My sound volume does not raise above a very faint level.

I believe that you are having an integrated audio card, meaning that it is part of the motherboard. So, the only way to fix it, would be by replacing it, the mother board. Check to make sure that your volume button is not the problem. You may enable/disable it by uninstalling Quick launch button (it should be in the add/remove programs section) and see if it helps. Of course this will affect the other buttons as well. You can always reinstall it after. On the other hand it will affect other buttons as well. The software to reinstall it is here All so, make sure that your sound card shows up in your device manager and is not flagged as having any kind of error. . If that does not work, it is time to disassemble your laptop and take a look at the speakers itself, all the wiring and connection. The service manual is available right here. The only other thing I can think of right now, if you do not want to disassemble it etc, get a external USB sound card like the Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Go. Hope this helps to get you started. Good Luck