Win XP Sound problem

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Our son's PC was recently infected by a Crypto virus. There was nothing special on the machine so we reinstalled Win XP and all is now well, except there is no speaker sound. He has a simple amp and two speakers which connect to the sound jack on the rear of the PC. All attempts to make it work have failed and when I access the sound feature via control panel it says that there is no sound system. USB headphones work OK. Any ideas please? Many thanks.

[mixture]

we reinstalled Win XP and all is now well,

WHY WHY WHY ? :ugh:

Here you are, handed the golden opportunity on a plate to re-install a system and start from scratch.

And what do you go and do ? Install an obsolete operating system, that is unsupported, and insecure.

The obsolescence of XP has been well advertised. Both in the run up to D-Day and afterwards. Surely this could not have escaped your attention ? It was covered in mainstream media, and its certainly been discussed here on PPRuNe ad-infinitum.

Stop. Right now. Go back and install Windows 8 (or Windows 7 if you must).

Windows XP machines have no place on this earth, and especially if you have any intention of ever connecting them to the internet.

And please don't start telling me about anti-virus or other security measures. They're all good for nothing if the underlying operating system is insecure. That's a fact.

Please also don't start telling me about businesses or governments you've heard about that are still running XP. Been there, done that on that debate.... chalk and cheese, its not a viable argument, its clutching at straws. There's no reason for private indivduals to be running XP, end of story.

By continuing to run XP, not only are you running an insecure system, but you are also not benefiting from the various enhancements made in newer versions of Windows, especially in the security area where Microsoft have made a lot of effort to introduce new security measures that were simply not present in XP, not even in primitive form.

The fact your son managed to get infected by a crypto virus is a big fat hint that you need all the security you can get.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Fact us that WE want to run XP on the PC in question. I have a new 7.1 PC and have installed a VM programe so I can still use XP!!

[perantau]

Even with the latest at home, still pining for W2KPro.

[papajuliet]

I have XP on one desktop, WIN 7 on another and WIN 8 on a laptop. I've changed the laptop so that it's useable as WIN 7. Neither WIN 7 or WIN 8 can cope with old programs used in XP - and compatibility mode is no use.
XP is much the better system for most users [ although I do recognise what is said about it's security issues ] as it's more user friendly.
It's always seemed to me that MS take one step forward and two steps back when they bring out their new operating systems.

[Fly-by-Wife]

No-one needs to justify themselves on this forum.
In the case of persisting with unsupported and vulnerable operating systems that have the potential to disrupt the use of the internet by others, I have to disagree with you on that.

Since no further security vulnerability patching is being done by MS on XP, it must be seen as open season for hackers to exploit any vulnerabilities, whether to create bot-nets or some other means to attack or prevent access to legitimate internet sites - commercial, government or private.

How many people blithely continuing to use XP would have any clue whatsoever that their PC may be being used for such a purpose? Having malware active on a PC is not necessarily apparent to the user. Believe me, the cleverest malware isn't.

I'm not saying that every XP installation will be hacked and used in such a fashion. Nor am I saying that moving to Win 7, 8 or 10 will guarantee immunity.

What I am saying is that wilfully increasing the risk to oneself and the greater internet community is both foolish and irresponsible.

"Sure, it won't happen to me. I'm so careful / clever / complacent". Famous last words.

FBW

[mixture]

Thank you Fly-by-Wife.

And in particular, in relation to :

How many people blithely continuing to use XP would have any clue whatsoever that their PC may be being used for such a purpose? Having malware active on a PC is not necessarily apparent to the user. Believe me, the cleverest malware isn't.

Indeed. Some of the most modern malware out there doesn't even install itself in a traditional manner, all you need to do is point your web browser at the wrong website and boom, someone has a nice little backdoor activated on your machine running in RAM at kernel level. Virtually undetectable and you'll never know, because you never downloaded anything and never clicked "ok" to any dialogue boxes, it just happened quietly in the background. Doesn't have to be a dodgy website either, could be a good website that just got hacked.

And no that isn't some sort of sci-fi dream, there are already live exploits out there that Microsoft have patched for this sort of thing on 7 and 8, but left untouched on XP.

As time goes on, they will only become more prevalent and more sophisticated.

So I repeat, XP has no place on the internet. And since most people can't live without the internet these days, XP has no place in your home.

You wouldn't live on a dodgy council estate and leave your front door open and the keys in your car. So why do the same in your computing life ?

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Grateful thanks friends. Problem now solved. Bren