No Audio Output Device is Installed

Hi everyone,

I know I'm the 1000th person to ask this question, but I've tried the many brilliant methods out there to fix this issue with no success thus far. I've got an HP dv9815 running Windows Vista 32 bit, was watching a movie this afternoon and the sound suddenly cut out on both internal and external speakers. I've got the No Audio Device Installed messages, the inability to access video/sound game controllers from device manager, and the annoying 1980s internal speaker BEEP whenever I get an error message. I've tried restarting, resetting the driver through the recovery manager (it comes up as Conexant hd audio smartamc hd2 driver, but after restart there's still no sound), redownloading the driver, and adding new hardware (but there's nothing in my new hardware options that resembles a sound card). If you have an idea that doesn't involve me smashing my computer over my own head for buying an HP, I would be most grateful for your help. Thank you!!