Audio Drivers

Audio drivers, also called sound drivers, are programs that allow the operating system software to detect and use the features of audio adapters (sound cards) installed in your computer. These audio drivers are coded specifically for each device produced by its manufacturer and must also be compatible with the computer's operating system (i.e. Windows Vista or Windows® 7) in order to function correctly.

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Where are Audio Devices Found?

The audio devices incorporated into your computer are either built directly into the chipset or installed in the designated PCI slots of your PC or laptop motherboard. The PCI expansion-type audio devices generally offer more features compared to their built-in counterparts and are able to create a more robust listening experience.

Audio drivers are quite different for both types of audio devices (chipset and PCI-slot). The audio driver necessary for the built-in device is required to be designed for the same model as the chipset. On the other hand, the audio driver required for an expansion-slot sound card to function must be compatible with both the specific sound card as well as the operating system. Your computer has more than one set of sound drivers which collectively enable your PC or laptop to produce sound.

Possible Problems With Audio Devices

When an audio adapter (sound card) is installed, the operating system is upgraded or re-installed, or a new set of speakers is added to the system, you may find they produce no sound or poor quality sound. Other problems you may encounter are hardware and software compatibility issues. These include:

These problems are known to occur with audio devices bundled with the chipset. The device drivers found in the bundled installation discs may prove insufficient to address these problems so downloading the most recent drivers from the Internet would be an appropriate course of action to take to resolve the problem.

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Quick Solution: Updating Your Audio Drivers Online

The best way to solve driver compatibility problems is to download the most current audio drivers directly from the Internet. Usually the best sources are the websites of the chipset and audio device manufacturer.

Updating your audio drivers can be confusing and time-intensive given the many different device drivers required by each component in your PC or laptop. There are however a number of excellent utility programs available from the Internet which will automatically update and install the correct drivers needed by your computer. These applications save you valuable time and take the confusion out of you having to manually configure your system to resolve the problem.

Ultimately, identifying and installing the appropriate (and most current) audio drivers will enable the proper communication between the chipset and the hardware devices. Once this problem has been resolved it will enable the software application (i.e. I-tunes, DivX, RealPlayer) installed on your computer to utilize the audio functions of the hardware component connected to your PC or laptop.

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