Since you have a little more time, maybe I can help you with some troubleshooting. It sounds like the problem is probably one of 5 things: the CD you received, your speakers, the speaker settings, the sound card, or the sound card driver. When I’m troubleshooting, I typically start with testing the easiest and least costly first, then progress upward to the most time consuming and most costly. So, here are the steps I would take, in the order I would try them.

Step One - CD: Do you have a music CD, try that in the CD drive and see how it sounds over the speakers.

Step Two: Have you tried using headphones? AfterMyNap recommended that, but I don’t see if you tried it or not. If you don’t have headphones, ignore this step for now.

Step Three - Sound Card Driver: Here is a link that describes how to Update and/or Repair the Sound Card driver:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/166774

Step Four - Speaker Settings: This link explains how to open the Sound & Speaker settings:

http://freewindowsvistatutorials.com...ltSpeakers.php

Then, you can follow these 2 links to Configure and/or Customize the speaker settings. You might need to test several different settings to see if there is any noticeable change:

http://freewindowsvistatutorials.com...reSpeakers.php

http://freewindowsvistatutorials.com...erSettings.php

Step Five – Headphones: If you don’t own headphones, purchase an inexpensive set and try those. If they sound good, that might solve your immediate problem.

Step Six – Speakers: If the Headphones did not sound ok, you can Skip this step. But, if the headphones did sound good, you probably need new speakers.

Final: If nothing above worked, I would tend to think you have a problem with your sound card, and you might want to talk to Rent-A-Geek.

I hope that helps. And, best of luck with your surgery.