Aunt's audio device

[TheMelodyMaker]

I wonder of any of you techies here could help out with this one. ^_^;

My aunt has been having a problem with her computer's sound chip/card (not sure what she's got) for about a week. After conversing with her via e-mail, the diagnosis I've come up with is that for some reason the system has suddenly failed to recognize its presence -- it's not even showing up any more in the Device Manager.

I'm not sure which version of Windows she uses, or even how old her computer is (which is why I don't know if the sound device is a card or an integrated chip), but I've asked her on it and am waiting for her reply. She's just an average user, and she hasn't done anything strange or unusual to the system at all. She's even already checked for viruses and spyware and found nothing.

Does anyone have any ideas on what to do? This one's really got me stumped... -_-;

[shooraijin]

I'd buy a Mac. Anything else I can help you with? ^^

However, if she still insists, does her system have PnP? Is it enabled in the BIOS? Is the sound card integrated with the motherboard or a separate card? Is this system ISA, PCI, ...? Where is the card (if there is a card) installed? If there is card, has she tried switching slots to see if it's a just a bad slot on the board, or reseating it if the machine got bumped?

If she has ISA slots, SB16 ISA cards are dirt-cheap and still manufactured. Otherwise, any DirectSound PCI-capable card should do if a replacement is in order.

[TheMelodyMaker]

I haven't actually had the chance to look at the computer myself, nor am I going to have a chance any time soon. All I know is what my mom told me when she came home from visiting my aunt on Monday. And my aunt doesn't likely know how to even get into the BIOS, let alone change it.

I'm hoping she'll be able to tell me what OS she uses and how old the computer is, so at least I'll have something more to go on.

[shooraijin]

If something happened like a power spike, or something, that could zap the BIOS also (especially if there were other symptoms like clock went haywire, etc.). I'm not saying that it's the cause, just a consideration.

[TheMelodyMaker]

I never thought of that possiblility... now I just have to check with her to see if she had any power surges recently before last Monday.

Thanks for your advice, Shoo; I do appreciate the input.