Windows Operating System Support for windows XP, Vista Support

This issue could be caused by any of the below possibilities.

    1. Bad software settings.

   2. Corrupt or missing sound drivers.

   3. Compatibility issues with the operating system and/or other hardware.

   4. Speaker related issues.

   5. Bad or missing sound card.

 

Solution:

Verify software volume control settings

First verify you see a small sound icon in the systray (generally at the bottom right hand corner of your screen). If this icon is missing follow the below section.

Windows XP

   1. Open the Control panel

   2. Open the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon.

   3. Verify the "Place volume icon in the taskbar" checkbox is checked. If this option is      not available or is grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.

   4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.

   5. Double-click the sound icon in the systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

 

Windows 2000

   1. Open the Control panel

   2. Open the "Sounds and Multimedia" icon.

   3. Verify the "Show volume control on the taskbar" checkbox is checked. If this option is not available or is grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.

   4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.

   5. Double-click the sound icon in the systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

 

Windows 95 / 98 / ME

   1. Open the Control panel

   2. Open the "Multimedia" icon.

   3. Check the checkbox for "Show volume control on the taskbar". If this section is grayed out, attempt to change the Playback "Preferred device" by clicking the down arrow and changing to an alternate selection. If that is also grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.

   4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.

   5. Double-click the sound icon in the systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

 

Verify the installed driver settings

   1. Open the Windows Device Manager

   2. Verify there are no conflicts or errors listed anywhere in Device Manager. If conflicts exist skip down to conflicts section.

   3. Verify no other devices are listed. If other devices are listed skip down to other devices section.

   4. Verify that your "Sound, video and game controllers" category is listed, if not skip down to the missing sound card section.

   5. If no conflicts or other devices are listed and your sound card is listed with no conflicts, skip to the next section.

 

Conflicts section

If conflicts exists with your sound card and/or other devices installed in your computer it is likely that either the drivers are not properly installed for that device and/or the sound card and/or other devices are conflicting. If you open the properties of the device that is conflicting and view the properties, additional details about the conflict can be found. Additional information about error codes as well as help with Device Manager can be found on our Device Manager section.

If you are unable to locate additional information about your issue or are unable to resolve the issue, follow the below steps.

   1. Under Sound, Video and game controllers highlight each device and press the delete key to remove the device.

   2. Reboot the computer.

   3. As the computer is booting the system will detect the sound card and any of it’s devices and re-install those devices. If prompted for a location of drivers, try pointing it to your sound card CD and/or your Windows CD. If this does not work or is unable to locate the proper files, you will need to get the latest sound drivers from your sound card manufacturer.

 

Other devices section

If other devices are listed, it is possible that these other devices could be the sound card or other devices conflicting with the sound card. If any other devices are listed it is recommended you remove those devices, reboot the computer and let Windows redetect the devices.

If this does not work, attempt to determine which device is not being detected and resolve that issue first.

 

Missing sound card section.

If you are missing the "Sound, video and game controllers" category in Device Manager, it is likely that the sound card drivers are not installed properly, sound card has been disabled, sound card is bad, or no sound card is available in the computer. First, verify no conflicts or other devices are present in the Device Manager; if these are present it is likely they are the sound card and/or devices causing the sound card not to be detected. Second, verify that the computer has a sound card and/or that the sound card is enabled on the computer.

If this is an on-board sound card you can verify that it is enabled in BIOS setup.

If you have no adapters and/or cannot click the down arrow to select the correct adapter, close out of this Window. In Control Panel double-click the System icon / click the Device Manager tab within Device Manager and ensure there are no yellow ! or red X.

If you have either of these on any of your sound devices, attempt to remove everything under Sound Video game controllers and reboot the computer. If after rebooting the computer you still have the same conflicts, double-click on the conflicting device and refer to our Device Manager error code section giving you additional information on the error code you are experiencing.

Verify speaker connections

Verify the speakers settings and speakers are not at fault by running through speaker troubleshooting steps.

Sound card drivers

If you have followed the above recommendations and you are still unable to get the sound card to work, download and install the latest sound card drivers from the computer or sound card manufacturer. A listing of sound card drivers can be found on our sound card driver page.

Defective hardware

Finally, if all of the above recommendations do not resolve your issue it is likely that either the sound card is physically bad or that the operating system is severely corrupt. We recommend you contact the Windows Operating System Support.

It is been a while i was trying to post something related to Windows 98 as i always wanted to make the blog complete in itself, covering all the Microsoft OS and provide a microsoft online support, but was not able to explre some thing around Windows 98 as it is being absolute.. but then let’s be a bit formal and have some thing for Windows 98 and it is straight here..

Remove the Speaker Icon from the Tray

 

The speaker icon in the lower-right of your toolbar (Tray), enables you to open the Volume Control by clicking on it. To remove the icon:

1. Right-click the speaker icon and choose Adjust Audio Properties from the menu
2. At the bottom of the Audio Properties window, there’s a check-box Show volume control on the taskbar, removing the check-mark in the box will remove the Icon from the Tray.

Now if you ever want to restore the Speaker icon in your Tray, you have to:

1. Click Start, Select Settings > Control Panel
2. Open Multimedia, and place the check-mark back in the Show volume control on the taskbar box (on the Audio tab)

Change the size of Icons on your Desktop

 

To change the size of the Icons on the Desktop:

1. Right-click on the Desktop
2. Choose Properties from the context menu. On the Appearance tab look in the Item list box. Once you find Icon you can choose the size from the Size box
3. To hit the Apply button, once you are satisfied hit OK

Change Icon spacing on your Desktop

 

To Change the Icon spacing on your Desktop:

1. Right-click on the desktop
2. Choose Properties from the popup menu. On the Appearance tab look in the Item list box. Once you find Icon Spacing (Horizontal) and Icon Spacing (Vertical) you can choose different values
3. Once you are satisfied hit OK
4. Press F5 to Refresh the Desktop

Change the color of your Title Bar

To change the color of your Title Bar:

1. Right-click on the Desktop
2. Choose Properties from the context menu. On the Appearance tab look in the Item list box. Once you find Active Title Bar and Inactive Title Bar you can change the color from the Color and Color2 boxes

Select your Monitor

Windows 98 will not always detect your Monitor. This is done by design. Many monitors don’t like to be "poked". To select your monitor:

1. Right-click on the Desktop
2. Choose Properties from the context menu. On the Settings tab press the Advanced button. Select the Monitor tab. If your monitor is not listed (correctly) here, press Change
3. Select your Monitor from the list, or if you have a driver disk for your monitor, select have Disk
4. Click Apply, and follow any other instructions on screen

Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is a graphical operating system released on June 25, 1998. it is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit monolithic product based on MS-DOS.

The system requirements for Windows 98 needed were as under

System requirements

• 486 DX2, 66 MHz or higher processor
• 16MB of RAM (24MB recommended)
• At least 500 MB of space available on HDD. The amount of space required depends on the installation method and the components selected, but virtual memory and system utilities as well as drivers should be taken into consideration.

• VGA or higher resolution monitor
• CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
• Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

The first edition of Windows 98 was also available in a floppy disk version that required a floppy drive rather than a CD-ROM drive.

Some of the System Tools available with Windows 98 were

• Scandisk - Well known program used to maintain the file system. It offers a DOS and a GUI version. Used to check the integrity of the file system and files stored within.
• Disk Defragmenter - Used to counter the negative effects of filesystem fragmentation. It collects fragmented file parts, reconnects them and rearranges all files in optimal order, thus speeding up file access and allowing faster boot times. Note that Microsoft changed the utility shipping with Windows 2000 and XP, which operates faster than the previously used program but can destroy data when partitioning hard disk drives. This happens as, contrary to the old program, the new defragmenter doesn’t necessarily put all files on the same sectors, resulting in the deletion of files when a used drive is partitioned.
• Scanreg - Used to restore the System registry. It tests the registry’s integrity and saves a backup copy each time. The maximum amount of copies is eight. Due to a bug the oldest registry copy available cannot be restored (before restoration, the current configuration is backed up and it erases the oldest registry backup listed). The restoration of a faulty registry can only be done in DOS mode. Important DOS commands: scanreg/opt - optimizes the registry by deleting dead entries; scanreg/fix - repairs registry settings.
• MsConfig - A system utility used to disable programs and services which are not required to run the computer. It is a very efficient tool that can multiply the system’s stability and speed.
• Sysedit - A system utility used to modify system configuration files in a text window.
• Regedit - Allows manual editing of the registry.

Microsoft planned to discontinue its support for Microsoft Windows 98 on January 16, 2004. However, due to the continued popularity of the operating system (27% of Google’s pageviews were on Windows 98 systems during October-November, 2003), Microsoft decided to maintain support until July 11, 2006. Support for Windows Me also ended on this date

And friends I don’t want to miss this opportunity to share the story of Blue Screen of Death with you all..

The release of Windows 98 was preceded by a notable press demonstration at Comdex in April 1998. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was highlighting the operating system’s ease of use and enhanced support for Plug and Play (PnP). However, when program manager Chris Capossela plugged a scanner in and attempted to install it, the operating system crashed, displaying a Blue Screen of Death. Gates remarked after a nervous silence "I guess that’s why we’re not shipping Windows 98