New hardware found

[lizw]

Please help! I have a lap top with Windows XP. I was deleting some programes to speed it up and now am left with following message whenever I turn it on and I have no idea why or what this file is:

The file 'viaudios.sys' on Vinyl AC'97 Codec Combo WDM is needed.

Type the path where the file is located and click OK.

I have no idea what do to as I have never heard of this file or a WDM - could I have inadvertently added something instead of deleting?

Would be very grateful for any suggestions!

[Mickey_Blue]

Seems its a sound card driver u deleted , you could try reinstalling your sound card drivers .

[lizw]

Really sorry to be thick but how do I do that??? If I've deleted it how can I find it to reinstall.

Thanks for replying

[Colortec]

You could do a system restore to a time before you did your deleting. If windows re-instates any of the old programs you deleted, you can always delete them again - but be more cautious.

[vehelpfulguy]

...and learn from your lesson.

If you do not know what you are doing dont just delete files or programs. Windows does all sorts of things "under the covers" and the randon deletion of files or programs can cause all sorts of problems.

It is very unlikely that the deletion of a program is going to speed up your computer very much.

If you want to see what is using the computer type Ctrl Alt Del all at the same time and choose task manager.

Here you can see what your computer is doing, BUT DONT CHANGE ANYTHING.

Just make a note of it and ask back here.

[Kerplunk]

I don't want to sound rude but if you are not able to carry out tasks such as installing drivers, how do you expect to understand what you are deleting? Be very careful when deleting files from your computer.

Goto the laptop manufacturers website and try and download the sound drivers for your make and model. Tell us what make and model the laptop is and I will get you a link to follow for the drivers.

[wacky racer]

Did the laptop come with a CD of any sort. If not what make is the laptop.

[snook]

To be fair to lizw, she said she was deleting some programs, not random files. She was probably just dumping some programs that she'd installed but realised she didn't really use or need. I know that wouldn't speed up the computer, but it's the type of thing a person might do to try to speed it up if they're not very techy-minded (I know I've done it in the past, in the forlorn hope that it would do some good!).

Liz, don't worry about it, these things happen. Type the file name into Google and see what comes up. You might be able to download the file and reinstall it. Just be glad you came across WDM not WMD - they've been looking for them for ages! Now that could have been a problem, finding that on your system!

[lizw]

Snook - thank you so much for your kind words. I was feeling very stupidand quite upset. I'm not a techie - can type 85 wpm and do 100wpm shorthand - but I'm just a secretary who was trying to speed things up somewhat while working for a boss who wants everything NOW! I thought deleting would help, but a little knowledge, as they say, is a dangerous thing. Will try and rectify this today.

Thanks to everyone who replied to me - I do appreciate it and have learnt my lesson.

[snook]

Liz, you're far from stupid - I touch-type quite fast and I studied shorthand on my own and built up quite a speed with that too (though I don't really use it) so I can appreciate your skills.

We all need help from time to time so don't be put off asking. Other ABers were just concerned you might harm your system, but might have made their warnings a bit harsh. As for speeding up your system, try these:

1 Defragment - (in System Tools, in Accessories). Do it when the system's idle (it can take ages).

2 Clean out all the garbage that builds up - use Ccleaner, a great freeware program, from here. You can also use it to find and fix registry problems, and to safely and cleanly uninstall programs.

3 Disable any programs you don't want to start automatically at startup. Click on Run, type msconfig, click the Startup tab and untick any programs you know are not vital. Fewer programs running in the background might make the system a little faster (debatable, I suppose).

4 Any time there seems to be noticeable slow down, start Task Manager (hold down Ctrl, Alt and Del together) and take a look at the Performance (%age of CPU usage), and Processes (you might find something running and eating up CPU power, but be sure of what it is before you hit 'end process'). If the Performance figure is really high, without a good reason, there's something wrong - possibly malware causing problems. Which brings me to...

5 Make sure you have anti-virus software running and updated, and you also need something for adware and spyware, such as Spybot Search & Destroy, from here. Or AdAware SE from here. (preferably both).

Good luck!

22:50 Wed 22nd Mar 2006

[lizw]

That's fab - thanks so much! I will be back now periodically I hope you realise that! You'll get sick of me asking questions!