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
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