"woollybug" wrote in message
...
I had the same problem when I installed Vista Home Premium on my laptop.
The
little red "x" on the speaker icon in the system tray was there and
nothing I
did fixed it. Vista told me that everything was A-OK but still the little
red
"x" and no sound. After visiting Realtek's website for about the 1000th
time
in a couple of weeks I noticed a new driver for the HD audio codec and
tried
that. IT WORKED!

So my take on your problem is that it IS a driver problem and you just
need
to find the correct driver from the manufacturers of your cards and get
them
installed. I tried about 20 different drivers before I finally found the
one
that would work with the Vista version that I am using.

Good luck with your search.

"ragu" wrote:

What a mess! Windows Vista automatic updates kicked in 3 days ago on my
Gateway. Since then, I have no audio and my video works at 1/4 pace.
I've
tried reinstalling the audio and video drivers (Sigma Tel, ATI, ADI High
Def,
etc.) multiple times from both Microsoft and Gateway using all the
trouble
shooting information I can find. Properties states the audio is working
properly, but the volume mixer states the device is not installed. As
for
the video . . . Properties reconizes the device, but states the driver
needs
to be reinstalled. When I reinstall the driver (ATI) it states there is
no
device and therefore can't install!? When I have Window search for
current
updates or solution, it directs me to a Dell driver stating the problem
is
caused by this Dell driver (which I don't have and never had) and to
download
the same Dell driver for a fix?

Does anyone know of a fix short of ripping out and replacing my video and
audio cards I've already tried the roll-back, device
unistall/restart,
and restore (safe mode) with no luck.

This seems to be just one of my many problems with Vista and these
automatic
updates; once a month I loose the use of a different program or have to
jump
through hoops to duck tape these things back together . . . Lesson
learned;
no more updates.

Any help is appreciated; thanks,

First do not let Vista update automatically. Just advise you of the updates,
and you pick the ones you want to use. This group is quite consistent in
discouraging hardware drivers from Vista Update. Uncheck them, and go to the
website for the device and download the drivers there yourself. They are
often problematic when obtained from the Vista Updater.

Second, you can roll back any update you believe is causing the problem.
Just don't wait too long or the roll back won't be available.

Good luck.