strange sound issues...

[csmaster2005]

ok, so I really have no idea what happened, I'm a fairly tech savvy guy, and would know if I was doing something I shouldnt... but here we go:

Basically, I get home one day and find that none of my MP3's will play.
I get the following error: "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file"

On further investigation, I also found that I have other issues now, such as:
a) I cant hear anyone when I try to talk to them on Skype
b) They were able to hear me but after I rebooted I think the mic doesnt work anymore
c) I can't run a game like Team fortress 2 (I think cause sound doesnt work and it crashes it)
d) When I try to use my scanner it tells me it's already in use, which it isnt, and yes I tried restarting scanner, computer, etc

I have no idea what happened, it kind of seems like some drivers stopped working, but as far as I can tell, they're all there.

if anyone can give me any suggestions to resolve the issues, that'd be great.

thanks

 

[NewMaxx]

My first guess would be a codec problem, although that wouldn't account for the scanner. It can't hurt to check, though. You can get a reasonable codec pack that will detect old/broken codecs upon installation here:

K-Lite Mega Codec Pack

Certainly drivers could be to blame and that would be the starting point, though. You didn't mention your OS but based on the specs in your signature, you're probably using Vista x64. Scanners and printers are notorious for being buggy with Vista so I would certainly try removing the driver, uninstalling the scanner, then a reboot and re-detection, possibly with a different driver version if possible.

You didn't mention your sound card, so I'll assume it's an on-board one. If so, it's probably Realtek. You can get the newest drivers for that here:

Realtek

There are many other potential causes. Windows Updates and system restores can cause odd behavior. If you can't trace your steps, more information could be helpful, and hopefully I've started you on the right path.

 

[csmaster2005]

sorry, I did forget to mention a few things:
I have onboard sound, and I'm running vista x32, not x64.

My printer/scanner has a vista driver (I have an mp160) and it was working fine for past 3 months, this issue only started yesterday.

Also, I forgot to mention that I still hear sounds, like for example and windows sounds, or if I send someone a msg in aim (that beep sound) etc, but I think it's only higher quality sounds that don't work.

And I tried to trace all the things that may of caused it, and the only thing I could think of was an AIM update I ran. Also, I did install visual studio, but I had installed it 1-2 days before the issue started, so it MAY of caused it as well.

Not sure where else to go, but I'm downloading the realtek drivers now, since when I originally setup my computer there was no official vista driver, and I had to 'hack' the old drivers to work with it.

 

[NewMaxx]

Recent versions of AIM have caused problems with Vista, actually, although I'd figure they fixed it. My friend had a problem with it (loses network/internet capability), and even with the newer version it still caused problems; that may or may not be a unique case. I told him to use Pidgin in the meantime. I haven't fully narrowed down what the problem is but I do believe it appears after an AIM update. So that might be worth looking into, I'd likewise suggest using Pidgin or Trillian if you want to keep using AIM.