Forum Home
Press F1
 
Thread ID: 58056 2005-05-20 02:37:00 XP Pro "lost" existing hardware - what to do teylyn (714) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
356866 2005-05-20 02:37:00 Hi all,

all of a sudden, my laptop with xp pro (without SP2) does not recognise its modem nor its audio system. It says that the devices are not there.

I tried
- restoring the system to a date when it was working - no change
- restored the system back to today - no change
- ran virus checker - no problems
- ran AdAware - no problems, just 2 new cookies.

How can I get XP to have a real hard look for the hardware? It does not find any new hardware, but neither does it acknowledge the existing modem and sound system.

Would it help to re-install Windows XP? If so, how do I go about that.

Any ideas/suggestions welcome

cheers

teylyn
teylyn (714)
356867 2005-05-20 06:30:00 Welcome to PressF1 :)

Have you looked under Control Panel > System > Hardware Manager and see if you have any yellow exclamation marks or red crosses displayed beside those devices?
Jen (38)
356868 2005-05-20 13:23:00 This worked for me when I had half the problem you have:
In Device Manager find the hardware thats not working right click on it then Disable it then Re-Enable it

That worked for Sound

Not to sure about Modem that may work for it as well
NiceCarpet (6657)
356869 2005-05-23 23:38:00 Thanks for your replies.

The problem is, that the hardware no longer shows in the device manager. The laptop does not recognise it any more. There are no yellow markings or anything, because the modem and the audio system are simply not there any more. Running the hardware setup program also does not find them. I'm stumped.

How can a modem *AND* a soundcard get broken at the same time????? Power surge?

Ah, well, I may have to throw out the stuff and get replacements.

cheers

teylyn
teylyn (714)
356870 2005-05-23 23:48:00 you could try a 'repair' install..........that is start the pc with the xp cd in the drive and then go thru the options as if to install xp .....at some point it'll give you the option of repairing the install or doin a clean install take the repair option..........this is NOT the 'recovery console'......it's a repair install.......this should *probably* find any hardware that's in the system including your 'lost' hardware.........hopefully...... drcspy (146)
356871 2005-05-23 23:50:00 That will be interesting, Please tell us how you get on throwing the components out of a laptop and replacing them.

I would suggest entering the bios,resetting it to default and then looking for any entries that relate specificly to the modem and audio.
Metla (12)
356872 2005-05-24 00:03:00 To clarify it for me, when you right click My Computer and select Properties>Hardware>Device Manager, there is no hardware at all listed in the open window?
Also is your sound card a Yamaha?
bartsdadhomer (80)
356873 2005-05-25 00:31:00 That will be interesting, Please tell us how you get on throwing the components out of a laptop and replacing them.

I would suggest entering the bios,resetting it to default and then looking for any entries that relate specificly to the modem and audio.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I had a look at the bios and reset it to default, but there are not sections in bios relating to either modem or sound card.

With your first statement, are you hinting at possible problems replacing laptop components in general? I have no idea if it is possible to replace a modem in a laptop, but since someone had to build it and put it in at some stage, there should also be a way to replace a broken one.

Hmm, I'll find out.
teylyn (714)
356874 2005-05-25 00:43:00 To clarify it for me, when you right click My Computer and select Properties>Hardware>Device Manager, there is no hardware at all listed in the open window?
Also is your sound card a Yamaha?

In the Device Manager I see all kinds of stuff, drives, keyboard, mouse, monitor, you name it. Just NOT a section for modems (like I do have on the computer I'm using right now). Also, in the section "Sound, video and game controllers" there are audio and video codecs, legacy audio and video drivers and media control devices, but no actual sound card.

With regards to the brand of the sound card, I'm not sure, since the computer does not see it nor show it to me. When I go to Control Panel - Sounds and Audio Devices, it says "No audio device" in the tabs for Volume, Audio, Voice and Hardware, but I have drivers for a Realtek AC'97 in the registry, and software from Realtek is installed to play music, so I assume it's a Realtek card.
teylyn (714)
356875 2005-05-25 00:47:00 you could try a 'repair' install..........that is start the pc with the xp cd in the drive and then go thru the options as if to install xp .....at some point it'll give you the option of repairing the install or doin a clean install take the repair option..........this is NOT the 'recovery console'......it's a repair install.......this should *probably* find any hardware that's in the system including your 'lost' hardware.........hopefully......

Thanks for that tip, I will try to do that. Problem is I only have the OEM disks that came with the PC and no designated XP CD, but I'll try to get hold of one. I need to sort out a complete backup first, since I'm REALLY scared of losing all my data by accidentally selecting a wrong button and wiping the whole thing.

I'll keep you posted

Teylyn
teylyn (714)
1