No sound coming from laptop

[dzirkelb]

I have a sony vaio VGN-FE890 that is not playing any sound. I see the sound meter bouncing up and down as if it is wanting to output sound; however, nothing is coming out. Even plugging in headphones does not work.

I have given the laptop a fresh install of windows 7 ultimate 32 bit, played around with it for a couple hours, then tried a fresh install of vista business 32 bit. The problem still exists.

The sound in control panel show speakers as working, and headphones as working (when plugged in).

It also shows spdif out as working; however, I do not know how to connect to that output from a laptop.

I have added every driver I can think of to no avail.

Any ideas?

 

[Lomai]

Hi

Could you post a screenshot of your playback devices?
Right click the speaker icon on your system tray>Select playback devices and use the sniping tool>Upload the image

Regards

 

[dzirkelb]

see pic

 

[Lomai]

Thanks for the snip.
Have you downloaded the drivers for your sound-card from here?
You may need to install it in compatibility mode as these are Vista drivers - please use this tutorial for reference.

Keep us posted and regards

 

[Aphelion]

One thing you might try... err.. two things.

Using the Playback Devices clip you posted... left click once on the Digital Output device then select "Set Default. Then click on the "Speakers" device and again select Set Default.

Sometimes a simple switch of default devices gets things working.

Second, some laptops don't like Windows Enhancements.. again, single left click on the Speakers device and select the "Properties" button. There should be an Enhancements Tab, select it then check "Disable All Sound Effects"... Apply... you may have to reboot.

Also make sure you're set to Stereo Output... that's under the "Configure" button (activated like the Properties button).

Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

All drivers are up to date according to Sony's site (I used the link provided), and I tried the recomendation of Ap. I also disabled the SPDIF out as I had problems with that on another computer.

I was able to disable all enhancements, hit apply, and it would take it. However, when going back in, the check to disable them would be unchecked again. however, nothing underneath was ever checked.

 

[Aphelion]

From the Sony site... (sigma-tel codec)

Did you first install this driver 6.10.5379.0 and then install the 6.10.5379.1 update... these drivers for Vista should work.

Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

From the Sony site... (sigma-tel codec)

Did you first install this driver 6.10.5379.0 and then install the 6.10.5379.1 update... these drivers for Vista should work.

Ap

Yup

I don't think I'm even getting system sounds, like during post, if you hold down a button it usually beeps at your, it's not even doing that.

 

[Aphelion]

From the Sony site... (sigma-tel codec)

Did you first install this driver 6.10.5379.0 and then install the 6.10.5379.1 update... these drivers for Vista should work.

Ap

Yup

I don't think I'm even getting system sounds, like during post, if you hold down a button it usually beeps at your, it's not even doing that.

Ok, that's odd, as it's way before Windows loads...

Does the Vaio use an FN key combination for various functions? Is it possible the hardware volume has been set to zero or that you've accidently hit a key combination that disables sound?

Have you looked in the BIOS, try setting it to Defaults.

Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

I did try looking in the bios; however, it seems odd. There was only a couple settings to change, not like a regular bios where there are all sorts of stuff you can modify.

Like, I don't even think it gave me the option to look at what drives were connected to the mobo; however, this may be different on laptops opposed to PC's, I don't really remember looking at many bios settings on laptops. An example is it doesnt' show the hard drive anywhere (where it usually identifies it as an entity with x amount of hard drive space).

Regardless, I looked for on board audio or any sort of audio settings in the bios and I didn't see anything there either, which I thought to be very odd.

I will try setting it to the defaults, didn't even think of that, as maybe something hidden or something I don't understand was changed somehow.

Also, I'll look for some sort of bios update for that machine, don't remember if there were any on the sony site or not.

 

[Aphelion]

I did try looking in the bios; however, it seems odd. There was only a couple settings to change, not like a regular bios where there are all sorts of stuff you can modify.

Right, laptops generally have a limited BIOS selection.

Does the Sony have an "fn" key?
Holding it down can allow adjustments at the hardware level, it's possible to lower speaker volume and/or disable volume on some machines.

Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

It does have an Fn key; however, it appears to not be working. I tested it on the brightness of the screen Fn key combination, and nothing happened.

 

[Aphelion]

It does have an Fn key; however, it appears to not be working. I tested it on the brightness of the screen Fn key combination, and nothing happened.

Something is wrong then, the fn key on my 4yr old Acer laptop can change brightness during post or in the BIOS.

Even though doing a BIOS re-flash or upgrade can be a little risky it might be worth your time.


Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

How do I do a bios re-flash again? I am fine with doing that as this laptop, without sound, is worthless to me. I am recommissioning it as a strict Boxee machine for a TV, and if there is no sound, then it is worthless to me.

 

[Aphelion]

How do I do a bios re-flash again? I am fine with doing that as this laptop, without sound, is worthless to me. I am recommissioning it as a strict Boxee machine for a TV, and if there is no sound, then it is worthless to me.

Full instructions and BIOS download can be found here.

Sony eSupport - VGN-FE890 - Software Updates & Drivers

Double check that everything matches your system, read the instructions carefully, you can turn it into a doorstop.

You should probably be running Vista when doing this as that's what the Utility calls for.

Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

I have a fresh install of Vista on it currently, so I will try that when I get home, thanks.

 

[Aphelion]

I have a fresh install of Vista on it currently, so I will try that when I get home, thanks.

Curious to know if the screen dim/brighten key combination works while in the BIOS, it could possibly be something like a non-working key.

Good luck-

Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

Ok, the Fn key is definately not working, not even in the bios. is it possible the Fn key somehow turned the sound all the way down, even though the sound is shown at max on windows?

 

[Aphelion]

Ok, the Fn key is definately not working, not even in the bios. is it possible the Fn key somehow turned the sound all the way down, even though the sound is shown at max on windows?

To be honest, I don't know..

I have an even older IBM Thinkpad and the fn key controls the hardware directly, turning the volume level up/down does not affect the Windows mixer levels, it strictly controls the hardware. The Acer controls the hardware up to a point then seems to turn over fn key functions to Windows. With the Win audio mixer open I can see the fn key volume adjustment moving the Winmixer master volume.

If you've exhausted all of the options..(in Audio setting) then the BIOS update may be the way to go.

Ap

 

[dzirkelb]

well, i tried the obvoius, set the bios settings to he default settings, and viola, it works! Amazing what tryin one o the first things I should have tried does

Side note, the bios update wouldn't even run, said it was required to run on vista, when I have a fresh install of vists, so whatever