The computer can play system sounds but not audio CD

This happens when your system is built without an analog audio cable connecting your CDROM drive to a sound card, which usually isn’t necessary in WinXP with most modern drives. However, that particular configuration does require that you use digital CD audio, which is different from a sound card’s Digital Output setting in that it controls how data travels from your CD-ROM drive. To enable digital CD audio, double-click Sounds And Audio Devices in the Windows Classic Control Panel view. Click the Hardware tab and highlight your optical drive in the device list. (If you have more than one, repeat the procedure for each.) Click the Properties button to invoke the drive’s property sheet and then click the Properties tab again that’s next to General. Under the CD Player Volume slider, which is normally turned all the way up, you’ll see a heading that reads Digital CD Playback. Make sure the corresponding box is checked. If not, click it to enable it.