headphones yes; speakers no

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

My built-in laptop speakers stopped working but I can still hear audio
through my headphones. The day before the speakers went out for good, the
problem arose and eventually a reboot brought back the sound.

I contacted Dell who told me that the speakers had gone out. A tech
replaced the speakers...but the situation didn't change. The tech said that
it must be a motherboard problem. Another tech came to change the
motherboard...but the situation didn't change. The tech said that it must be
a software problem. I was given a phone number and the option to pay 100
bucks to talk to someone about reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling
Windows.

Thought I'd first ask if there was a better option. I've got updated
drivers; what should I do next?

I'm running WinXP Pro with service pack 2.

Thanks
 
Since this is a laptop, and Dell at that, it's hard to say what the exact
problem is. Each laptop model is a bit different.
First, the headphones use a lower power output than the speakers. when the
headphones are connected, they may disconnect the speakers. If this is the
case with your laptop, the headphone jack on the laptop may be damaged, and
the reason why the speakers don't work. The headphone jack may be part of
the case, and not part of the motherboard. What ever happened to the
built-in or seperate non windows based diagnostics that were supplied with
the laptops?
 
Joseph_Stibora (donotspam) said:
My built-in laptop speakers stopped working but I can still hear audio
through my headphones. The day before the speakers went out for good, the
problem arose and eventually a reboot brought back the sound.

I contacted Dell who told me that the speakers had gone out. A tech
replaced the speakers...but the situation didn't change. The tech said that
it must be a motherboard problem. Another tech came to change the
motherboard...but the situation didn't change. The tech said that it must be
a software problem. I was given a phone number and the option to pay 100
bucks to talk to someone about reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling
Windows.

Thought I'd first ask if there was a better option. I've got updated
drivers; what should I do next?

I'm running WinXP Pro with service pack 2.

Thanks
Click to expand...


Wait, Motherboard AND speakers replaced, and STILL so sound? Either one
of the replacements was bad or Dell is correct. You DO have a software
problem.

You can get a knoppix "live" cd to boot your computer with. It's a
whole OS on a cd. Chances are good that it has your sound driver. If
you can get it to make noise, you've got a software problem. If you
can't, it doesn't mean anything, it could still be either hardware or
software.
 
My built-in laptop speakers stopped working but I can still hear audio
through my headphones. The day before the speakers went out for good, the
problem arose and eventually a reboot brought back the sound.

I contacted Dell who told me that the speakers had gone out. A tech
replaced the speakers...but the situation didn't change. The tech said that
it must be a motherboard problem. Another tech came to change the
motherboard...but the situation didn't change. The tech said that it must be
a software problem. I was given a phone number and the option to pay 100
bucks to talk to someone about reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling
Windows.

Thought I'd first ask if there was a better option. I've got updated
drivers; what should I do next?

I'm running WinXP Pro with service pack 2.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Have you checked how the headphones work? Most of the PCs that have headphone
and speaker jacks, will "turn off" the speakers when the headphones are connect.
 
Yves Leclerc said:
Have you checked how the headphones work? Most of the PCs that have headphone
and speaker jacks, will "turn off" the speakers when the headphones are connect.
Click to expand...

Hmm. you suggest this can be a stuck contact in the phone jack?
 
Back
Top