Virtual Sound Card for Windows Server?
Microsoft MapPoint 2009 requires a sound card and wouldn't install on our 2003 terminal server. Solution? Connect through terminal services as an administrator, making sure to allow sound to pass through to the client connection- instant virtual sound card. It installed fine after that.
I'm not sure if 2000 allows you to connect sound (I think it does)- but it's also not recommended to install anything from a TS session on 2000 (you definitely have to put it into install mode first). Turning on terminal services on 2000 (server only) is a big ordeal compared to 2003, though.
As to WHY a sound card is required for the OPTIONAL sound features of MapPoint, I'd guess somebody was either being stupid, or just never tested on a machine with no sound (since there aren't many around these days).