Virtual Sound Card for Windows Server? [closed]

i have some software running on a server which requires a sound card to be installed.

i'm trying to find a virtual, or emulated, sound card driver for Windows 2000 Server. It doesn't have to play anything, send streams anywhere, or do anything. It just has to be there.

Note: This is a physical machine, but i want the solution that will port to a Microsoft Virtual Server machine running Windows 2000 Server. (in other words, buying a sound card will not work)


i've already tried the REaudio driver from MixW; it does not work (no sound card virtually appears in the system).


Update: 1k views? Obviously people are finding it an interesting question to keep stumbling across it. Up-vote it!


Solution 1:

You have a lot of variants.

  • https://github.com/duncanthrax/scream Scream - Virtual network sound card for Microsoft Windows
  • http://virtualsoundcarddriver.com/ Virtual Sound Card Driver
  • https://www.e2esoft.com/vsc/ e2eSoft VSC is a Sound Card Emulator
  • https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/ VB-CABLE is a virtual audio device working as virtual audio cable. It creates Virtual Sound Card
  • https://vac.muzychenko.net/en/ Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) is an audio bridge between applications that transmits sounds, but it creates Virtual Sound Card

Sorry, but this question has stayed actual in 2020.

Solution 2:

Microsoft MapPoint 2009 requires a sound card and wouldn't install on our 2003 terminal server. Solution? Connect through terminal services as an administrator, making sure to allow sound to pass through to the client connection- instant virtual sound card. It installed fine after that.

I'm not sure if 2000 allows you to connect sound (I think it does)- but it's also not recommended to install anything from a TS session on 2000 (you definitely have to put it into install mode first). Turning on terminal services on 2000 (server only) is a big ordeal compared to 2003, though.

As to WHY a sound card is required for the OPTIONAL sound features of MapPoint, I'd guess somebody was either being stupid, or just never tested on a machine with no sound (since there aren't many around these days).

Solution 3:

Go out and purchase cheap pair of USB headphones, they will install themselves as an audio device.

Downside is of course needing to have them plugged in if once installed you don't need them but the software needs it to run.

Though maybe you could tuck them inside the case.