PC
Sound Card Problems – Driver and Hardware
Is sound enabled in the operating
system? In Windows, the basic "Sounds" menu is found in Control
Panel. Sound events that have little speakers next to them are enabled. Enable
sounds for some actions that you recognize (like "exit program" or
"minimize") and see if your speakers work now. Note that operating
system sounds don't need to be enabled for music CDs or games to work, but if
you're here, we're starting off with the assumption that you aren't getting any
sound out of the speakers at all.
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Are the speakers plugged in to a
power source? The volume control on speakers usually serves as an on/off as
well. There are some super cheap speakers that don't offer amplification, in
which case there won't be any power cord, but don't expect much in terms of
volume or quality. Really ancient speakers may be powered by batteries rather
than a transformer, so if your speakers don't have a power cord, double check
that they don't have a hatch for batteries.
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Many older sound adapters and
notebook computers have a manual volume dial, as do most external speakers.
Manual volume dials should be adjusted to somewhere in the middle of the range,
not all the way to one extreme or the other. Did you check? Check again. You
don't want to invite a friend over to help with your sound problem, only to
find the volume is manually turned down.
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Have you loaded the best driver for
the sound card? The best driver means the most recent driver, so check the
manufacturer's website for an update, because your sound card may have been
sitting on a shelf for a year before you bought it. If the sound is integrated
on the motherboard, check for an update at your motherboard manufacturer's web
site.
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Does Device Manager register the
sound card or integrated motherboard audio and report that the device is
working properly? Even if you don't have the proper driver, Device Manager will
probably identify it as a sound controller. Before you start stripping down the
system or chase off to conflict resolution, make sure the adapter is seated in
the motherboard slot.
If the Device Manager reports a
resource conflict between any of the audio devices and another device, look
through all of your device reports and figure out where the conflict is. It may
be resolvable by changing the settings in Device Manager, or it may take
aggressive reshuffling of adapters. If you get a "!," "?"
or "i" on the sound controller in Device Manager, proceed to Conflict
Resolution.
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Check
your documentation
or the symbols on the sound card to make sure you actually have the speakers
plugged into the proper jack. On high-end sound cards with front and rear
speaker jacks, try the front speaker jack first. Check that your audio patch
cables are all plugged firmly into the proper jacks and that the cables aren't
damaged. If you have USB speakers, they don't jack directly into the sound
card.
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Software volume controls are the #1
problem with sound, and a real pain to figure out if multiple people use the
system. Aside from the primary volume control often found in your system tray,
there are various other mixer panels and volume adjustments that get installed
with the driver and are offered in various applications. All of these can cause
a complete absence of sound if the "mute" box is checked. I don't
have any magic method for finding the mixer panel or any additional volume
controls in a typical system. The Multimedia icon in Control Panel is a good
place to start.
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Does
your sound
system work properly with everything except music CDs? If so, proceed to CD and
DVD Playback diagnostics. One good test is to try the speakers and cables on
another system, or another device with a speaker jack, like a portable radio.
Make sure you first turn the speaker volume control all the way down in case
the output is already amplified. If your speakers and cables don't work
anywhere, try swapping the cables to find out which is faulty. If the speakers
and cables are good, either the sound card is blown or you didn't look hard
enough for a hidden mute in software.
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If Device Manager only registers the
sound card when you strip out all the adapters except the video card, it's
definitely a conflict. If you have another sound card lying around, it's a good
time to try it; otherwise proceed to Conflict Resolution.
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If your only audio support is built
into the motherboard, make sure it's enabled in CMOS Setup. If you are using a
sound card, make sure any motherboard audio is disabled in CMOS Setup. If you
can't get the operating system to recognize the sound card, which is sure to be
plug-and-play, shut down and unplug, remove all the other adapters except the
video card from the system, reboot and let the BIOS and operating system
adjust. Then shut down and unplug again, replace the sound card,
and see if you can get it going. If this works, you might still have problems
when you add the other adapters back in, but if you do it one at a time, at
least you'll find out for sure where the conflict lies.
Thank you,
Total library
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