It is not unusual for something to be going wrong in the multimedia
department. It is usually something very simple you have done
inadvertently.... or something has changed a setting while you were busy
doing something else.... So you clicked on a button or link and nothing happened, or
something did but nothing was heard....
Well I have prepared this help
page for only the reason of getting the sound back and all going well.
There are a lot of options when it comes to listening to music on a
computer so I am sorry if what I cover doesn't help. I have decided
that I have had enough of "the clever high powered invasion of a
simple good old fashioned way of listening to music" by later versions
of Windows, and this way you'll
have your audio working without going bonkers
trying to do so.
I am running two
operating systems that give me what I want. Windows XP
with Service Pack 3 and Win7. If you're running any other system
then what I say might have to be interpreted with some judgment about what
applies and what doesn't.
And before we go.... I
know there are smarter people out the who now a lot more than me so if
you've got negatives about what I say, please feel free to help me out
and send me an email with your ideas... I could probably put a lot more
into the text I write but I am only trying to help where other help is
not immediately available.. My motive? For someone to listen to my
music. LOL Not to be a great authority on Audio Mechanics etc.
So... Here is the basic journey...
1) A sound
card is installed or there is onboard sound :- (already part of your motherboard.) It is either working already
(you're getting audio) or it is
not working. If the hardware is not installed or is old or may be damaged
through over heating or bad handling then just buy another card and save
yourself a hassle. If you are pretty sure the card is ok then try the
following.
2) Make sure
that mute is not on or volume slider down too low on the volume control
icon. Sometimes the special software that came with the soundcard or
"onboard soundcard" places its own icon in the system tray.
Using that control you can set up the card as the designers intended.
One just hopes that your idea and their idea about what you want matches
up.
Make sure the windows volume control icon
appears in the system tray...
(down on the bottom right
of the screen near where the date or calendar and date display is
located). When you double click it, the control panel
for sound settings opens up. A lighter single click opens just the
volume control slider. To make it appear :- Open your Control Panel...
(start/control panel -view in icons- you will see the icon for your
sound card's own software controllers too.) Double click Sound and
Audio Devices and you will see the checkbox to place the volume
control icon in the taskbar.
3) If you
are using headphones : check the volume control on the cord
below your chin is not turned off or turned down... But you should have at least
Stereo Speakers connected to the computer; plugged into the soundcard in the OUT hole. Usually blue...The pink hole is
usually the microphone IN (0f course), so the green is there for LINE IN.
The sound card's software
adjustments may be able to make this into another line out hole too, if
you want to connect headphones. Two OUT holes
can be used simultaneously with speakers and a set of headphones - turning
the speakers down to use the headphones in private such as late at night
when others are asleep. Enjoy a movie or favourite music without
disturbing others.
4) The LINE IN
hole set up as just that, is where you connect a lead from a music
keyboard, a tape player, a TV or something else like that so you can
record or just listen through your computer speakers. Check the lead is
in "the right hole".
4) If you've had sound working before,
the jack-plug holes are more than likely to be still set ok... and the
sound card drivers
were installed but may have been corrupted by something. (a virus, a
power surge, etc).
If the soundcard has been removed (and reinstalled of course) then drivers usually need to be reinstalled.
Sometimes windows automatically updates these and you will see this
happening on the screen. You may need to 'ok' something in the process. To
re-install drivers it is best to use the disk that came
with the soundcard or motherboard. Onboard drivers WILL be on the
motherboard disk.
5) If the Sound-card software
is installed and setup so that the OUT
is OUT where the speakers are plugged in and if you have had things working, then the
drivers are probably still
there and are OK and we have to make some other adjustments. If you need
to get drivers, downloading the drivers from the
manufacturer's website or just doing a Google search with some name
relating to your soundcard and the word 'drivers' is easy enough. Download the drivers to
a place you will remember, or sometimes you can install directly from
the net.
6) If you hear
any sound during any of the steps so far - your OK. If not we continue.
7) I like to
fiddle with the most obvious things first. Go to the Control Panel and open Sound and Audio Devices.
Select Sound tab and make sure the Mute is unchecked and the check box placing
the
volume icon in the taskbar is selected.
While you're there... If you don't want
windows sounds like clicking and beeping etc every time you do something
like open and close things... or record things, then select the sounds tab and adjust the drop
down menu called Sound Scheme to No Sounds. This helps to not have
windows sounds included in anything you might be recording from a tape deck or
the Internet.
Next while you're there...
Click the
audio tab and with the dropdown menu, make sure the Sound Playback Default device is in fact
your Sound Card - OR - Onboard Sound. This can be
adjusted even while something is playing though you can't hear it... It
can suddenly work!! So watch where you have set the volume slider. Usually
these settings are sort of self evident as you're doing this. (giggle)
Select the Voice tab and do the
same with voice playback and voice recording... if you are going to be
wanting to use a microphone... The playback is usually set the same as
the Audio setting on the previous tab.
8) After clicking
'ok' to close the Sound and Audio Devices interface, close Control Panel and
select and open the audio software icon relating to your
soundcard and find the Audio In and Audio Out tab.
Usually it is called Audio I/O.
In modern card software panels what you are looking for is something
like a picture of a chair and
speakers etc. With the right speaker-setting showing over or under
the chair, such as 2CH (two channels) that means stereo.. if you only
have two speakers.. test the sound on the right then the left. If you
can hear sound coming from the correct side you have things plugged in
and setup correctly. If you have more than two speakers, fiddle around
as you probably know what you are doing at this point.
Just make sure the speakers are
plugged into the correct hole (you'll hear something. If not check the
volume control on the speakers) and the headphones
into the other one. (There may be a volume control on the cord around
your midriff level. Check the level too.) It is handy when listening to music or audio and you
might like to turn down the speakers as not to fill the room with noise,
and you can listen with the headphones without having to move plugs
around. Just turn down the speaker volume by hand or the
appropriate volume slider on screen and turn up the headphone volume
setting on the cord or just adjust the main volume level with the volume
icon in the taskbar.
9)
Now through-out this carry-on, if you've expected to hear something,
then "something" has got to
have been set to play, like a piece of music through a player or a movie
or video
running. Make sure the volume control sliders are turned up to an
audible level on the
speakers, or the windows sound icon in the taskbar or the player volume
control opened up or turned down enough. If you have sound then you're OK. If not we
continue.
10) At this
point it is sometimes good to restart the computer. Sometimes a short
nap has the computer "waking up with a fresh perspective".
If it doesn't work now then the sound
card is stuffed or not seated in the slot correctly or the holder is
dirty with dust etc. Buy a can of liquid air spray for around $10 from a
computer shop and clean up a bit. The high speed air clears old dust and
grime from all parts and blows it right out of the computer box. While
there, clean off the cooling-fans and heat-sinks on various parts. Apply it to the sound
card slot and the sound card if needed, reinstall the card and the
drivers and reboot.
If no joy, then buy another sound card and install it or get it installed... Or
the on-board is stuffed or the sound is turned off on the motherboard. Take the
computer to a computer shop for a new soundcard etc.... or a computer nerd you happen to know. Or
the speakers are blown.... or your power is not on. :)
11) My favourite
player for music is Winamp. Especially while online. It is so well designed for this. Download
it, install it and if the sound card and channels are right it will play
music as expected. Experiment with it as it is very adjustable for the
user.
12) For video and
even DVDs, Windows Media Player Classic is unbeatable - though it might
be hard to argue that with VLC player nerds... However to play a DVD
or high definition DVD in the ROM then I also recommend Power-DVD... and
I still find version 4 is quite adequate. Version 8 is good though.
Version 8 is made to give
very clear "high definition" and terrific sound production. If you don't want
to use the simpler Windows Media
Player Classic, this is the one. I have them all installed and
chose whatever takes my fancy at the time or for the purpose.
13) You may have to explore your browser options menu to get Winamp to
play the music files online, or the Windows Media Player Classic to play
the movies or videos from an online source by default. Some sites are
using a Flash player that works through your browser and gives you the
option of using your own stand-alone like Winamp or Classic WMP, if you prefer.
