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Most motherboards, over ninety percent, come with an onboard sound device.

While the operating system can usually recognize the device, most often the sound drivers it has can’t run the sound. You might hear a beep when you first start the computer, but nothing else after that.

It is for those reasons, and more, that you must have the proper sound drivers installed. With generic operating system sound drivers your computer will swear that it’s sending the proper signals to the speakers, but you’d be lucky to even hear static. Going to the Windows Update site doesn’t always help either. Windows, like any other software company, wants you to download sound drivers specifically designed for their operating system.

The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) sound drivers help the hardware decode the digital audio signals into an analog stream the speakers can recognize and play. Without the proper sound drivers to run your sound device, you’d get two eventualities. Either the signals would flow directly into your speakers causing very loud beeps, clicks, and other sounds associated with digital signals – or you’d get nothing at all except a faint humming because of the power running into the speakers. Neither is what you want or need from your computer and speakers.

Realtek and AC97 sound drivers are the most popular, and used, in onboard sound devices attached to motherboards. In the highly competitive area of technology, more and more manufacturers are developing proprietary drivers to go with their hardware. Generic sound drivers just won’t do it. Even laptops usually come with onboard sound devices, and drivers for them are brand specific.

No matter whether you have onboard sound or use a PCI sound card like SoundBlaster, you will have to have the proper sound drivers installed. There is no getting around it. Luckily, the drivers are usually free because you have already paid for the motherboard or sound card. 
 

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