Windows 7 has been out long enough to get drivers out so why not tell more about that.
Also, same comment about the onboard sound. Most systems post 2000 have onboard sound so why not use that?
Sorry to read about the accident but on such events, all bets are off as to how far the damage goes.
Bob
Hi,
A week back an unfortunate incident happened.
I keep my PC cover open due to heating issues.
A big screw driver was kept in a glass just beside the PC.
Accidentally my hand struck the glass and screw driver fell on the PCI sound card.
The PC hanged immediately.
I rebooted but there was no sound. I unplugged the card from the slot and reconnected it and tried again but still no sound.
So I purchased a new sound card. The chipset is ESS Technology ES1978 Maestro 2E.
The driver CD supplied with the card has no Win 7 driver.
Fortunately I dual boot Linux (lubuntu) and Win 7.
I spend most of my time in Linux which has detected the card.
Two days after I purchased the sound card I suddenly discovered that my PC in not booting anymore.
At first I suspected the physical memory but that was not the case.
When I removed my Nvidia 9500GT from the PCI e slot the PC booted using the onboard 6000 series Nvidia graphics.
So now my graphics card is gone too.
As mentioned before I have no audio in Windows due to driver unavailability I also out of choice I am playing all my videos under Linux.
Problem is while playing videos frames are getting skipped. Sound is also getting affected.
Do you think the mainboard too has suffered damage ?

Chowhound
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