You can also update your driver (if you started getting the "no audio output device is installed" error after updating Windows).

First of all you can allow Windows to try to update the driver:

1. Open "Control Panel".
2. Open "System".
3. On the left side under Tasks click on the "Device Manager".
4. Double click on "Sound, video and game controllers".
5. Right click on the device and select "Update driver software"
6. Choose the top option and wait for windows to find updates
7. A window should pop up saying that Windows has updated the following programs
8. Click "Ok" and you should be good

You can also download the latest version of the driver and install it. If you have an onboard sound card, go to the support section of the manufacturer of your PC (such as Dell/HP/Toshiba/Sony/Fujitsu/Lenovo/Acer) and download an audio driver for your model of the PC that works on Windows Vista.

If you can't find a driver, you need to know the sound card that your PC has. Then you can go to the web-site of RealTek, Sigmatel, Creative,... and download a driver for your particular model that works on Windows Vista.

If the driver has an installer, you can easily install it. If the driver doesn't come with an installer, unpack it and:

1. Open "Control Panel".
2. Open "System".
3. On the left side under Tasks click on the "Device Manager".
4. Scroll down to "Sound, video and game controller"
5. Open that and you will see "High definition audio"
6. Right click and select "Update driver software"
7. In the new window choose "Browse my computer" and "Let me pick..."
8. Uncheck the "Show compatible hardware" box
9. Click "Have disk"
10. Browse to the location that you extracted your driver files to and just keep opening the Vista folder until you get to a bunch of .INF files. Don't select any of those just have that open. Your computer should have the one it needs in the file name box. Just click open and then "OK".
11. The window should open with a list of drivers. Choose your one and hit "Next" to install it.