Microsoft Kernel Wave Audio Mixer (MKWAM)

I purchased a Dell system awhile back configured with the Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card. Out of the blue the MKWAM would lose its mind...in other words the infamous yellow exclamation would appear and viola...no sound! A reboot of the system was working for a short time but that got old really quick. I searched the internet from one end to the other only to find a bunch of folks having the exact same problem with no resolution in sight.

Soon the rebooting of the system no longer solved the problem and I was no longer getting any sound. I also noticed the Dell sound software could no longer indentify the sound card and then that's when things started getting worse...

Tired of spending long hours trying to find a resolution, I came to the conclusion it was time to reinstall Windows XP-Pro/SP2 from the Dell CD. It's been over 3 months and the problem has not returned. The biggest difference is that now I am running the non-Dell Windows XP-Pro instead of the one pumped up the the Dell bells & whistles. Sometimes you have to keep-it-simple-stupid...

Good luck