Quick overview:
Videos, music files, exciting games and the Windows soundscape - without the sound card and speakers, the atmosphere when working and relaxing would suffer greatly. The following text deals with setting up the sound card and basic tips and tricks.
Driver installation - Easier than ever before
The manufacturers of sound cards make it very easy for the user in almost all cases and supply an installation program which sets up the drivers completely in just a few steps and with simple queries. As with the graphics cards, you will find a extensive list from many sound card manufacturers and their driver addresses.
However, if the files are saved in ZIP format, which is rare, you will have to take the cumbersome route here too:
1. Download the manufacturer's drivers for your sound card model and right-click on the relevant file. Now select Extract and note that you need the WinAce 2.11 program for this process, which you can obtain from www.winace.com.
2. Once all files have been extracted to a folder of your choice, you must right-click on Workplace click and Properties from the context menu that pops up.
3. Now call up the Hardware highlight, select Device Manager and double-click on an entry under Other componentswhich has to do with sound or multimedia.
4. A new window opens before your eyes in which you first Next and then Search for a suitable driver for the device to turn it on. Remove the hook in front of Floppy disk drives and CD-ROM drives and select Specify other source.
5. After you have finished with Next have confirmed go to Browse. Now navigate to the folder with the sound card drivers that you unzipped above and select it.
6. Confirm with OK. The drivers will now be installed and you will be prompted to click the Finish used have requested a restart, which you then do.
7. After a restart, you should hear the welcome sound.
The optimum setting in the Device Manager
A driver is not optimally configured from the factory and there are often some well-hidden commands that can be used to improve the sound quality:
1. Now double-click on your sound card entry in the Device Manager and switch to the Settings, Settings or other register riders that have something to do with settings to a certain extent.
2. If you now find settings such as Synth or WaveTable, I recommend that you always change these to the maximum values so that you can enjoy your little sound master.
Increase the quality of recordings and configure the speakers well
Even with the help of conventional Windows 2000 on-board tools, the quality can be improved even further.
1. Click in succession on Start > Settings > System control and double-click in the window that appears on Sounds and multimedia.
2. Go to Audio now in both divisions Extended and set all sliders under Performance to the maximum in each case.
3. After you have selected Extended properties under Playback Once you have finished, you should select your speakers here.
4. Now close all windows and restart your computer.
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