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Tech Tips / Windows 2000 Professional / Hardware and Drivers

Enable digital audio CD playback

If you're using digital speakers, such as USB speakers not connected to a sound card, you might be pulling out your hair trying to figure out why you can't hear CD audio. There are two requirements for playing CD audio through digital speakers. First, the CD-ROM drive must support digital playback. Second, you need to enable digital CD audio. Here's how:

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Expand the DVD/CD-ROM Drives branch.
3. Right-click the CD-ROM drive and choose Properties.
4. Click the Properties tab to display the Properties page.
5. Select the option Enable Digital CD Audio For This CD-ROM Device.
6. Adjust the volume if needed, then close the Properties sheet.
7. Restart the computer.

If the CD-ROM drive doesn't support digital CD audio, you'll need to connect the drive to a sound card to play audio CDs. If your CD was working fine before you enabled digital playback, deselect the setting and restart the computer.