Speakers not working

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HippieGirl

HippieGirl

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I've had Bose Companion 2 speakers for close to a year. Worked beautifully up to yesterday. All of a sudden they stopped. I don't know what is going on. My headset works fine. Anyone have any ideas?

 
It's likely the speakers kicked up for the last time and went foobar on you there. The preference here besides considering a look at a few other brands are usually Logitech as they seem to be quite durable.

The thing to do is try them on the headphone jack of a portable radio if you don't have another system with working sound there or simply another pair to see what went. Are you using onboard or an installed sound card?
 
It couldn't have been the driver in the first place because it plays on headphones. Is there a seperate port for the speaker and the headphones?

If so then maybe its your port / jack?
 
I think you're right. I had the headphones plugged into the back with the speakers and they didn't work. When I plugged them into the port in the front they worked fine :)

Can I run down to Best Buy and get a new port or do I have to order from Dell?
 
If the port is on the board itself for onboard sound it would be a task for the non experienced soldier to see that replaced. Radio Shack has all the mini jacks for projects seen there. The mini jack is a two channel 1/8" mini plug type.

Sometimes the software for sound can get goofed up as well. You can try right clicking on the Sigma Tel onboard sound item found in the sound, video, and game controllers section in the device manager to select the update driver option there to see if Windows will automatically locate the latest version to see if that corrects it.

The support site for the system if prebuilt will generally have their latest version for onboard found there to reinstall a fresh set. A bad connection in the jack however is not good since the jacks are usually seen inside a preformed plastic enclosure while a substitute from Rat Shack might work if needed.

One thing needed here would be the make and model number of the sysem for the quick look for updates. But this is one reason why I always run a separate card plus the improved sound quality of an expansion card with the onboard as more of a temporary alrternative if a card goes doa.
 
The support page for that model with everything available is seen at http://support.dell.com/support/dow...mID=DIM_PNT_9200_XPS_410&hidos=WW1&hidlang=en

You might want to add that to your favorites rather then always gong through their selection of series, model, OS there. They still show the 6/19/2007 driver/software set for the Sigma Tel onboard with three for Creative above that when you open up the audio + plus sign.

Since you know the speakers are working well and haven't wiggled the plug in the jack to see if there's a loose contact it could be just a driver problem where a reinstall would correct it before trying to replace the jack. All you can do is give that a try in case a driver was lost. 7mb is a little larger then what will fit on a floppy however. Save the link there until you get reconnected with the Dell again.
 
Reinstall Vista? ugh! Should I try to roll back and do a system restore? Maybe I went somewhere Vista didn't like, or a new update wasn't compatible. I always have problems when I update Vista. Could that be possible?
 
I didn't say reinstall Vista! I said the need to reinstall the software/drivers for the onboard sound to see if that corrects a possible glitch there. Otherwise you are looking at a bad mini jack on the board. Ouch! Those aren't easily replaced.

Your option then would be to see a separate sound card installed rather then replacing the board. But you would also hear better quality sound with a good card in! That stinks when you are used to the front audio ports hooked up for onboard. But you can also get speakers with a headphone jack and not worry about those along with better options for sound mixer, equalizer, and other things.
 
Vista doesn't need IE to check for updates. You can do it from the control panel.

If the headphones work in the same jack that the speakers were working in, or vice versa, it's not the computer, it's the speakers. The type of computer is immaterial.
 
So sorry SirKenin, you misunderstood. The speakers work on the other PC and my headphones work in the ports on the front of the PC. I think they may be right about the ports in the back.

So do I replace the port?
 
As I mentioned before you would likely have to bring it into a service center and not simply try it yourself if the jack has a broken contact. The idea behind first trying to remove and reinstall fresh download is to see if there's a glitch with the sound mixer portion of the software by chance.

If a reinstall fails a factory service center namely a Dell dealer with a tech would likely have to see the jack replaced. A place like Rat Shack carries all kinds of mini jacks for projects while only an experienced solderer/assembler could avoid burning traceways on the board since they likely work on boards for other types of devices and are familiar with the way boards have a type of seal coating on them.

A Dell dealer will see it fixed if the system is still under a warranty. While even the Audigy 4 Pro saw Vista drivers available at the Creative Support site the Xtreme Audio came down in price for a separate card you may want to consider. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102007

If you simply try to go in and replace the mini jack yourself you could do more damage since others things are usually packed in close on that area of the board plus seeing the exact fit. That's one reason why I never use onboard here in case a card quits the onboard serves as a backup rather then seeing that quit and then needing to go for a separate card. You may need to anyways if the jack can't be replaced.
 
If you got an extended warranty at the time even if not I would give them a try to see if they will charge more then for shipping. They would likely charge for replacing the board at this point since everything on a board is all preassembled and not something you can simply see items replaced on at home.

It may turn out to be something simple like a cold solder point that simply let go rather then the jack itself being no good. That's a quick fix for even a local authorised dealer to look at. But your situation at the moment would suggest a local dealer rather then shipping the system out and .... if you follow me on that.

That's a little something once you get to the other reply we can go into with more detail there. A local shop might still see a service charge however while being a lot faster at finding out what the problem actually is in a day or so. The preferred option I mentioned before about seeing a separate card go in now that Creative corrected the mess at their support site as your remember that one last year! :eek: :mad:GGrrr... :P !
 
HippieGirl said:
So sorry SirKenin, you misunderstood. The speakers work on the other PC and my headphones work in the ports on the front of the PC. I think they may be right about the ports in the back.

So do I replace the port?
Click to expand...

lol. Hun, the same controller operates both ports. The front panel uses a header on the board, the back goes direct. There are software settings with Realtek controllers to disable the rear outputs, etc. Start going through the Realtek settings and find out where your problem is. It could also very easily be a driver issue. Uninstall the driver and let Windows redetect the device sometimes works. Also, try resetting your BIOS to defaults. With the Dells, some have that option, some you have to have the caps lock, num lock and scroll lock enabled, then press <CTRL> <ALT> <F>. It will beep to let you know it was done right.

A "port" on the back is really only a socket with contacts in them. Unless the contacts have somehow gone bad which would be so insanely rare that it has a better chance of being struck by a meteorite.. There's nothing to go wrong with the "port" itself. It's somewhat possible that a part went bad on the board, but before you have that moron getting you to ship your computer all over creation, there are other things to check.

I would suggest going through your settings with a magnifying glass. I would also suggest forgetting that PC eye even exists.. His reputation is to mislead and cost people a fortune in time, aggravation and money. Just look at his post history. ;)
 
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