System Sounds Unavailable in Control Panel

 Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
Article ID: Q117442
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.1, 3.11
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11

SYMPTOMS

  • When you choose the Sound icon in Control Panel, the Events and Files lists and the Test button are unavailable even though the proper Windows sound card driver is loaded and set up correctly.

    -or-

  • The following error message appears when you try to run Sound Recorder: 

          Sound Recorder cannot record or play back because a sound driver is
      not installed.

CAUSE

These situations can occur if the following line is missing from the [boot] section of the SYSTEM.INI file or is incorrect: 

   drivers=mmsystem.dll

NOTES

  • Additional *.dll files may be present on the drivers= line.
  • Windows does not generate an error message at startup when the drivers= line is missing.

RESOLUTION

To correct these problems, use a text editor, such as Microsoft Windows Notepad, to add or change the drivers= line to match the following: 

   drivers=mmsystem.dll

KBCategory: kbmm kbsound kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: win31 wfw wfwg
Additional reference words: 3.10 3.1 3.11 grey greyed gray grayed out
dimmed corrupted drivers=mmsystem.dll.exe pc speaker pcspeaker

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Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
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