i just rebuilt a dell  dimension 4100 pentium 3 and put win98se on it and the sound will work with the little cd player app. under accessories, but not the windows media player 9 series i downloaded from the microsoft site.

 the SB Live card is installed and the driver is also installed as far as i can tell, the only thing that comes up "unknown" in the device manager is some "PCI Communication Device" for which i cannot install a driver from the win98se cd or update(the little that is left for 98).  i have the black cable w/ 4 pins from dvdcd rom to sound card connected..  

properties of unknown PCI Com Dev :   Device type: Other devices
                                                          Manufacturer: None Specified
                                                          Hardware version: 008

                   Device Status: not installed code 28

also "Resources" tab shows memory range and input/output ranges  



plz help so i dont ruin my laptop keyboard w/games one key is dead already:)Re-install the motherboard drivers that came with that machinei installed the motherboard driver initially from a game website and then the chipset driver from the dell website i believe they were similar if not the same, chipset is another word for motherboard no?, the one unknown PCI Communication Device remains.  the speakers play cd through 1/8" jack in sound card output, but will not play thru windows media player 9 downloaded from microsoft websiteDLoad and run Everest Home and run a report to find the correct MBoard drivers...visit the manuf. site and grab the correct ones.can i use a free version from www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html   "Everest Free Edition 2.20" ? their (lavalys.com) website hawks 3.50.. ??

i used the free version and ran the report are there specific pieces of info i am looking for or should i just try to match a driver from the intel site with what the report says is my motherboard?? .. thnx for the help by the way  the rest will have to WAIT until tomorrow.. :|Sure.You should ONLY use the drivers from the Dell website for a Dell machine. Period.

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/devices.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P3C_4100&os=W98&osl=EN

Chipset drivers first, and then the others. Reboot between additions as instructed. Make sure you have the correct driver for the sound card that is really in there. If not sure, then Everest can identify it.

The PCI communication device is a modem.

ok i will install drivers from the dell website. thnx for the advice.  sorry bout the two posts ive never posted anything on the internet before just read other ppls for help w/problems.  

i am not sure that the PCI Communication Device is a modem because there is only one modem in the pci slots and the device manager under network adapters shows a dial up adapter and my netgear wirelss broadband one, which both seem to be working fine.. am i wrong on something here?

i will try the dell drivers should i install all of them? i believe i only need the right one from certain sections such as audio drivers or video adapters, no?  

currently after installing chipset then audio( my card says "Live!", there is only one in there that says live so i use it, yeah?)  it is still working the same as before.. cd plays w/ sys/accessories/entertainment/cdplayer but not wmp9 speakers plugged into sound card... ??

thnx so much for help   (btw i have done lots of clean installs before and would not mind doing it again and using only dell drivers this time, if there isn't an EASIER fix if i should do this please jes let me know .. Sometimes Dells can be finicky, but that's not a bad thing. I think if you reinstall Windows and them immediately do the driver installs as I described you will be better off, especially if a full Windows reinstall does not scare you. (Win98 installs pretty fast.) The chipset drivers MUST go first, then video, then NIC card (if needed - Windows may do this on it's own), then audio.

Did the Soundblaster come from Dell? Look in the expansion slots and see if there is a modem card in there. It will have two RJ45 outputs on the same card that will fit a phone cord. The network card will be built into the motherboard so will NOT be in an expansion slot. The modem and the dial up networking are two different things so I think there IS a modem and it is not installed. Again, Everest can probably identify this.

If you copy and paste the full Everest report here before you start that could solve a lot of questions. Also helpful would be posting your service tag - it is a five or six digit letter/number combo on the outside of the case and/or in the BIOS screen (F2 at boot when you see the Dell logo.) That will tell us exactly what equipment that Dell was shipped with.

I would install the Netgear wireless broadband LAST, so burn what drivers you need to CD and imnstall the drivers from there. Physically remove the card until you reach this point. Install the drivers, then turn off, install the card, and reboot. Windows updates go next.

Post back with your progress.thnx for that.. i will follow your instructions if what i just tried dont work(seems that way atm)

  i got everest and some other progs onto a cd w/ the second writing prog i tried "burnmyfiles" trial

i will post you the everest report when IM done (after what i do now doesn't work then i follow ur instructions exact then post it )

i did not know "dial-up adapter" (device manager under net adapters)  was different than a modem, this was no PROBLEM to install and update driver, rj45s are hard to miss, this fixes gap in understanding thnx

what is "NIC card " network interface controller? this is not my netgear broadband card cuz that goes last?

the sound blaster live did come from dell
tag = 5S0VB01

any particular reason to install netgear wireless card last?  i can do it but it easier to do it first.. ? )

also do i need the green and black 4 pin cords connected from cddvdrom to sound card (black) and from sound card to modem (green)Here is how your system was originally shipped on 1/22/01 Just input that service tag:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/my_systems_info/en/details?c=us&l=en&s=gen

I PREFER the wireless card last as it is less problematic after all of the other hardware is installed, but that's just me. (I've installed a lot of operating systems.   )i just modified one above about cords plz reply u are very helpfulNIC refers to the onboard Ethernet. No,it is not your wireless card.

You can do that either way. As this is digital sound you do not have to connect it, but it won't hurt anything at all if it is already connected. If so, just leave it as it is.  ok the pc does not have an ethernet card (broadband over wire) why called onboard? meaning one that is not in a pci slot but solder onto board?

ok screw cables ill try it both ways once i set it up how you say then i will post everest report if still no sound.

u r very helpful this is the first time ive posted on the net, think i might get sound working that would be nice to my laptops keyboard which might break from games..i have only the netgear wireless card