How To Detect If Computer Has Sound Card That Plays Wave Audio

This article describes how to detect if a system has a sound card capable of playing back wave audio data (.WAV files).

The multimedia Application Programming Interface (API) has a function, WaveOutGetNumDevs(), which returns the number of devices in the system capable of playing back wave audio data.

Step-by-Step Example

1. Start a new project in Visual Basic (ALT, F, N), and place a Command button (Command1) on Form1.
2. Add the following declaration to the General Declarations section of Form1:

         #If Win32 Then
   
         Private Declare Function waveOutGetNumDevs Lib "winmm" () As Long
         #ElseIf Win16 Then
         Private Declare Function waveOutGetNumDevs Lib "mmsystem" () _
          As Integer
         #End If
   
   						

3. Add the following code to the Command1_Click event:

         Private Sub Command1_Click()
         #If Win32 Then
         Dim i As Long
         #ElseIf Win16 Then
         Dim i As Integer
         #End If
         i = waveOutGetNumDevs()
         If i > 0 Then         ' There is at least one device.
         MsgBox "You Can Play Wave Data"
         Else
         MsgBox "Cannot Play Wave Data"
         End If
         End Sub
   
   						

4. Press the F5 key to run the code. Then click the command button. An appropriate message lets you know if your computer plays wave audio data.