For users of VMware on Linux with Windows guests:

I've been running Windows XP Pro as a guest OS under
VMware for a couple of weeks now, and it runs just
peachy, if you like that sort of thing. There are a few
tweaks I haven't been able to work out yet ... one at a
time.

Tonight's project is to figure out why I can't get any
sound. Here's what I know.

o On my Dell Linux box I have a Turtle Beach Montego
  A3D 64-Voice PCI audio card which came with the
  system, using an OSS driver (which I had to buy). It
  works just fine.

o According to the VMware configuration editor, under
  Sound, it says "Present, the device is /dev/dsp
  (correct) and the Start Connected checkbox is
  selected.

o When I try to do something from the XP virtual
  machine that involves sound, e.g., click on a link to
  an MP3 file from IE, I get the message:

    Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio
    hardware is available, or the hardware is not
    responding (Error= 80040256)

o Further analysis reveals the reason for this is (a) I
  don't have a sound card; (b) another program is using
  the sound device.

o As noted, there *is* a sound card in the box, and it
  is working from Linux, but XP seems to think I don't
  have one.

o I look in the device manager (which I just learned
  about, since my total experience with Windows is now
  about two weeks), and if I'm looking at the right
  things, it says my sound devices are all right. I
  can't find anything where it actually names my
  hardware. Is there a place? (That's a secondary
  question.)

o The possibility that remains is that something else
  is occupying the sound device. This happens sometimes
  in Linux, e.g., when I try to run RealPlayer while
  the CD player is open or something. It also happened
  when I used to have kooky sound events playing when I
  killed and opened windows, etc. Dumb idea. I disabled
  that so I could play music again.

o Just to make dead sure, I even logged off all the
  way, then came back and first thing started XP and
  tried to play a sound file, before I could do
  anything that might inadvertently grab the sound
  device, but it still wouldn't play.

o Then I came back to Linux and played a WAV file just
  to make sure. Works fine.

Looks to me like for some reason XP really thinks I
don't have a sound card. Does anyone know what to do
next?

-- 
Lynn David Newton
Phoenix, AZ