Hi everyone

Just registered because I'm having serious issues with a new build pc I put together for my gf and her sis :(

Rig is:

Mobo: MSI P6NGM-FD
Ram: 2x1gb Kingston pc2 6400 800mhz
HD: WD 320gb SATA HD
CPU: Intel C2D E7200
OS: Win XP Pro SP3 (vista lookalike)

ok erm I set up this pc yesterday and managed to sort out al the drivers and install all the programs they wanted on it earlier today. We went to get a new monitor and printer before I actually tested the rig properly and noticed any problems. Only when we got back did my gf's sis tell me that there wasn't any sound coming from the pc.

I reinstalled the drivers that came with the mobo several times, each time it didn't work. on the audio device tab in control panel it states that there is no audio device in the pc (using an inbuilt basic sound card) so I checked the device manager and could not find the audio device there either, there was however an unknown device under the PCI tab. I clicked "scan for hardware changes" and nothing came up.

I then tried updating the bios via the MSI Live program, it scanned and found new bios updates and I selected a few to be installed. Upon installing it had to restart and so it did only this time the pc would not boot properly. When it came to booting it gives "CMOS bad checksum, CMOS time and date not set" message and gives me the option of going into setup or going with defaults.

I've tried both and each time it appears as though it's going to load windows but when the Win XP logo should appear on screen all I see is the green progress bar. After a short while it disappears and the pc sounds as if it's going to boot up, then it goes quiet and the screen stays blank. I have to flick the power switch at the back to turn it off, although the reset button stil works.

I've tried taking the battery out of the mobo for about 15 minutes and disconnecting all power before reinserting the battery in hope of resetting bios but it comes up with the same CMOS error messages.

Now it wont boot up at all so I'm really stuck and stressed as it's much worse now than if i just left it was no sound >_<"

Sorry for the long story but I've tried a lot of things to sort it out and wanted to narrow things down. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

First, after you reset the BIOS you need to go into it and make any changes, like resetting the time and date. Any other custom settings also need to be reset. While there, make sure that the on-board audio is set to 'enabled'.

Then, if Windows isn't loading, just reinstall it...this is a new build, with presumably a fresh install. There isn't much there to worry about saving, so don't...just start over. After you've reinstalled Windows, install the chipset/motherboard drivers, preferably downloaded fresh from the manufacturer's website. Then video drivers...if you have a video card grab the latest from ATi or Nvidia (whichever is appropriate for your card).

The last thing to worry about will be sound...try the MSI drivers, after everything else is taken care of.

hi there

thank you for your reply :)

I've done as stated...I've reconfigured the bios. I left the pc un-powered with the mobo battery out overnight and it didn't seem to reset the bios as stated by my mobo manual.

I did however go into set uo when prompted again after the CMOS error mesage and manually booted from a win xp disc and reinstalled.

It seems to boot ok now.

I've reinstalled the basic drivers provided with the mobo starting with the system drivers, vga drivers and then audio drivers. Nothing happens sound wise :(

I've definitely enabled the HD audio device in the bios setting.

When going into the sound and audio window under the control panel it still shows "no audio device"

there was however an unknown device under the PCI tab
When going into the sound and audio window under the control panel it still shows "no audio device"
Download, install, and run the FREE Unknown Device Identifier (www.zhangduo.com/unknowndeviceidentifier.html)...
Use that to both identify the "Unknown Device", and find a suitable driver for that.
Then go to that devices' driver properties and click "Update Driver", tell it to look for a suitable driver, navigate to the folder holding the driver files, let it find the suitable INF file...
If the wizard tells you the driver is suitable, give it the OK.

erm, I've downloaded it but I'm not entirely sure on how to use it :rolleyes:

I've opened it and it gives a long list of devices...at the top it says "unknown" and i expand that but there are a LOT of options by the looks of it :-(

I find one saying Class: Multimedia (Hi Definition Audio) however when I right click and try to "find driver" the web page that comes up has nothing helpful on it. the google search bar states "unknown driver download [exe OR zip] ), it doesn't have a specific name or manufacturer details etc.

As such I am not able to go into the devices driver properties and update :(:(

Did you go MSI and download the latest drivers?

http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=driver&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1330

It should be the Realtek driver at the top of the page...dated 8/7/2008.

1. I'm not entirely sure on how to use it...I've opened it and it gives a long list of devices
All devices which are not "Unknown" should exist in both lists...
But the "Unknown Device" [in Device Manager] should be identified [have a description given] in the "Unknown Device Identifier" [UDI] list of devices.
You need to be able to spot that device.
Then when you highlight it and "Find Driver", the Google search AUGHT to bring up something useful.
I usually find it does, but it isn't perfect.

2. e.g. See post #5 HERE (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?p=405386#post405386) where I'm attempting to find a driver for a Dell printer without success.
Here's the result of the Google search for that (http://www.google.com/search?q=Dell+Photo+AIO+Printer+924%20Driver%20Dow nload%20(.exe%20OR%20.zip)).

3. One of the hits in the above Google search took me to this Dell Troubleshooting Wizard (http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/tree?c=us&cs=19&dl=false&l=en&s=dhs&treeid=28767E7CFE994DCE94EF98D1167E9B8A&doclang=en), which may produce my fix. :)