I have Windows ME and a Dell Dimension desktop purchased in October of 2000.

When I play sound on the computer, like a sound inserted in an e-card, or even if I play a music CD, it sounds like what used to happen on LP's.

There's skipping, or the sound like the needle got stuck in the groove and it repeats a couple of times.

If I insert the music CDs in the stereo, they are fine.

What's the best way to determine what is wrong?

If you post the exact model of computer, it may be possible to provide specific troubleshooting methods. Meanwhile, the best first step is to reinstall the drivers.

To do this, right-click My Ccomputer and click Properties, then click Device Manager. Double-click "Sound, video, and game controllers", and click the soundcard in the list. Click the Remove button and OK, then restart the computer. Windows will reinstall the current driver.

As the computer is about 3 years old, it's likely that updated audio drivers are available from http://support.ap.dell.com/ap/en/filelib

Hi Tom --

Followed your instructions -- Deleting the sound card on my Dell Dimension 4100 and letting Windows reinstall it seemed to partially fix the problem.

Now the only time the sound skips is if I have a CD playing and I click on a link on the Internet.

I clicked on the link in your post, but the page would not display. I went to Dell's website and opened a new account, since I did not have a user name and password.

However, I'm not sure where to go from there.

Curiosity question--I had it in my head that you only need to update drivers when you update your operating system--is that an erroneous assumption?

[This message was edited by Beckyddd on 06-29-03 at 01:23 AM.]

A driver acts like a translator between the device and programs that use the device. Each device has its own set of specialized commands that only its driver knows. In contrast, most programs access devices by using generic commands. The driver, therefore, accepts generic commands from a program and then translates them into specialized commands for the device.
Webopedia definition

Your computer's operating system changes constantly. Anytime you add a new program, or install a new device or even upgrade/update a program, the system changes.

These changes will sometimes cause a previously functioning driver to become inoperable or create specific or random errors. Because there are so many possible combinations of computer software/hardware/devices (like printers, scanners/cameras, etc.) it is impossible for programmers to be able to predict the effect their product may have on all systems. When problems develop, new driver files are written to deal with the problem.

At the Dell Support site, you will see a place where you enter your service tag:

Your Service Tag is a unique five- to seven-digit alphanumeric (letter and number) code, which is found on a white bar-coded label affixed to your system.

Once this is done, if you sign onto "personalized" support, you can run a scan of your system and it will tell you of any new drivers available for your system.

I hope this helps!

Dwight

You did it again, Dwight!

I downloaded an updated driver for my Creative Sound Blaster Audio PCI 64V (WDM) sound card.

I went on the internet and clicked on about 30 links and the sound didn't skip once.

Thanks again!

Thanks for letting us know.

Dwight