There Is No Settings Tab in Device Manager for the Sound Device and No Sound in Windows Me

Affected Products: Desktop Computers, System CDs
Affected Operating Systems: Windows® Me

ISSUE: There is no Settings tab for the sound device in Device Manager and there is no sound even though Device Manager lists the sound device as working properly.

Note: The Gateway Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 128D driver for Windows Me was not included on System Restoration Kit CD 1 (version 13.3). If you have Windows Me and are using System Restoration Kit CD 1 (version 13.3), you must download the latest Windows Me Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 128D driver from the Gateway Web site. Use the steps in the Readme.txt file to install the update.

RESOLUTION: Check Device Manager to determine the appropriate driver installation steps.

  1. From the Start menu, point to Settings and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click the System icon. If you do not see this icon, click View all control panel options.

  3. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab.

  4. In Device Manager, verify that View devices by type is selected, and then double-click Sound, video and game controllers.

    • If there is no sound device listed under Sound, video and game controllers, follow the troubleshooting steps for No Sound with the Creative Labs Audio PCI 128D Digital Sound Card After a System Restoration.
    • If Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 128D (WDM) is listed under Sound, video and game controllers and the computer has no sound, the Windows 98 driver was installed from System Restoration Kit CD 1 version 13.3. This driver does not function in Windows Me. Go to Section 1, and then follow the steps to install the correct driver for Windows Me.
    • If Creative AudioPCI (ES1371, ES1373) (WDM) is listed under Sound, video and game controllers with no conflicts and the computer has no sound, the native Windows Me driver is installed, and must be updated to the Gateway AudioPCI 128D Windows Me driver for the sound card to function. Go to Section 2, and then follow the steps to update to the correct driver.

Section 1

  1. Place System Restoration Kit CD 1 into the CD/DVD drive. The CD automatically starts when Autorun is enabled.

  2. In the System Restoration Kit dialog box, on the Reinstall Hardware tab, click Manual Installation, click Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 128D (WDM), and then click Install.

  3. In the SBSetup dialog box, click Remove and Install Software, and then click Next.

  4. In the SBSetup dialog box, click Next.

    Note: The computer appears to not respond after 18% of installation. This is normal. Please wait.

    Note: You may receive a message that certain files cannot be found. Examples of this are Clnutil.dll and Ks.sys, although these are not the only files that may not be found. Verify that the path to these files is changed to reflect the location of the Windows Me setup files, which is usually either C:\Windows\Options\Cabs or C:\Cabs.

  5. In the SBSetup dialog box, click Finish.

  6. In the System Setting Change dialog box, click Yes to restart the computer.

Section 2

  1. Place System Restoration Kit CD 1 into the CD/DVD drive. After the CD automatically starts, click Exit to close the System Restoration Kit dialog box.

  2. From the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  3. In Control Panel double-click the System icon. If you do not see this icon, click View all control panel options.

  4. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab.

  5. In Device Manager, verify that View devices by type is selected, and then double-click Sound, video and game controllers.

  6. In Device Manager, double-click Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI (ES1371, ES1373) (WDM).

  7. In the Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI (ES1371, ES1373) (WDM) Properties dialog box, click the Driver tab.

  8. On the Driver tab, click Update Driver.

  9. In the Update Device Driver Wizard dialog box, click Specify the Location of the driver (Advanced), and then click Next.

  10. In the Update Device Driver Wizard dialog box, select Search for a better driver than the one your device is using now. (Recommended), click to clear the check mark for Removable Media, and then select Specify a location:.

  11. In the Specify a location: list, type, D:\Win95-98\Audio\Sb1373\WDM (where D is the drive letter of your CD/DVD drive), and then click Next.

  12. In the Update Device Driver Wizard dialog box, verify that The updated driver (Recommended) Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 128D (WDM) is selected, and then click Next.

  13. In the Update Device Driver Wizard dialog box, click Next.

  14. In the Update Device Driver Wizard dialog box, click Finish.

  15. When complete, in the Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI (ES1371, ES1373) (WDM) Properties dialog box, click Close. Restart your computer if prompted to do so.

Need additional help? Click here for Additional Sound Troubleshooting Steps