Troubleshooting Windows Vista

Nikhil Rastogi, May 04, 2008 1121 hrs IST

Here's what the expert has to say about your Vista-related issues

EXPERT REVIEW

What's wrong with Vista? Whenever I start my laptop from sleep/hibernation, I can't hear any sounds on the computer. I have to restart the computer, which really defeats the purpose of putting the computer in sleep/hibernation mode.

This is a known issue with Windows Vista and luckily, Microsoft does have a fix available on their site, which was released in 2007. Regular updating of Windows Updates fixes this. I recommend you run Windows Update. http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

The problem is that Windows Vista cannot start an HDA device (high definition audio or a modem (in some cases) when it wakes up from sleep or hibernation.

Microsoft had released a previous fix, which apparently did not fix the problem, and so they have released another updated fix "to fix the fix"!

You can access the fix here on this page, under the article number 937077. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937077 Download the first listing for regular 32-bit Windows Vista, for those who have Windows Vista x64, the patch below that is for you. If you have no idea what your Vista version is, don't worry; just download the first one.

I listen to a lot of music and listen to it loud on my Vista machine. Sometimes when I'm playing music loud, suddenly Vista prompts for something with a loud sound, not only is it scary when listening to soft music but also irritating. Is there some way to make Vista stop that when playing music?
Yes and no. No because there is no way to tell Vista to turn off Windows sounds or stop prompting when a particular program such as a music player is playing. Yes because it can be done it very easily.

In Vista especially, Microsoft has included a unique way to reduce/turn OFF the Windows default sounds or any other specific program's sounds if the need be.

1. Just right-click the speaker icon, select Open Volume Mixer.

2. Here you may notice at least two volume controls; one is the master volume for overall Windows Volume, the other Windows Sounds.
3. Here you can mute the Windows Sounds by clicking the speaker icon. Now no Windows sounds should ever dare to bother you again when listening to music. About the prompts, they cannot be helped unless you are multi-tasking a lot. Just don't do anything else like downloading, surfing, copying, etc. when listening to music to tame the prompts.

For those that want to do the same on Windows XP here is the way. Vista users can do the same. Instead of cutting off the volume, why not just disable those silly Windows default sounds altogether!

1. Go to the Control Panel Start | Control Panel .

2. Now open Sound. Click on Classic View if you cannot see it.

3. Under the Sounds tab, select the scheme as No Sounds, in Windows XP, you will be prompted to save a scheme for Windows Sounds in case you want it back or you can simply just click No. If you are saving the scheme, give it any name. Click OK.

That's it for now but do check this space next week as there's more to follow.

USER COMMENTS

thanx buddy....... but suggest me if i can do it in one go for every folder.

by gumshu, INDIA, on May 06, 2008 05:31 PM, Report abuse Reply

I feel buying Windows Vista Business with a 2 GB RAM minimum will be better rather a best option than Windows XP ...as it has better opiton .r Load two operating system in a same system by hard drive partition.So that you can use Vistas aero experience and advantages of XP

by Kiran P.S, Indore, on May 05, 2008 06:39 PM, Report abuse Reply

ubuntu is not that rgeat . opensuse is more tsable. but frankly windows xp is the best os till date for most users. until open gl matches directx and game devels adopt open gl . *nix does not stand any chance to blow away windows.

by vinay, mumbai, on May 05, 2008 02:50 PM, Report abuse Reply

Thanks a lot, this problem was really getting on my nerves, i had decided to bear this problem by convincing myself that its a bug. But your advice really helped and worked.

by Abhishek Khanna, New Delhi, on May 05, 2008 12:33 PM, Report abuse Reply

Troubleshoting Windows Vista

by Sachi Kant, Bhubaneswar, on May 05, 2008 11:43 AM, Report abuse Reply

it is very nice

by vashu, kanpur, on May 05, 2008 11:31 AM, Report abuse Reply

an easy one would be, download and install ubuntu

by jaime, ny, on May 04, 2008 11:44 AM, Report abuse Reply

TRUE...

by Rahul, New Delhi, on May 05, 2008 11:16 AM, Report abuse

Please, don't be such a penguin. Ubuntu is not for everybody. Be realistic, people who suggest Ubuntu at the drop of a hat put people off others from using Linux.

by Bob, here, on May 04, 2008 06:38 PM, Report abuse Reply

yeah ubuntu is for ,y 3 yrs old kid and my sisters kids . it is for who do not want to pirate softwares . it is ofr who wanted to learn. I dont think you learned vista or windows when you are a child. Grow up people.

by ubuntu, chennai, on May 05, 2008 06:56 AM, Report abuse

Vista is G A Y !!!

by ADSL, Router, on May 04, 2008 05:52 PM, Report abuse Reply

Please suggest what I can do to fix my mic problems in Vista.

by Chuck, Noida, on May 04, 2008 01:59 PM, Report abuse Reply

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