Audio only works on Windows Media Player - HELP!

[Linds]

About a week ago my sound stopped working. I was overrun with a mass amount of viruses, and luckily, I've managed to get rid of basically all of them - or so I hope.

But the thing is.. I haven't been able to fix my sound. I've gotten alot of feedback from other people on how to fix it, so I decided to download the drivers for my soundcard.. I don't know what it is/called, but I know that it came with my computer.. an eMachines T2895. And I have a feeling that the soundcard has been built into the motherboard.

Anyways. When I go to Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices.. it says that there is no device present. But the computer is registering the drivers that I downloaded.

So, I figured my soundcard was shot due to it not playing sounds. Well, I got curious and as my computer was dialing-up (I have dial-up) I turned on the speakers and it played the annoying noise it makes when dialing. So, I decided to play audio on iTunes - it didn't work. Then I finally tried Windows Media Player.. and it PLAYED audio, and I tried putting in a DVD player and it won't play the DVD's audio, either.

So now I know that my soundcard is functioning... but I don't understand why audio won't play with anything else BUT Windows Media Player.

I could really use your help.. and I know this isn't a help forum, etc.. but I've tried friends who are knowledgable on computers, and my company's IT-guy.. and I've asked a couple other forums around the web, and I haven't had a responce yet.

[GX1_Man]

Do you have a Restore CD if needed? The options are somewhat limited because eMachines do not send genuine Microsoft CD's.

How are you sure you are totally malware free at this time?

[Linds]

eMachines gave me three restore CDs if it comes down to it..

And.. no. I'm not sure if I'm free of malware. I did a virus scan about a week ago and it cought about 289 viruses (yes.. baaaaaad).. but that's all I know.

[GX1_Man]

And.. no. I'm not sure if I'm free of malware. I did a virus scan about a week ago and it cought about [highlight]289 viruses [/highlight](yes.. baaaaaad).. but that's all I know.

For that reason alone I would back up my data and reinstall everything, after wiping the drive if given an option. You may be able to patch this up, but I wouldn't.

Have a good read here if you want to salvage this:

http://www.computerhope.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1149948530

[Linds]

I manually got rid of all the viruses, but I know that doesn't mean anything when it really comes down to it.

And after reading that topic you posted, and the programs you recommended, I own basically half of it.. I have Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, AVG Free and CCleaner.

But I really don't want to have to erase everything, I mean, if I have to, I'm ready. Because I've basically stored up all my music, photos and other random goodies that have some meaning to me.

But, after asking about four other forums, I've come to the conclusion that this little problem is quite strange..

[GX1_Man]

If the computer is not clean, all bets are off.

How well did you read that link in 5 minutes? How about the part about doing scans in Safe Mode with System Restore turned off? If you don't properly protect your computer, you will get a lot worse than no sound.  

It also sounds like backing up data is not your strong suit either. Just remember that ALL hard drives die eventually. If that happens tomorrow, ALL of that stuff is gone forever anyway.

[Linds]

Yea, I know, I know.. and I didn't read it increadibly well, but I read it in a decent amount... =P

And I know about doing scans in Safe Mode, and I've done it before.. and my System Restore doesn't even work, either... At least not the one where you go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools... When I try it says it couldn't do it and whatnot.

And I know that all things eventually die, but this computer isn't that old to be showing signs of wear so easily.

And I know that more than just my sound can go away, it's happened, actually.. lol. And backing up my data is not my strong suit, nor is it about 95% of computer users =P

But I've basically already given up on it.. I think the only route to go is to wipe it out and restore everything from square one.

[GX1_Man]

Yea, I know, I know.. and I didn't read it increadibly well, but I read it in a decent amount...

It was exactly 5 minutes from the time I posted it until you read it, analyzed all of that info, typed out your response and pressed the POST button.

And I know about doing scans in Safe Mode, and I've done it before.. and my [highlight]System Restore doesn't even work, either[/highlight]... At least not the one where you go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools... When I try it says it couldn't do it and whatnot.

Another bad sign.

But I've basically already given up on it.. I think the only route to go is to wipe it out and restore everything from square one.

Well that's a good plan, as obviously there are other issues as well.

And I know that all things eventually die, but this computer isn't that old to be showing signs of wear so easily.

The "signs of wear" are in Windows and because of poor maintenance. You don't get 289 viruses practicing safe computing. You just don't.

And backing up my data is not my strong suit, nor is it about 95% of computer users

I don't know about that number, but the only real question is "How important is that data to you really?"

Well good luck, and let us know if there are other issues that come up.  

[dl65]

 Linds.......   My first question to you is what anti-virus program weren't you using when you were infected with 289 viruses ( thats your number ) .......  In fact that probably qualifies you to be entered in the monthly Computer Hope ...... [highlight]who's got the most virus riddled pc contest .[/highlight]  
First prize is a free copy of AVG .

[highlight]What do you mean your system restore doesnt work ?[/highlight]

Sound like a complete format and reinstall is in order ......


dl65  

[Linds]

Sorry for not responding for a day.. but here's the answers to your questions.

I have AVG free edition. The only thing is that I have dial-up, and my internet goes at a maximum speed of 26.8kb/s.. And because of my not-so-desirable service provider the internet can only be on for a maximum of 7 hours - if I'm lucky. So a majority of the downloads I try to download for the updates don't work - the internet disconnects before it can complete and I have to start from square one once again. Also, I can't access IE (yes, my computer is beyond screwed), so I've downloaded FireFox, which I love. But because of this, my computer seems to be funky and doesn't prefer to download anything that's over 3MBs.. or it will say it's "finished" when in reality the file never completed, and I have to try again. So thus, the only way I could get updates were via my friend sending them to me via AIM.. where if I did connect I could still go back and start from where it left off.

Also, the system restore on the computer (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore) when I click to go to an earlier date it shuts down as if it were going to complete the action, but when it reboots itself and goes to the opening screen, where it usually says that the restore was successful, it tells me that it could not be complete and to try again, and then I go through this process another 3 more times and I just give up.

I have the restore discs needed that came with the computer, but I can't wipe my computer out if it comes to it... I don't have a copy of Windows XP.. I was never given one when I bought the computer. So the only thing that my Tech Guy can do is just try and restore everything with the discs.. which may not be successful.

I could really use the help in any hints and suggestions.

But the sound still isn't working. And I feel like this computer is too corrupt for it's own good.