Sound cards typically plug into one of your motherboard's PCI slots.
The average computer user won't get much use out of his machine if it can't play sound. Usually the problem is a mute button or a volume slider, or at worst the wrong setting for your output sound device. If you discover instead that your sound card isn't detected at all, there are a few things that might be causing the problem.
Drivers
The most likely explanation is that you don't have the right drivers installed for your sound card. You can search for drivers online (search for the name of your sound card and "drivers") or find them on the CD that came with your sound card, or with your computer if it came with the sound card installed. Either way, try installing your sound card's drivers and see if that lets your computer detect it.
PCI Slot
If the computer can't see any hardware device at all in the PCI slot your sound card is in, you might have a physical problem. The card may not be inserted quite right, or the slot might just not work at all. Turn off the computer and open it up, and try taking the sound card out and putting it back in squarely, or moving to another PCI slot if you have one available. When you restart your computer it may detect the card.
Motherboard Drivers
If you've recently had to reinstall your operating system or do some other kind of drastic recovery, your computer might not see the sound card because it might not even know its own architecture. Your computer should have come with a disk containing drivers for the motherboard. Try installing these. If this was the problem you will see your computer suddenly recognize a number of its hardware input slots.
Other Options
If all your attempts fail, you may just have a burnt-out sound card. Don't give up hope, as a problem like this is usually easy to fix. Have a tech-savvy friend look at the machine in person, or take it to a computer repair shop. Computers are unpredictable, and sometimes you just need an expert to work with it directly. Don't be surprised, however, if you learn that you need a new sound card.
Tags: sound card, your sound card, your sound, your computer, came with, card drivers