In the case of audio, your audio card's driver translates signals and the operating system receives them as commands for the speakers to then produce the desired output, in this case being sound. When your audio driver is compromised, this means that the audio quality that comes from your speakers would in all likelihood be compromised as well. Drivers may also contain key features that optimize the usage of your sound card. If you're thinking of locating these AC97 audio drivers on your own, then you might be asking for trouble. Download the wrong set of drivers and you will only be making your situation worse.
This tool is known as the driver scan software. What this great program does is that it scans your computer for any missing or corrupt drivers, and once it finds them, it will give you the option of downloading the latest drivers you need, or if you've set it up to take full advantage of its automation feature, it will automatically download all the driver updates that you'll need.