After you have installed your sound card, follow these steps to set its volume properly.
To set the volume on your sound card
From the Windows Start menu, choose Programs > Accessories > Multimedia > Volume Control. The Volume Control window is displayed.
To adjust the playback volume, drag the Volume Control slider up to raise the volume and down to lower the volume.
To change the balance between the left and right speakers, drag the Balance slider.
If your computer has more than one device (for example, a MIDI or Wave device), you can set the volume for each device.
To learn more about the controls, choose Help Topics from the Help menu of the Volume Control window.