Now that tech forum no longer exists, I’ll post this question here, where there is lots of IT expertise.

My home computer has suddenly lost its sound. When I play music, nothing comes through the external speakers, though it is loud and clear through headphones. At max volume, I can here very faint muffled music through the speakers.

I’ve done the obvious things like re-booting and checking connections.

Any thoughts?

pesce.del.giorno said:

Now that tech forum no longer exists, I’ll post this question here, where there is lots of IT expertise.

My home computer has suddenly lost its sound. When I play music, nothing comes through the external speakers, though it is loud and clear through headphones. At max volume, I can here very faint muffled music through the speakers.

I’ve done the obvious things like re-booting and checking connections.

Any thoughts?

reinstall the driver.

Speakers might be fnerked.

Are the external speakers also externally powered?

Where do the external speakers plug in?

What OS? Check that the audio controls are set up for speakers and nothing’s on mute.

Speakers plug in the back of the box. There’s a little round hole specifically for them. I don’t think they are externally powered, but I’m not sure.

I was thinking maybe audio card, whatever that is?

Michael V said:

Are the external speakers also externally powered?

Where do the external speakers plug in?

Do they run through and external amp?

OS is the one after Vista. I’m not at home at present so can’t do any checks.

Yes, the speakers could be fnerked, but I wouldn’t expect them to expire acutely.

Thanks for suggestions.

>I don’t think they are externally powered, but I’m not sure.

If they’re externally powered, there’ll be a cable and plug attached to them that you have to plug into a power socket :)

pesce.del.giorno said:

Speakers plug in the back of the box. There’s a little round hole specifically for them. I don’t think they are externally powered, but I’m not sure.

I was thinking maybe audio card, whatever that is?

A friend of mine had this happen often and though I’m unfamiliar with windows, I could ascertain that somehow his sound driver had been uninstalled. This could have been for many reasons but his guess was that his mother had asked her grandson to find a way to shut the noise up. In my opine it could be because he was too inebriated to know which button he pushed.

I’d be checking the external speakers first – plug them into something else (mp3 player, phone etc.) to make sure they make noise, then make sure they are plugged into the right hole of the sound card.

Carmen_Sandiego said:

I’d be checking the external speakers first – plug them into something else (mp3 player, phone etc.) to make sure they make noise, then make sure they are plugged into the right hole of the sound card.

I agree; the first step is to ensure the speakers actually work. If they do – but not with your PC – then we can start checking other possible causes.

If it has powered speakers crank the volume on the amp box and tap the 3.5mm input plug tip and second one back with skin of your finger (try to miss the far back one), it’ll make a pop and bit of a hum or buzz if working, wet your finger will make it louder again, on the off chance you have dry reptile-like digit ends.

Sound cards if recall generally had three 3.5mm sockets, green may have been speaker output, blue may have been aux, and red or pink may have been microphone input. It’s been a while, I can’t be sure, and hardly care. If the headphones work in the speaker output from sound card generally you might say the sound card is alright, but there may be exceptions, which I wont bother you with, the low care factor being the theme of the day.

If the sound card seems to have output, and the amp box tested seems to give a buzz, then you can insert the 3.5mm plug into the appropriate socket, if that is what it has, and here ends the sex education lesson and we move onto something more cerebral.

i’m starting to think that your computer is cooking like mine is

its throwing up weird faults as a result