"No Audio Output Device is installed." Error

[Brak]

I can't play audio on my computer anymore. :'[

I'm getting a "No Audio Output Device is installed." error-thing on my taskbar, next to my clock, where the 'Volume' would have normally been. By the way, I have Windows Vista, and my audio has been working great up to this point.

There's no sign of Sound Devices (or however it's labeled) in my Registry, either. I tried uninstalling my Realtek Audio driver and reinstalling it... but no dice -- I had this problem on my XP machine twice, and fixed it by hunting down the motherboard's audio driver and reinstalling it.

Just a little set-up as to what may have happened:

I removed a PCI card and a Firewire card from my PC, while it was still turned on. My PC tower tilted to the side, a little, and I think it wiggled the monitor cable a little bit, because my video cut out, and the speakers popped loudly. I straightened the monitor cable out, but there still wasn't a video signal, so I manually restarted the computer. The video was back, but there was no audio.

When I scour Google for "No Audio Output Device is installed.", it seems like a lot of people have the same problem -- but no solutions.

Well, there are some solutions, but they don't work.

Any idea what's going on?

[magiic]

Im pretty sure PCI cards are not hot swappable.

[Brak]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's what triggered it.

Scouring Google, I found a thread about the same issue, and one of the repliers asked the OP if he had recently removed a PCI card -- and he did. ... and that was all that was mentioned about that.

http://forums.microsoft.com/technet/showpost.aspx?postid=1997406&siteid=17&sb=0&d=1&at=7&ft=11&tf=0&pageid=0

I'm gonna try a couple more things when I get out of work.

Should I be worried about anything else going array, since I pulled out the PCI card while the PC was on? :'[

[Brak]

Seems like I lucked out, in way of NOT absolutely destroying my mobo and video card. :o

I knew I should have turned the PC off. :bomb:

(I'm only slightly tech-savvy.)

[mtxbass1]

You REALLY shouldn't have pulled that card out while the system was on. I'd consider the system lucky that something else isn't majorly fucked up. That being said, I'd try reinstalling your motherboard sound drivers. If that doesn't work, buy a cheap PCI sound card.

[Brak]

Yeah, man. I wasn't thinking... :| You should have heard my video card's fan when the signal cut out. It sounded like a jet engine.

Hopefully a sound card works, because it didn't work on my XP machine when I had the same problem a couple years back. :bomb:

Thanks for the replies.

[Vinny]

That's just dumb dude..:lol:

Anyway, one thing I can think of trying is actually sticking the cards back in and doing a system restore to a point before you pulled out the cards.

[munch]

Are you using onboard Audio? Is it a Gigabyte board?

[Clarke]

SATA drives may be hotswappable but don't remove the drive with your OS on it. Just some info just in case.

[Brak]

Are you using onboard Audio? Is it a Gigabyte board?
Yes, I'm using onboard audio.

No. It is an Abit board.

[Photomotoz]

What you should try is this. Turn off your computer, then unplug it. Press the power button a few times. Open it up and remove the battery that is on the mobo for a couple of minutes and press the power button a couple times too. Then put everything as it was, cord and battery. See if that worked.

Also, if that does not work try reflashing your BIOS. Can't hurt as long as you do it right.

Sounds more like a mobo issue than anything else. And yeah, worst case, a sound card would most likely work.