What's up with the headphones?

[It's me]

Can you post up the make & model of the computer? That would help us a lot to help you!

[Eireann]

HP Compaq dx7300.

[It's me]

HP Compaq dx7300.

I had a quick look.. some of the Compaqs of that era had actual internal speakers.

This might help:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...odTypeId=12454

[Eireann]

"The peripheral does not appear to be plugged in. Check the connection. Proceed to next step to finish."

Looks like you were right. I'll have to open it up and take a look at the connections, and hope I don't cause an even bigger problem!

[Eireann]

Okay, I have photos of the interior, since I haven't the slightest clue what I'm looking for - how do I post them?

[zenhashi]

perhaps when things got changed a setting like "mute speakers when headphones connected' got enabled?

Quoted for truth, had to disable laptop speakers that kept playing sound even though I plugged in some headphones.

Had to configure Realtek's Audio Manager, except you realyl couldn't configure it...since a button was missing from the software

Ended up re-installing the software.


On topic (and slightly related to the above), it could be a software issue. Would be better to diagnose hardware though, since it's (in most cases) easier .

You attach files by either

a) linking to site you've uploaded the images to (imageshack or the like)
b) clicking the Manage attachments below the area you type your reply into (under Additional options)

[Eireann]

Yeehaw! Here they are!

To quote Peter Scolari from an episode of Bosom Buddies, "It looks like R2-D2 threw up."

Have at it!

[Amadan]

Yeehaw! Here they are!

To quote Peter Scolari from an episode of Bosom Buddies, "It looks like R2-D2 threw up."

Have at it!

Is that a sound card in the bottom of the 2nd pic? If so was that always there or has it been added recently?

Also can you see the speakers in the case and trace back the wiring...

[Eireann]

If that's a sound card, it's been there all along. The only change has been the hard drive. I was looking for the speaker, and had no luck finding it. Yes, I am clueless.

[Geek King]

If that's a sound card, it's been there all along. The only change has been the hard drive. I was looking for the speaker, and had no luck finding it. Yes, I am clueless.

I can see your speaker in the first picture. Its that metal thing toward the front of the case, under the drive slots. Right side of the picture. It looks to have a black and red wire pair running from it.

[Eireann]

Yes, I finally spotted it this evening when I took the panel off the computer again. It's plugged in; the wires run to underneath whatever that thing is that looks like a sound card. Though it just occurred to me that I might not have checked the wires very closely on the speaker end. If they're solid, then what?

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Youtube has always done that with me. When I accidentally unplug my headphones (I've used 3 completely different sets on many different computers), and stick them back in, the sound doesn't work. Restart fixes it. Annoying.
EDIT: ... why, however did you guess that I'm a chair dancer...

[unperson]

I recognize that this might be a little too basic, considering what's been done so far, but have we already taken steps to verify that the sound works, at all?

For example, with a CD, etc? Youtube also has a nasty habit of removing the audio track from videos, so make sure that you're not dealing with any copywritten material (I thought my speakers/headphones/sound card took a dump when this happened to me).

Another thought, if you're using Win7 or Vista, there should be a volume control for each open application - open the browser you're most comfortable with, then click the volume icon in your taskbar to check the volume level for each app and make sure your browser isn't muted or low.

At the risk of restating - do the sound ports on the back of the machine work? If so, then you're almost certainly seeing a hardware/connection issue. If the ones on the back DON'T work, then it's likely software, so you may want to consider removing the sound card's drivers via Right-click My Computer > Manage > Device Manager.

I can help more with this, since I'm in support as a job, but I'm not always on this board so might be hard to get hold of. Let me know if you'd like to try something out, and I'll do my best to coordinate some free time for you.

[emax4]

A year ago I started getting into building my own machines, basically to put Mac OS X on PC hardware. i know from going into BIOS that some BIOS versions have an option to enable or disable audio.

On my machine there were the audio jacks on the motherboard, and on the case itself there were audio jacks (that had a cable to the motherboard). In the BIOS I could enable audio, and if it was enabled, there was a submenu to enable or disable the front panel audio. So not only did I have control over all the audio, but the front ports as well.

In order to access the BIOS, you will have to hold down or repeatedly press a key in order to access it. It varies per manufacturer, but sometimes it's F2 (function key at the top row), while on others it's the delete key, or F12. If you press it and it only gives you a list of devices to start up with, that's the wrong key (but helpful nonetheless). Once you get in the BIOS you can navigate through the manus, find the one for audio and make sure it's enabled.

if you haven't already, go to this site (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...&swEnvOID=1093) to download all the latest driver updates for your hardware.

[Eireann]

The jacks on the back work; I just use the ones on the front because they're more convenient. I'm currently updating the RealTek, but I don't know what effect that will have.

Ah - "No driver was supported in the driver package."