Down near the clock is a pennant style flag, hover over it and see if it has found problems that need fixing. A message will pop up.

Failing that click Start
click Control panel
Near the top left of this window click Find and Fix problems
click Hardware and Sound or any of the 3 sub choices and see what the computer can do to self heal.

Also what program are you using to defrag is it a 3rd party program like defraggler? Defragging should not remove restore points.

Thanks, Owbist, for the suggestions. I learned something new about my computer! :) First suggestion: Nothing showed up with yesterday's date. There were some old items listed--nothing related to audio.

A few things were revealed through the Control Panel's Find and Fix problems. 1) It wants me to allow Windows to automatically update my device drivers. [I did nothing there.] 2) It said something about fixing my default audio which I allowed. Said it was fixed, but when I tried WMP, there was no sound.

Thanks for your reply, Zep. I used the system restore in Win 7. I was shocked to only see one restore point. (It was an automatic system check point which was made after pc finished defragging.) I wonder why there were none from before?

Should I let Windows automatically update my device drivers?

I'm going to check Acer's site to see if any info is there. Thanks again.

In doing a Google search for Acer help, I came across a video. When I played it, I heard the audio!!! What does this mean??? Is my audio driver OK? There is a Realtek driver at Acer support that I can download.

Is there something I need to do with WMP?

Thanks for any suggestions...

I don't know why there were no restore points available to you. I wouldn't let windows up date the drives. What I would do first if you have not is to enter the device manger, look for your Realtek onboard sound thing right click on it choose uninstall and reboot the computer. You could also double check that the Windows audio service is set to automatic, just scroll through the services list till you see Windows Audio Service. You can type services into the search box in the start menu at bottom, you can also type Device manager there too to enter that. You also have the option to boot to the Windows Advanced Options Menu, just restart the computer during restart keep pressing the F8 key wait for the black screen with white letters to appear, then using the arrow keys select / highlight Repair your computer and see what that does. If all that fails maybe the Acer has the Sound driver 64bit on there site.

If the video had sound then I think I might be installing WMP over itself to cure a possible corrupt file.

Zep, I uninstalled onboard audia and rebooted; Windows audio service is set to automatic; did the F8 key and selected Repair your computer, and am embarrassed to say I couldn't tell which tool to use... I uninstalled the sound driver and installed the 64-bit sound driver on Acer site. Nothing from WMP yet.

Owbist, I feel utterly ridiculous: I've been going in circles trying to download WMP. Google search shows I need version 12 for Win 7, but I've not been able to download it. Everything I click on keeps sending me around and around the same sites.

Thanks, fellows. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow! :)

Tips for fixing common sound problems.

See link.

Also I think this is the download page for 12.

Windows Media Player 12

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/windows-media-player

Paddy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tips for fixing common sound problems

Thanks, Paddy. I was on that "download" page about a dozen times last night. It merely gives information about 12. It doesn't provide the download. It was very frustrating for me when I realized I had only downloaded a video showing various features of 12. No matter what I tried, this is one of the sites I was constantly sent to...

I read somewhere in my wonderings last night that there isn't a separate download for 12 - that it's part of Win 7. I thought that since I had 7, Microsoft would provide the download. Do I have to use my restore disks??? I tried the troubleshooting it suggested. Zep and Owbist covered those very well.

Zep, which tool should I select when doing the F8 step?

Thank you all for your kind help.

Yes I got the impression MS was going to make you work to get WMP.

Take a squint at the link below, it looks a very comprehensive tutorial with screenshots.

Here is a link that might be useful: Remove and re-install WMP

Thanks, Owbist. I tried that yesterday, but nothing changed with WMP. However, I thought it might be a good idea to redo the procedure. Some striking changes occurred this time. All of my WAV files now open in Windows Live Movie Maker. I tried to play a music CD and got the box that said Windows couldn't open the file. When I checked the properties of the music, it shows as a CDA File... (I'm not alarmed - I know there has to be a fix.)

OK, I thought... I'll just go back to the Media Features and redo the procedure. However, there are now no check marks in the WMP or Media Center boxes!

I record 3 church services a week on this laptop. I take the sound from - I believe it's called a preamp - (signal too strong directly from mixer) and am able to record in Audacity. I now have audio in Audacity whereas I lost it after the defrag. However, the wav files I made from the audacity project files now open in window movie maker and are unplayable... I don't think I will ever defrag this laptop again!!! :)