Sound, video & pictures

Basic sound

Sound problems — Troubleshoot problems like having no sound or having poor sound quality.
Change the sound volume — Set the sound volume for the computer and control the loudness of each application.
Choose or disable the alert sound — Choose the sound to play for messages, set the alert volume, or disable alert sounds.
Use a different microphone — Use an analog or USB microphone and select a default input device.
Use different speakers or headphones — Connect speakers or headphones and select a default audio output device.

Music and portable audio players

I can’t play the songs I bought from an online music store — Support for that file format might not be installed or the songs could be “copy protected”.
My new iPod won’t work — Brand-new iPods need to be set-up using the iTunes software before you can use them.
Open applications for devices or discs — Automatically run applications for CDs and DVDs, cameras, audio players, and other devices and media.
Songs don’t appear on my iPod when I copy them onto it — Use a media player to copy the songs and safely remove the iPod afterward.

Photos and digital cameras

Media card reader problems — Troubleshoot media card readers.
Open applications for devices or discs — Automatically run applications for CDs and DVDs, cameras, audio players, and other devices and media.

Videos and video cameras

Create fun photos and videos with your webcam — It is like your own personal photo booth.
Open applications for devices or discs — Automatically run applications for CDs and DVDs, cameras, audio players, and other devices and media.
Other people can’t play the videos I made — Check that they have the right video codecs installed.
Why won’t DVDs play? — You might not have the right codecs installed, or the DVD might be the wrong region.
How do I enable restricted codecs to play DVDs? — Most commercial DVDs are encrypted and will not play without decryption software.