I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I am not all that sophisticated technically. Going to device manager and "Sound, Video and Game Controllers" revealed nothing, just the various Codecs I have acquired. What I found out through Google is that the sound card is built-in on the Motherboard. (Audio Integrated 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio)
It is an Intel G965 board, inside a Gateway Media Manager GM5410E desktop tower.
I tried setting the Audio Output to ASIO but I received a "Playback could not be started with the output settings '44100 Hz, 32 Bits per sample, 2 channels'. I tried setting it to various Hz, Bits per sample, No sampling, etc., but I get the EXACT same message regardless of settings.
I then set the Output to "Wave Out" and the problem disappeared but was replaced with a new one: Now the song simply abruptly stops before playback is complete, within perhaps 2 - 3 seconds of its finish.
I am left scratching my head here. Your continued advice or help is much appreciated.