No sound, but the speakers seem to be trying

[Doug Egbert]

I was using my computer in the morning and had sound as usual...after school, I came back to my computer and now I have no sound (that includes for games, CDs, or anything downloaded from the net).  What does some through the speakers are the sounds of my computer's hard drive running.  It's very faint.  I've gone through the troubleshooter and still have the problem.  I've tested the speakers elsewhere and know they're working.  Any ideas?  Do I just need to update the drivers or should I get a new soundcard?

[Raptor]

Have you made changes to your drivers?

Are all the cables still connected?

[merlin_2]

type dxdiag in the run box...what does it report..is the volume controls set properly..as the sound been turned down..check..

[MalikTous]

This could be any of several things:

Sound card went south. Check the Sndvol32.EXE (volume control) app - right click the speaker icon in the tray and choose Mixer, or use from Run - and make sure nothing like Wave, WaveSynth, or Master Volume Mute is on. Try putting an audio CD in the CD drive and see if it will play through the analog CD input on your mixer. If the settings look OK, it may be your sound card DAC output or line amplifier is dead. If re-installing the sound card drivers and/or adjusting the settings don't fix it, replace the sound card.

Bad cables or sound card output jack/configuration. Make sure that your sound card is configured for the right speaker configuration. If you have only one pair of speakers, you should not be set for 4 or more. Jiggle the cord in the line-out jack and see if the speakers come on intermittently; if they do, replace the jack or sound card. Verify that the cables between your speaker set and your sound card aren't broken or shorted.

Bad AC feed to the speakers. You test the speakers elsewhere, but maybe the AC plug you use for them at your PC is bad. Try another power strip connection.

Intermittent connection in the speakers. I had to fix one set of speakers where the connector between the right speaker (with the controls on it) and the subwoof cabinet had begun coming loose. I had to get the sub board out, get most of the solder off, clinch the leads properly and resolder tham, and reassemble the whole thing. Then it worked fine.

[Flame]

Ok. You're in luck! I just had that problem 1 week ago! I'm not kidding! If your computer says that the sound is working properly, but no sound is coming out, then it is probably a driver problem. It depends on what kind of sound card you have as well. Who makes your sound card? (Creative, etc.). Also, make sure that they are connected properly, and that in the device manager, your computer is detecting your speakers.

[glb]Flame[/glb]