[pillut48]

I’ve been having trouble with the audio of my pre-loaded XP for a few months now (sound works fine when I use linux, my DH partitioned my computer)—I’ve tried reinstalling the sound drivers, etc. yet a lot of times my sound sounds like Max Headroom talking and it’s really frustrating! :-( Anyone know how one goes about re-loading XP on a pre-loaded computer that didn’t come with a restore disc? :-(

[Constantine XIII]

Have you tried listening to it through headphones or different speakers? Sometimes the speakers that come with the system are included as an afterthought.

[rabscuttle385]

If your computer was not bundled with a restore disc, you may need to create discs. (Restore disc creation varies by OEM: I bought a PowerSpec from Micro Center recently, and I have to run a program that has a shortcut in my Start Menu.)

If you do not have this option, you may need to contact your system's manufacturer and inquire about obtaining a set of restore discs. Most OEMs charge a "nominal" fee for this service.

[A_Tradition_Continues]

You probably corrupted XP files when you loaded linux. How did you install Linux without first repartitioning and reinstalling XP on a dedicated partition?

[Westlander]

Have you tried ‘restore’ feature on XP back to the date (or there abouts) when your sound was OK? Just a thought.

[The Watcher]

It sounds like you need to check in device manager, and see if your drive controller has your hard drive operating in PIO mode instead of UDMA.

If your hard drive in the bios is forced to PIO mode, the same can happen. I have seen corrupted driver installs get the HD stuck in PIO mode, too.

If all else fails, remove the driver for the HD controller that has your hard drive and reboot. When it comes back, make sure it’s set for UDMA. If it’s not, set it, and reboot yet again. And check again.

If it won’t stay in UDMA mode, you have a bad controller or HD cable.

[Mr_Moonlight]

Sometimes: "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" ... XP, with all its little flaws, wasn't really 'broken' per-se. Apparently Vista has become the Edsel of the computing world, a 'fix' for something that ain't broken.

As far as Internet and basic computing tasks go, I've been using Linux Ubuntu as a duel-boot for some months now and am very happy with it ... Ubuntu does everything that I need to do in a very compact and efficient manner. No more waiting 7 minutes for XP to go thru its throes of excruciating angst booting up to its desktop, no more endless virus and spyware scans, no more AOL and RealNetwork inserting their 'Call Home' crap without my permission, and lastly ... no more of this MicroSlow nonesense!

I still use XP for some tasks, but becoming very few .. as Linux 'flavors' can do those same tasks far more efficiently than any of the bogged down MicroSlow OS can

MM

[JSteff]

If XP was preloaded the manufacturer probably has a restore copy in a second partition. Also find out the name of the sound card/chip manufacturer. You can then go directly to that site and get the correct driver.

Also there is a company that makes a program that will find the drivers for all your devices. You can find it here:http://www.driver-soft.com/

It should detect all the drivers for the devices on you system. Good luck

[kitchen]

Take a look at this thread about XP repair.