The closest I could come just Googling for an answer is the following: http://www.kbalertz.com/kb_314505.aspx It might start you in a direction that could be helpful.

I followed the directions carefully in the link you provided but they did not solve the problem. In fact, after attempting to reload the codecs, what happened was that I then had a 2nd Audio Codecs entry in the Device Manager except when you opened it instead of having a "Properties" tab behind "General" tab there was a "Driver" tab. Mildly frustrating to be sure.
 
Okay, so now in order to put that right I boot into SAFE mode and uninstall the entry. While I'm at it, I figure if I remove the listed codecs that I can then subsequently reload them through the Hardware Wizard. It allows me to remove all but one and, of course, when I attempt to reload them what I get is not a fresh batch of codec's but the entry with the driver again. Adding to my frustration is the fact that on the DirectX Files page I see that three of the dll's are marked with a yellow exclamation point and a note at the bottom recommending that I reinstall DirectX since ddraw, d3d8, and d3dim700.dll's are old versions and likely to cause problems.
 
At least there's SOMETHING I can fix so I proceed to reinstall 9.0c not just once but twice - rebooting after each attempt - and, naturally it has no effect whatsoever on the Three Musketeers who stubbornly refuse to capitulate. Interestingly enough though, when I run the TestDirectSound test, I can clearly hear each and every one of the test sounds but no note appears in the space below attesting to the successful test run.
 
Is there a way to fix this or am I gonna have to fdisk the partition and start from scratch? I do believe that I'm as frustrated as I've ever let myself become over this dilemma. Oh, and yes, I still get that error message, once when I first open the diagnostic and then twice more at the Sound page.

Try a repair install of XP before starting over from scratch.
 
CLICK then use method 2.

My XP SP2 cd came in today's mail and after the install, all those troubles just disappeared. Error messages are a bad memory and the DX Files are in good order as well. The only thing it didn't do was to replace the ten missing codec's but as long as the sound is healthy, and it is, I'm through wrestling with that alligator.
 
Don't ye just love a happy ending? Thanks for the good advice just the same. Now if I can just keep this boat from springing any more leaks I think this is gonna be a real nice journey, hehe.