Outdated or Incorrect Sound Driver May Cause System to Hang

 Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
Article ID: Q85307
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.1, 3.11

SYMPTOMS

You have a sound card installed on your system, and Microsoft Windows stops responding (hangs) when starting or exiting.

CAUSE

An outdated or inappropriate sound driver may be causing the problem.

WORKAROUND

Disable the system exit sound. To disable the sound, follow these steps:

  1. Choose the Sound icon in Control Panel. In the Events box, select Windows Start or Windows Exit (depending on when the problem occurs).

  2. In the Files box, select <none>.

  3. Choose the OK button.

You can accomplish the same thing by editing the WIN.INI file as follows. 1. Open the WIN.INI file in a text editor (Windows Notepad, for example).

  1. Comment out the following line in the [sounds] section 

          SystemExit=chimes.wav,Windows Exit

    by placing a semicolon in front of the line, as follows: 

          ;SystemExit=chimes.wav,Windows Exit

MORE INFORMATION

Updated drivers are often available from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), or from the Windows Driver Library (WDL).

Windows may also hang on exit if there is a hardware conflict with some other device. Contact the sound card manufacturer to verify your sound card is correctly installed.

For a complete listing of the WDL's contents and instructions for obtaining the WDL, query on "Q82006" in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

KBCategory: kbhw kbmm kbsound kb3rdparty
KBSubcategory: win31 windrvr
Additional reference words: 3.10 3.1 3.11 multimedia sounds card crashes
crash hung stops stop

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Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
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