The computer we are working with is a Compac. The sound is onboard. The
operating system was WinMe and everything worked just fine. We upgraded to
Windows XP Home SP2. Everything seemed to go just fine until we realized
that the sound was at its lowest level. We tried to readjust the level
through the Play Control Center. All levels are set right except the Main
Volume control. That slide control it at the bottom of the scale. We raised
it half way and the sound became load. As soon as we let go of the control
is went back to the lowest position. We then moved it all the way to the top
and it brought the sound up and then went back to the low position. We then
went to Control Panel and into the Sound and Audio Devices Properties and
found that the Device Volume control was set at Low. WE tried to move it
back to Hgih and the compute hung up. This has repeated everytime we try to
reset the Device Volume scale. In loading Win XP Home we also upgraded to
Media Player 10. The on board sound system is ESS Technologies. Should we
uninstall Media Player 10 and go back to 9? If so how?

Briandp (Briandp@discussions.microsoft.com) in
4BB74B96-87E0-4958-B6B4-522FB95CA7DD@microsoft.com:

> The computer we are working with is a Compac. The sound is onboard.
> The operating system was WinMe and everything worked just fine. We
> upgraded to Windows XP Home SP2. Everything seemed to go just fine
> until we realized that the sound was at its lowest level. We tried
> to readjust the level through the Play Control Center. All levels
> are set right except the Main Volume control. That slide control it
> at the bottom of the scale. We raised it half way and the sound
> became load. As soon as we let go of the control is went back to the
> lowest position. We then moved it all the way to the top and it
> brought the sound up and then went back to the low position. We then
> went to Control Panel and into the Sound and Audio Devices Properties
> and found that the Device Volume control was set at Low. WE tried to
> move it back to Hgih and the compute hung up. This has repeated
> everytime we try to reset the Device Volume scale. In loading Win XP
> Home we also upgraded to Media Player 10. The on board sound system
> is ESS Technologies. Should we uninstall Media Player 10 and go back
> to 9? If so how?

It looks to me as if nothing is wrong with Media Player, but rather with the
drivers of the ESS. Perhaps something like an ME-driver that is taken for an
XP-one, or reverse.
I would uninstall all drivers for the ESS, then reinstall XP ones for it.
(Make sure you have these...)

I am not at all sure, though. I remember similar trouble without the
complication of an operating system upgrade. It had to do with a software
synthesizer and its own volume slider, and there the CPU-load might have
been to blame.

--
Chris Laarman