Q: every time i restart it, the sound comes on as it turns on, and then when i try to open a file (eg.itunes) no sound comes out. it says its playing in itunes and even on the control panel speaker control it says its playing fine.
A: im gonna ask the obvious... is it muted? because the bars in the equalizer will still jump you just wont be able to hear it. and a lot of laptops dont care if they are muted when they turn on. just asking. and yea driver updates would be another good option to try. maybe even find the disc that came with it and reinstall it. should be on your device drivers disc.