No Audio Output Device is installed? Help, please!

Hello, everyone.

I've searched the forums for topics related to this and none seem to be able to help. In a nutshell, my sound isn't working properly. For the past few weeks the sound has been mostly non-existent. An "x" in a circle sits above my speaker icon, and it says "No Audio Output Device is installed." On rare occasions when I turn my laptop on, the sound has mysteriously resumed working. But as soon as my computer Sleeps or Hibernates, the sound is out again indefinitely. Any idea what I should do?

So you know, I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. My laptop is an HP Pavilion Entertainment PC, dv2500 series. I've tried the whole install new driver thing with the Device Manager, but it tells me all drivers are up to date. I've uploaded a few screenshots so you guys can see.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

Thanks for responding, Fumz! I checked and it turns out that my laptop already has the Conexant SmartAudio driver you pointed out. I went ahead and re-installed it anyway to see if that would make any difference. An error message popped up at the end. I've attached a snapshot of it...

Fumz, you're amazing, pal.

I powered it down, waited the 2 mins, and booted up into the bios as you recommended. I discovered that the Button Sound in the System Configuration (the only thing I could find that related to the audio) was Enabled, as you can see in the snapshot I've provided. Surprise, surprise, though, when I booted up my computer, the sound is now working! There is no longer an "x" over the sound icon that tells me "No Audio Output Device is installed." As you can see, I checked the Playback Devices dialog box and there are now two items listed where the used to be none.

But I'm not entirely sure what to make of this, since the sound was already enabled when I entered the bios. I'm afraid this may just be one of those rare occasions I described earlier, and as soon as I enter sleep or hibernation mode the sound will be gone again indefinitely.

My laptop is no longer under warranty, so I probably won't be taking it to HP. For the past few years this machine has served me extremely well aside from the sound weirdness, but that's been enough to get me interested in purchasing a new computer.

Oh, and what's more, I still get the error message when trying to install the Conexant audio chip driver. Weird, huh?

Okie doke, Fumz. I'll check in to the hibernate thing, and in the future I'll be careful not to touch a Conexant-equipped computer with a ten-foot pole. haha Thanks again for your help. It was very kind of you, and I'm grateful. Take care!

i dont know what to do...