No stereo sound

[Paul MR]

The bottom-line is that the desktop computer plays only the right stereo
channel. No music comes through the left channel from any source: CD,
DVD, wave file, the speaker test program, nothing. I inherited this
unbranded machine from my brother and I know very little about
computers, as you will be able to ascertain. If this is not the correct
group, please forgive and point me in the right direction. My gut
instinct says that it’s a hardware problem. I don’t know enough to even
do much troubleshooting. Nonetheless, I have done the following (longish):

Windows XP Home with service pack 2. There are enough jacks in back to
plug in five speakers, but I use only the jacks for front left and
right. I have tested the speakers, speaker wires, and plugs and they
are all ok. But I suppose the left channel jack itself could be faulty.
I have checked the volume controls through control panel and
everywhere else I ran into one, and nothing is muted and all the sliders
are centered. I looked at the Control Panel: Device Manager. The only
thing with a yellow question mark is named “Promise SATA Console
Processor Device”; I don’t know what that is or whether it is relevant.
The D:\ drive is a DVD reader. The E:\ drive is a DVD writer. I was
able to copy a CD which played properly on my other stereo system, so I
conclude the D:\ and E:\ hardware are both ok and that burning the disc
bypassed the problem somehow.

The software programs that seem to do with sound are Microsoft Media
Player, AvRack, Intervideo WinRip, WinDVD4 Player, WinDVD Creator, CD
Burner XPPro 3, and IMGBurn. I have only slight ideas about what any of
these programs do, and I suspect they duplicate many functions. They
all seem to be working properly as far as I can tell. There is also
something named Adaptec AVC-1200; I am not sure whether this is the
metal box plugged into one of the USB ports or whether it is software.
When I used it to convert a VHS tape to DVD, nothing from the left
channel source came through and the right channel source played back in
monaural sound through both speakers on the television.

As far as the hardware itself, I don’t know where to begin to
troubleshoot. A major problem is that when I try to use help screens,
things are identified by brand names or meaningless initials and I have
no idea whether the thing is hardware or software or what it might do.
I have never opened a computer case for fear of destroying something,
but I’m willing to learn. Can anyone suggest the best way to proceed
from here?

Paul in San Francisco

 

[Brian A.]

The bottom-line is that the desktop computer plays only the right stereo channel.
No music comes through the left channel from any source: CD, DVD, wave file, the
speaker test program, nothing. I inherited this unbranded machine from my brother
and I know very little about computers, as you will be able to ascertain. If this
is not the correct group, please forgive and point me in the right direction. My
gut instinct says that it’s a hardware problem. I don’t know enough to even do
much troubleshooting. Nonetheless, I have done the following (longish):

How many speakers do you have?
What's the Make/Model of the speakers?
What happens if you try other jacks? Some sound systems such as Creative 5.1 which I
have do not get plugged into the same color coded jacks. Why? I don't know why, only
Creative can answer why they wired their speakers to work that way. **Take Note:
Never, I repeat, Never, unplug/plugin anything while the machine is running to avoid
any damage to the machine or device w/the exception of a few devices such as USB.

Windows XP Home with service pack 2. There are enough jacks in back to plug in
five speakers, but I use only the jacks for front left and right. I have tested
the speakers, speaker wires, and plugs and they are all ok. But I suppose the left
channel jack itself could be faulty. I have checked the volume controls through
control panel and everywhere else I ran into one, and nothing is muted and all the
sliders are centered. I looked at the Control Panel: Device Manager. The only
thing with a yellow question mark is named “Promise SATA Console Processor Device”;
I don’t know what that is or whether it is relevant. The D:\ drive is a DVD reader.
The E:\ drive is a DVD writer. I was able to copy a CD which played properly on my
other stereo system, so I conclude the D:\ and E:\ hardware are both ok and that
burning the disc bypassed the problem somehow.

Did you run the tests in dxdiag for the sound? If not:
Click > Start, type in: dxdiag and press Enter or click Ok.
What version of DirectX do you have installed?
What is repoerted under each Sound/Music tab in the lower Notes pane?
Run the test under each Sound and Music tab.

The Promise SATA Console is not relevant unless it decided to play games with the
audio.

The software programs that seem to do with sound are Microsoft Media Player,
AvRack, Intervideo WinRip, WinDVD4 Player, WinDVD Creator, CD Burner XPPro 3, and
IMGBurn. I have only slight ideas about what any of these programs do, and I
suspect they duplicate many functions. They all seem to be working properly as far
as I can tell. There is also something named Adaptec AVC-1200; I am not sure
whether this is the metal box plugged into one of the USB ports or whether it is
software. When I used it to convert a VHS tape to DVD, nothing from the left
channel source came through and the right channel source played back in monaural
sound through both speakers on the television.

The Adaptec AVC-1200 is a Video Capture device, you can get the User Guide here:
http://download.adaptec.com/pdfs/user_guides/AVC-1200_UG.pdf

As far as the hardware itself, I don’t know where to begin to troubleshoot. A
major problem is that when I try to use help screens, things are identified by
brand names or meaningless initials and I have no idea whether the thing is
hardware or software or what it might do. I have never opened a computer case for
fear of destroying something, but I’m willing to learn. Can anyone suggest the
best way to proceed from here?

What shows as your Audio/Sound device in Device Manager > Sound, Video and Game
Controllers?

Post back the results in a response in this thread.

Paul in San Francisco

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Guest]

Sounds like you know quite a bit about computers.

Check out the Balance levels on all the software. Start with the small
little speaker at the bottom right of the screen/monitor. Make sure the
slider is in the center. Once you are confident all sliders in all software
programs are centered you can player around with the one in the lower right
hand corner for further debugging. I'm forever turning down volume in one
program and a day or two later wondering why the heck there is no volume in
another.

Also are your speakers a satellite system with the bigger floor unit and
then two or four smaller speakers? If that is the case then the smaller
speakers would hook up to that unit and only 1 speaker wire from the computer
to the floor unit. That one would hook into light green port. Your cables
should be color coded for easier hookup. Just match the colors to each other
for the correct connection.

Also check for any knobs on one or more of the speakers for adjusting the
balance.

AV Rack might actually have a menu where it literally guides you in making
the correct connection. Once it senses a speaker plugged into the correct
jack it says so and shows it so, but it might take some poking around with AV
Rack to figure it out, IF it has this feature. An older version of mine had
this feature but the present on doesn't.

 

[Paul]

The bottom-line is that the desktop computer plays only the right stereo
channel.

<<snip>>

Some computer cases have provision for a microphone and a headphone jack
on the front of the computer. The computer case has a wiring harness that
goes to a 2x5 header block. There are a maximum of nine wires on the harness,
as one pin on the header is used for keying and is not present on the motherboard.
The minimum number of wires used on FP_AUDIO, would be five.

If you disconnect the front panel wiring, there would be nine pins sitting there.
There are a total of four pins, that are supposed to have two jumpers installed
on them, when the wiring harness is missing. If you forget to put the jumpers
back, when the FP_AUDIO header is not being used, then you lose audio on the
green connector on the back of the computer. In other words, the header provides
a continuity function, connecting the AC'97 audio chip, to the green connector
on the back of the computer. When the computer case wiring harness is installed,
it is the responsibility of the harness, to provide continuity, so that the
left and right channel are still available on the rear green connector.

The jumpers are mentioned here, on page 20.

http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/fpio_design_guideline.pdf

Occasionally, people who buy motherboards on Ebay, forget to put the
jumpers back, which were not provided by the previous owner. And that
is one way to lose one or both channels of the audio on the green
connector.

In terms of verifying jumpers and the like on the motherboard, it helps
to have the motherboard manual. It will usually have a small section
with a picture of the jumpers that should be on the FP_AUDIO header.

Paul

 

[Paul MR]

Thanks for the three speedy responses. I am going to try Brian A.'s
suggestions first, since they do not involve opening the case. Thanks
if you all will stick with me while I try to sort this out.
Paul in San Francisco

 

[Paul MR]

You may be onto something here, Paul. My case (Antec Sonata brand) does
have jacks in front. I do have the book for it with eight pages in
English. As I wrote originally, I have never opened a computer case, so
I may have to find a smart teenager to help me pursue your suggestions.

Paul MR in San Francisco

 

[Paul MR]

How many speakers do you have?
What's the Make/Model of the speakers?

I think this is not relevant because after noticing the problem, I
plugged in two different sets of headphones with the same result: no
sound from the left channel.

What happens if you try other jacks? Some sound systems such as
Creative 5.1 which I have do not get plugged into the same color coded
jacks. Why? I don't know why, only Creative can answer why they wired
their speakers to work that way. **Take Note: Never, I repeat, Never,
unplug/plugin anything while the machine is running to avoid any damage
to the machine or device w/the exception of a few devices such as USB.

Thanks for the plug/unplug tip, which I will follow faithfully in the
future. The other jacks in the back (marked "side" "rear" and "c/s")
gave no sound at all, but I think this is because the set-up is a two-
channel setting at present.
This may be important: when I plugged headphones into the green jack in
the front of the machine, the sound and the silence switched channels.
That is to say, from the front jack, the left side gives sound instead
of the right. What could this mean?

Did you run the tests in dxdiag for the sound? If not:
Click > Start, type in: dxdiag and press Enter or click Ok.
What version of DirectX do you have installed?
What is repoerted under each Sound/Music tab in the lower Notes pane?
Run the test under each Sound and Music tab.

Thanks for this tool; I would not have known about it otherwise.
a. The DirectX version is 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
b. The sound tab shows device name = Realtek AC97 Audio; driver name
= ALCVWDM.SYS; Version = 5.10.0000.6240 English; Date = 4/25/07;
WI+QL Logod = Yes
When I ran the test, I heard all the sounds, but only on the right speaker.
c. The music tab. For Microsoft synthesizer, Realtek AC97 Audio,
Microsoft Midi Mapper (emulated) and Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth
(emulated), the results were the same for all tests: sound on the right
speaker only. There was no sound at all for MPU-401 or MPU-401 emulated.

The Promise SATA Console is not relevant unless it decided to play
games with the audio.

The Adaptec AVC-1200 is a Video Capture device, you can get the User
Guide here:
http://download.adaptec.com/pdfs/user_guides/AVC-1200_UG.pdf


What shows as your Audio/Sound device in Device Manager > Sound, Video
and Game Controllers?

Of a list of 10 items there, I believe the audio/sound device is Realtek
AC97 Audio. "The device is working properly. Driver is enabled and
functioning properly. Driver date = 4/25/07. Version 5.10.0.6240.

Post back the results in a response in this thread.

Do these results yield any information helpful to you? What to do next?
Thanks.
Paul MR in San Francisco

 

[Brian A.]

You may be onto something here, Paul. My case (Antec Sonata brand) does have jacks
in front. I do have the book for it with eight pages in English. As I wrote
originally, I have never opened a computer case, so I may have to find a smart
teenager to help me pursue your suggestions.

Paul MR in San Francisco

Antec Sonata cases are super simple to open.
On the left side there is a handle latch and it is also held in by 2 thumbscrews
directly above and below on the back of the case.
Unscrew both thumbscrews.
Pull the latch handle towards the front of the machine.
Swing the side panel out away from the case.
Once it's out far enough (approx 2" at the least) either pull upwards or push down on
the panel to dislodge it from it's pivot point and case. If you have more room to
swing it out fully it will release from the pivot point easier.

What you need is motherboard manual which will help you identify the
headers/connections on the board. Depending on your board make/model it may not have
a front panel audio header, then it would have 0-ohm resistors installed which act as
the jumpers.

If you decide to have a look-see inside the case:
Do not work on anything inside without the power supply switch on the back of the
case toggled to off. When still toggled on the mb will still have power supplied to
it.
Wear either a grounding strap or stay in constant contact with the case to avoid
electrostatic buildup in your body that could discharge to an internal
component/part/device/mb. Any ESD would have the potential to toast any of the
components/parts/devices/mb. Avoid at any cost working on carpet.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Paul MR]

Antec Sonata cases are super simple to open.
On the left side there is a handle latch and it is also held in by 2
thumbscrews directly above and below on the back of the case.
Unscrew both thumbscrews.
Pull the latch handle towards the front of the machine.
Swing the side panel out away from the case.
Once it's out far enough (approx 2" at the least) either pull upwards or
push down on the panel to dislodge it from it's pivot point and case.
If you have more room to swing it out fully it will release from the
pivot point easier.

What you need is motherboard manual which will help you identify the
headers/connections on the board. Depending on your board make/model it
may not have a front panel audio header, then it would have 0-ohm
resistors installed which act as the jumpers.

Brian: I assume motherboard manual is the other booklet I have: the
Quick Setup Guide Q 964 by ASUS. It has 10 pages in English and some
photos to help. Thanks also for the grounding tips; you are absolutely
correct in assuming I knew nothing of these. If I open the case, it is
likely to be much later tonight or tomorrow.

Paul MR in San Francisco

 

[RalfG]

Try switching to 4 channel output (using the Realtec sound effect utility)
and plug your speakers into the rear channel to see what happens.

You can try updating the Realtek AC97 sound driver with the latest one from
Realtek, in case yours is a driver problem. If all of the ouput volume
levels in the master volume control are correctly set and the driver is
properly installed but one channel is still missing, you could have either a
broken connection (wire, plug) or burned out audio outputs.

 

[Paul MR]

Antec Sonata cases are super simple to open.
On the left side there is a handle latch and it is also held in by 2
thumbscrews directly above and below on the back of the case.
Unscrew both thumbscrews.
Pull the latch handle towards the front of the machine.
Swing the side panel out away from the case.
Once it's out far enough (approx 2" at the least) either pull upwards or
push down on the panel to dislodge it from it's pivot point and case.
If you have more room to swing it out fully it will release from the
pivot point easier.

What you need is motherboard manual which will help you identify the
headers/connections on the board. Depending on your board make/model it
may not have a front panel audio header, then it would have 0-ohm
resistors installed which act as the jumpers.

If you decide to have a look-see inside the case:
Do not work on anything inside without the power supply switch on the
back of the case toggled to off. When still toggled on the mb will
still have power supplied to it.
Wear either a grounding strap or stay in constant contact with the case
to avoid electrostatic buildup in your body that could discharge to an
internal component/part/device/mb. Any ESD would have the potential to
toast any of the components/parts/devices/mb. Avoid at any cost working
on carpet.

Follow up. I bit the bullet and opened the case. Naively, I had hoped
to find a disconnected wire that I could simply reattach to an obvious
spot. Wrong! I was overwhelmed and dismayed by what I saw. In
particular, the back sides of the speaker jacks were not accessible
without disconnecting and removing a lot of other things. I knew I was
WAY beyond my depth. I concluded that I could tolerate one channel out;
listening in two-channel sound was not worth the risk of breaking
something important. Before reclosing the case, I dusted a little
(there was hardly any dust) and I lightly touched every wire and
connection that I could access. I reassembled everything and both
channels worked. Holy moly! A miracle! Thanks to everyone who provided
advice and encouragement.

Paul MR in San Francisco

 

[Brian A.]

Follow up. I bit the bullet and opened the case. Naively, I had hoped to find a
disconnected wire that I could simply reattach to an obvious spot. Wrong! I was
overwhelmed and dismayed by what I saw. In particular, the back sides of the
speaker jacks were not accessible without disconnecting and removing a lot of other
things. I knew I was WAY beyond my depth. I concluded that I could tolerate one
channel out; listening in two-channel sound was not worth the risk of breaking
something important. Before reclosing the case, I dusted a little (there was
hardly any dust) and I lightly touched every wire and connection that I could
access. I reassembled everything and both channels worked. Holy moly! A miracle!
Thanks to everyone who provided advice and encouragement.

Paul MR in San Francisco

The jacks are encased and would be inaccessible without taking it apart.

If lightly touching cables/wires brought back full sound through all channels, that
sounds as if a wire is not properly conducting by either not be securely connected or
there is a small break in it. To bad you don't know which one is the cause, although
it more than likely should be one of the audio connectors.

Dust can cause issues as well as it can conduct also, from the sound of it you
didn't have significant buildup but sometimes it doesn't take much.

Glad to hear you have the audio working. Have fun and enjoy.


--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375