Hello,

I'm new to this group, but not to HL1 or 2 here...

Can anyone venture a guess as to what I may try to recover my audio (onboard
Realtek AC'97, ALC850 Codec) that was lost after I had a graphic lockup and
audio loop after playing "Lost Coast" for at least 10min trouble-free on my
PC?

Windows XP SP2
DFI LanParty UT nF3 250Gb
w/stock BIOS 9/14
AMD64 3200+ Newcastle CG
2X512MB Kingston HyperX PC3200
BFG GeForce 6600GT OC AGP 8X w/128MB DDR3
w/ForceWare 77.77
2X60GB Maxtor SATA HD RAID
Artec DVD/CDRW 52X
Ultra ULT-31646 500W w/CPS
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Aircooled
Envision EFT920
Saitek Eclipse KB
Logitech MX510
Logitech X-230
NO OVERCLOCKING (except BFG factory OC Videocard)

A tech at Altex (local PC chainstore) brought back the system from hanging
at post- he said the BIOS had defaulted my HD config from Raid striping back
to 1 60gb HD. Clearing the CMOS repeatedly fixed it (supposedly), but I got
the PC back without an audio cable between my DVD/CDRW and my MB. After
replacing that and doing a clean install of NVidia drivers (audio, too) I
still have no audio coming out of any of my outputs. My Device Listing shows
no errors or conflicts and everything works (including WinMediaPlayer, Nero
DVD, all games). I even get movement on Spectrum Analyzers and VU meters-
and even replayed "Lost Coast" after turning down the resolution a notch. I
tested 2 sets of speakers, headphones, front audio output, and doing a
system restore to the day before I downloaded that high-def level.

No change. Any other ideas? I've never had audio problems in the year I've
used this system.

Thanks for your time,

!bungle
'01 SV650
Austin TX

p.s. I've been playing HL2 Deathmatch with no audio- it's a lot harder that
way...