So the speakers on my computer work fine (internal), but I when I plug in headphones I just get a notification from Realtek that I plugged in a device. No sound comes out. I know it's not a hardware problem because the headphones work fine on Ubuntu.
It did, this is sort of a recent problem. I haven't been on Windows for a while though.
Go to the Device Manager and display the Sound devices. You should only have the RealTek and possibly an HDMI sound (if you have that capabi8lity). If there is also an "HD Audio Codec" shown, uninstall that as it could be interferring with the RealTek.
If there is no other device, as mentioned, Uninstall the RealTek in the Device Manager -RIGHT click on the RealTek entry to highlight it and then LEFT click "Uninstall". DO NOT uninstall the drivers. Restart the PC and when Windows starts it will detect and reinstall the sound.
Okay, I uninstalled it. Now I have to wait for it to reboot. The stupid disk checker went automatically when I rebooted and realized after it was too late to cancel.
Okay, I tried what you said, but no luck. Any other suggestions?
Also, there was something called "NVIDIA HIGH DEFINITION AUDIO" in the device manager. Should I have uninstalled that?
The NVIDIA is for HDMI audio. That is OK.
Do you have a RealTek "HD Audio Manager" panel (or some similar) in the Control Panel/Hardware and Sound? If you do, check it for any configuration options. May be something in there about the headphone jack or outputs.
This is what my RealTek manager panel looks like:
I've already tried that. It seems to think it doesn't exist, but when I plug it in it shows a notification. Here's what mine shows: (notice the few analog buttons)
On that display it looks like the speaker is muted. Which would be normal operation - when you plug in a headset it mutes the speakers.
However since its not outputting to the headphone jack, and from what you have done with software and having a known good headset, it appears to be a hardware problem.
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