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I was using Windows XP Pro on my system. I had upgraded to Windows Vista. After upgrade there was no sound at all. I checked in Device Manager. The mutli-media audio controller is marked as yellow. I am sure this is a kind of driver issue. But Vista is able to detect and install all the hardware except this audio. Any ideas how to fix.
What is the motherboard you are using. On that basis you can locate the audio drivers. All you need to is find the motherboard model. You can use Cpuz for that. This software is free and tells you about internal hardware. You can also find the model by looking on the board. It is written over the same. Once you are able to find the right model you can simply visit the official manufacturer website and get Vista compatibility drivers. If there are no Vista drivers available then there is less chances that old XP drivers will work on it.
Do this type devmgmt.msc in Start Menu search box and hit enter. This will launch Device Manager. You can then right click on the multimedia controller and choose uninstall. Restart your system. On reboot you can find a New Hardware Installation Wizard. It will try to locate the drivers automatically. You can also perform Windows Update. Ample of driver problems are resolved through Windows Update. If all this thing does not work then right click on the old XP audio driver and choose properties. In that go to compatibility mode and set the same to Windows XP. Run the setup again and then see whether it works or not.
It is recommended that you must visit the official motherboard manufacturers website to find the right drivers. If you are not able to find anything on that then it is a bit complicated to locate proper version of drivers that would work really on Vista. Check your product documentation there is ample of information provided on the same and it is one the best way to find system information.
There is one more way to find the driver for your multimedia audio controller. You can look on your motherboard and there you would be able to find the sound chip. Check that to which manufacturer it belongs. Is it realtek. If it is then go to the official website of realtek and download the compatible drivers. I am not sure that XP drivers do really work, but you can test that on compatibility mode as mentioned above.
Just check Windows Update once. If that work then it is fine or else you must quit on Vista. You can do one more thing. Install Windows XP at one partition and Vista on second. And use it side by side.