The IBM ThinkPad X41 has built in speakers, which can make audio problems frustrating. Try taking plugging in a pair of headphones into you laptop's headphone jack. If you hear sound in the headphones, then the problem could be a hardware problem. If you do not hear sound in the headphones, try one or more of the following:
* Check your physical volume controls which are located at the top of the keyboard. using these controls, make sure that your volume settings are turned up.
* Click on the speaker icon on your task bar in Windows to open the volume controls. Make sure that the Main volume control is turned up, and the volume is not set to mute.
* If the above does not solve the problem, open the Device Manager by clicking the "Start Button", Control Panel, System, and then Maintenance. Then click on Sound, Video and Game Controllers. Check to see if there is a sound card detected.
* If there is no sound card detected, the right click on My Computer and then select Properties. The click on the Hardware tab. After opening the Hardware tab, click on the the Device Manager button. In the device manager window click on the "+" sign next to Sign, Video, and Game Controllers. Then right click the time with the red icon and then select "Enable".
If this does not solve your problem, then a driver for the sound card may need to be reinstalled.