Hi Anna, and welcome to the forum.

Some questions:
1) Exactly what sounds can't you hear, what exactly is being affected? Is it just system sounds (made by Windows) or[b:22lx7xyb] all[/b:22lx7xyb] sounds; including music, videos, etc.?

2) Is the speaker icon displaying in the notification area of the Taskbar (at the far right of the Taskbar)?

If the icon is there; right click on the icon and make sure nothing is muted, or that volume levels are not too low.

3) In Device Manager, what is the exact name of the Sound device? (trying to ascertain if it is 'onboard' or a separate sound card). Also, are there any little yellow icons (that look like an exclamation mark) associated with anything listed in Device Manager.

4) You say you are using brand new speakers; is that because you weren't getting any sound before so replaced the speakers? Or were you getting sound but just decided to upgrade the speakers?

5) If you can; please supply details of your PC; laptop or desktop, brand and model number, approximate age?

This is a fairly common issue Anna and we should be able to sort it out for you.....no problemo.

Cheers.....Jim