Sound Card on the blink

[Beno]

Hi All,

My computer at work uses WinNT op.sys and I just want to know why my sound card doesn't work after a period of time.....when I start up my machine, the sound card works perfectly and I can listen to songs etc etc but if I plug my headphones into the headphone port, the it may be 10 mins, 30 mins or 2 hours before the sound just goes off.

Is there any way of restarting the sound card without restarting the computer??

Thanks for all your help

[Paul Komski]

Assuming NT is the same as 2K/XP then doubt it. If it's anything like an equivalent problem with modems only a reboot clears the buffers etc.

Have you the latest Drivers and DirectX?

Try running dxdiag and then reducing sound acceleration; also testing sound from there maybe.

[Matt H]

Funny I ran into this post. I had a similar problem at work but the sound didn't work at all. What I did is opened it open and took it the shop area and used the air hose and blew out all the dust that piled up over the years. After that it works ever since.

[ski]

Also, turn off the computer, remove the sound card and clean off its contacts with an eraser, and reinstall it making sure that it's fully inserted.
If no luck, then see if it works in a different slot.
If still no good, then try a different sound card.