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Troubleshooting Sound in Windows Applications

Select the section that best matches the problem:

No Sound Plays At All

If no sound is playing at all in the Windows Terminal Services session, use the following checklist to resolve the problem:

Things To Check Description
Does the client device have an audio device? To be able to play sound, the client device must have an audio device. If there is an audio device, check that it works.

Users with Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) or Linux client devices must also have read and write access to the following audio devices:

  • The /dev/audio device on Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) platforms
  • The /dev/dsp device on Linux platforms

Note On Solaris Operating System platforms, if the AUDIODEV environment variable has been set to a different device, the SGD Client tries to use this device before trying the /dev/audio device.
Is the volume muted on the client device? Check the volume control on the client device to see whether the user has muted the volume or set the volume level too low to hear.
Has the Windows audio service been enabled on the SGD server? By default, the Windows audio service is disabled for an SGD array. Check that the Windows audio service has been enabled on the the Global Settings » Client Device tab in the SGD Administration Console.
Has the sound quality been changed? By default, the Windows audio service uses Medium Quality Audio. Changing the sound quality to Low Quality Audio or High Quality Audio limits the audio formats used in the Terminal Services session and might mean that the client cannot play sound.

Reset the sound quality to Medium Quality Audio on the the Global Settings » Client Device tab in the SGD Administration Console.
Is the application running on a Windows 2003 server? You can only play sound in Windows 2003 Terminal Services sessions.
Has sound been enabled on the Windows 2003 server? By default, sound is disabled for Windows Terminal Services sessions. See the instructions for enabling sound.
Is the volume muted on the application server? Check the volume control on the application server or in the application to see whether the user has muted the volume or set the volume level too low to hear.

Sound Is Muffled or Distorted

If sound is muffled or distorted, adjust the audio quality and compression settings to see if this improves the sound.

If sound is muffled or distorted, adjust the UNIX audio quality and audio compression settings to see if this improves the sound. You can adjust the following:

Note The net gain of compressing audio data, which is pre-compressed, is limited.

Not All Users Require Sound

If you enable sound on the Windows 2003 application server and enable the SGD audio service, all users can play sound in their Windows Terminal Services session. However, playing sound increases the amount of network bandwidth used and so you might want to restrict its use. Currently, the only way to do this is to disable sound for groups of users on the Windows 2003 server. To do this:

  1. Do one of the following:
  2. Select the group policy object you want to edit.
  3. Click Computer configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Terminal Services, Client Server Data Redirection.
  4. Open Allow audio redirection.
  5. Select the Disabled check box.
  6. Click OK.

Changes to this setting only apply to new Windows Terminal Server sessions.

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