First make sure your operating system and computer can play any sound. I.e. the volume is up on the speakers and you can hear alerts, etc. If this does not work, check that the speakers are turned on in the Control Panel or Preferences. Note that some older computers may require an external speaker to hear any sounds.

If you have an older version of RealPlayer or Quicktime installed, many problems can be solved by uninstalling the software, then downloading and installing the latest player. Esp. under Windows, uninstalling before loading the new version avoids many problems.

If you do not have RealPlayer or Real One Player installed, you may be asked to download it from the http://www.real.com web site. Follow the links for the free player.

If you do not have Quicktime installed, you may be asked to download it from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/. Follow the link for the free Quicktime Standalone Installer.

The first time you play a RealAudio file your browser may ask you to find the RealPlayer application. Sometimes there is a checkbox to indicate that .ram files should always be opened with this application. Selecting this checkbox will avoid your having to select the RealPlayer for each sound.

Apple Computer's Finder sometimes hands off RealMedia files (.rm, .ram) to the wrong application. If your browser downloads a RealPlayer file and sends it to another application, find the file's icon in the Finder, select the file's icon with a single click, choose Get Info from the Finder's File menu, and change the Open With setting in the file's Info window to open the file with RealPlayer. Click Change All in the Info window so that future. Or just use the Quicktime sounds.

If Apple Computer's Safari browser downloads the .ram file, but does not run it. Open the Preferences dialog in the Safari menu. Click on the General tab. Check the Open "safe" files after downloading. Or just use the Quicktime sounds.