Identify Sound Driver

• 1). Find the complete name of the sound card. Click "Start" > "Control Panel" > "Sounds and Audio Devices." Another way to bring it up is to click "Start," then type "Run" in the search box. In the command field, type "mmsys.cpl" and click "Enter."
  
  A dialog box labeled "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" will open.
  
  
• 2). Click "Properties" > "Volume."
  
  
• 3). Focus on the "Speaker" icon at the top of that section and read the text to the right of it. This is the name of your sound card, which may include the brand name of the manufacturer. For example, "Realtek HD Audio output" is the complete sound card name. Write down the name, if necessary, for use in subsequent steps.
  
  

Update Sound Driver

• 1). Access the Device Manager by right-clicking the "My Computer" icon and selecting "Manage" in the popup menu. In the left pane of the "Computer Management" console, click on "Device Manager" in the "System Tools" section. All hardware devices recognized by Windows XP will then show in the right pane.
  
  
• 2). Scroll down the right pane, searching alphabetically, and click on the "+" (plus) sign of the category labeled "Sound, video, and game controllers." The category will expand.
  
  
• 3). Look for the name of your sound driver, which was identified in the preceding section. Click the driver's name to highlight it, then right-click the driver to reveal a popup menu. Select "Update Driver" and wait for the "Hardware Update Wizard" to open.
  
  Select the radio button next to "Install the software automatically" and then click the "Next" button. Wait while the Wizard connects to Microsoft and searches for published and released sound driver updates. The Wizard will inform you whether the update was successful.
  
  

Download Sound Driver

• 1). Recall the complete name of the sound card driver from the preceding sections. Pick out the "brand" or "company" name of the manufacturer. For example, for a sound card labeled as "Realtek HD Audio output," Realtek is the brand name.
  
  
• 2). Search for the manufacturer's website using your favorite search engine. Conduct a search based on the "brand" name and navigate to the site. Narrow your parameters using the "Search" box on the site, if there is one. For example, typing in "support" or "updates" or "drivers" are all good search terms.
  
  
• 3). Download the driver from the manufacturer's support site to your computer and follow the installation instructions.