Re: Mysterious loss of sound
- From: "JD" <erehwon@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2010 02:41:04 -0800
Many thanks to you and Paul for your helpful suggestions. I was able to
eliminate the speakers as the source of the problem, and bought a RocketFish
5.1 card from Best Buy. After a few problems getting the drivers installed,
I now have excellent sound once again.
I appreciate your help very much.
I understand that there are to be no newsgroups for Windows 7, which is a
shame. You guys perform a valuable service for many of us every day.
Regards.
"Jeffrey W. Bowen" <NOmcquireSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eO9QhO3iKHA.2160@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello JD,
From what you say, it is quite possible your sound card has finally called
it quits.
You can probably try the speakers with your wife's Diskman or any other
sound device that uses the same type jack. However if you couldn't hear
anything with your head phones, things do look bad for the sound card.
As far as the card being loose or unavailable, that is probable with an
improperly seated card. I'm thinking that might not be your problem since
the card would only come unseated if too much pressure was used plugging
in your devices to the sound card or the computer got jarred in some way.
So I would have to say I am probably wrong about the card being improperly
seated.
Re: Paul's suggestion to "turn off" and "power down".
This is actually a good suggestion to try before checking anything else.
Sometimes it is the glaring answer that no one thinks about until all hope
apears to be lost, and the computer is shut down to take to a repair
technician or computer guru down the street who finds the sound works just
fine when he or she turns the computer on to see what's wrong with it. LOL
I think what Paul was suggesting was that you shut down your computer
completely. I suggest you shut down from Windows ('Start' - 'Turn off
Computer' - 'Turn off' . . . just to clarify my meaning.) After the
computer shuts down, if your computer has a power switch on the back of
your computer near where the power plug connects to the computer, switch
it to off or 0. That's about the same as unplugging it from the wall. You
can also unplug from the wall if you want to be absolutely sure all power
has been removed.
Leave it off for 30 - 60 seconds to give the computer enough time to cool
down enough for the residual RAM memory to erase.
Hopefully, your computer's hardware and XP will forget that it couldn't
make sound, . . . so to speak.
After the 30 or 60 seconds, power up and see if you have your sound back.
Hopefully this will do the trick. If not try moving the card as I suggest
next.
Another option is to check one last time if the card is bad, is to move
the card to another PCI slot on the motherboard and see if that fixes the
problem. That doesn't necessarily mean the slot itself is bad, but that
some program or other hardware device has decided to use the same IRQ
Number as the sound card, and if your card is a Sound Blaster that could
be a very real possibility. Sound Blasters don't like to share IRQ
Numbers, . . . or at least they didn't when I used to use them. :-)
I hope this helps. Good luck. I'm getting ready to call it a night, but
I'll check in tomorrow before my eye appointment to see if you had any
luck.
--
Happy New Year to all.
Peace,
Jeffrey W. Bowen
Remove NO SPAM entries from email address to send personal email.
Please post replies of successes or failures so we all can benefit from
each others' experiences.
"JD" <erehwon@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eN5bqh2iKHA.1420@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello Jeffrey,
The headphones when plugged in normally also give no sound.
I tried plugging the phones directly into the computer, via the green
plug, to see if sound came through the phones. Alas, no joy.
If I'm understanding any of this correctly, that would indicate that the
sound card, and not the speakers, is indeed the culprit.
If the card were not seated properly in the slot, wouldn't the in/out
jacks be loose or unavailable?
I will try your suggestion of uninstalling and reinstalling the sound
card.
My wife has a Diskman player. I wonder if I could "test" the computer's
speakers through it.
Thanks much for your help.
"Jeffrey W. Bowen" <NOmcquireSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Oi0NBX1iKHA.2160@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm sorry for not getting back to you sooner JD.
Yes, I was hoping that one of my thoughts would be correct and that the
sound card would be ok.
One thing I forgot to suggest is to open your computer and make sure the
sound card is seated properly into the slot. I expect that may not be
your problem though since the card worked earlier in the day. Sometimes
you will start getting some static from the speakers if the card is
beginning to go bad.
If the device manager says the sound card is working properly, then you
might wish to try uninstalling and reinstalling the sound card
completely.
You can choose uninstall or just delete the listing of the sound card in
the device manager. Choose yes and reboot your computer.
The sound card should be detected and reinstalled.
Paul made another suggestion that the speakers may have failed. If you
can test the speakers on another system to see if they still work, you
can rule them out or find that that is your problem.
If that doesn't work, then you may need to replace the sound card.
One more thought, if your speakers have a place for head phones, try
that or plug in a different set of speakers or your head phones directly
into the sound card to see if you can hear sound through the speakers.
I hope this helps a little.
If there is anyone in this NG who can offer other options, please feel
free to step in.
--
Peace,
Jeffrey W. Bowen
Remove NO SPAM entries from email address to send personal email.
Please post replies of successes or failures so we all can benefit from
each others' experiences.
"JD" <erehwon@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uZiUHT0iKHA.1420@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I appreciate your lengthy response and suggestions.
First, this is a Gateway desktop running Windows XP SP 3. It's surely
also relevant that the sound system has worked for several years, and
that it was working earlier in the day and there were no reboots during
that time. The volume control is on the right-hand speaker and is
definitely turned on. I did reinstall the sound card drivers and Device
Manager assures me that they and the card are "working properly."
I've been through the Windows hardware troubleshooter and verified each
suggested item. No volume control settings are muted or turned down.
None of the cables were moved or disconnected during the day in which
the system failed.
The sound card is not part of the motherboard.
Do I infer correctly that it is your guess that the sound card (not the
speakers) has failed and that the likely solution is to buy a new sound
card?
Would the device manager still say that "the device is working
properly" even if it were not?
"Jeffrey W. Bowen" <NOmcquireSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:O0kbvIyiKHA.2184@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Before I begin, I just wanted to explain that it is always a good idea
to tell us what kind of computer you have (Desktop/Laptop), Brand and
model number, as well as the specifications - Operating system,
Memory, and anything else that might help guide you better on how to
fix your problem.
First check and see if your speakers have their own Volume Control.
Mine can be found on the right-hand speaker. If this is the case,
check to see if it has been turned all the way off or down. I assume
someone in your family may have turned it down for some reason.
If this isn't the case, then do the following.
Reinstall the drivers for your sound card, or check for updated sound
card drivers on your sound card or computer manufacturer's website. If
a new driver is available, download and install it.
If no help, then:
Double click on the Volume Icon that looks like a little speaker near
the clock on your task bar.
Check the level control of the one designated as Volume, the one
designated as Wave, the one designated as SW Synth, and the one
designated as Line out or Aux.
If the Main Volume control is not muted or turned down, then check the
Wave Control for the same thing and the others until you can confirm
that all are not muted and/or turned down.
For the folowing, I need to explain that you already checked the
connections in the back, but I have good reason for you to take this
next step.
If all of these are set correctly, look at the manual for your
computer to find out which female connectors are for what in the back
of your computer. For example depending on your set up, if the
connectos are not already labled, the manual should say which is for
the Spkr, Mic, Line In, Line Out, and maybe Aux and some machines have
a connector for Digital sound. You probably don't have all of these
connectors, or you may even have more. The usual connector obviously
is the Spkr or however your manufacturer lables it. If that isn't
working, then try the Line out or Aux connectors to see if you get
sound from one of them.
If none of these help, we need to know if your sound card is built in
to the mainboard(motherboard) of your computer or if it is an add-on
card.
If it is built in, try the support area for your computer maker'd
website and see if they have any information on how to troubleshoot
your computer's sound card. You can also check for the latest drivers
to install for your onboard sound card.
If it is an add-on, then go to your sound card's website and download
and install the latest drivers for your card.
If all else fails, you can go out and purchase a new sound card and
install it and use it. Just make sure you discharge all static
electicity from your body before digging around inside your computer,
and work in a clean non-static area to prevent possible roasting of
your whole system.
I hope this helps.
Happy New Year to all.
--
Peace,
Jeffrey W. Bowen
Remove NO SPAM entries from email address to send personal email.
Please post replies of successes or failures so we all can benefit
from each others' experiences.
"Rich Barry" <rbarry@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23j1LERsiKHA.2188@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Did you check in Control Panel>Sound and Audio Devices>Volume.
Any Mute boxes checked?
"JD" <erehwon@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23IKjQwriKHA.1420@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
All of the connections have been double-checked and are secure. The
Device Manager assures me that the sound device is "working
properly." The drivers are signed and up to date. I just all of a
sudden can get no sounds. No system sounds, no music from Media
Player, etc.
Any suggestions? Is it possible that the speakers have just gone bad
in some way?
.
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