which could be as a result of physical damage to the hardware (mainly through abrupt power losses, physical impact on the hardware components) or poor maintenance of the hardware components (e.g. exposure to dust, liquids, direct sunlight and even magnetic materials). It is therefore vital to perform frequent maintenance checks on your hardware to enable it perform to its optimum and also have a longer life span.
Operating system problems include poor configuration of the device in the CMOS/BIOS setup where the device might have been disabled without your knowledge or the device is not supported by your operating system. For hardware and operating system related issues, I would recommend that you seek the assistance of a qualified engineer or return your computer to the vendor for remedial action.