Audio problem in W7 (no sound)

One main problem explaining the initial odd sounds heard through the speakers would be from handling the cord you used and going to unplug that from the tv end while still being "live". Your system was powered up at the time and if you simply touched the tip and sheild on one of the two red or white plugs that would have seen a feedback loop heard through the speakes most likely.

The golden safety rule when plugging and unplugging these types of connections is to have everything turned off. That will prevent any possible damage to hardwares. I doubt that alone caused the audio chip to go unless that was already about to fail and that little bit more was all it took. Or you unknowingly left the tv end resting on some conductive surface where one of the tips made contact?

Nothing is 100% for certain however since you are the only one that was present when all this happened. Just remember to take the necessary precautions. That will be the best preventative measure in itself to avoid any other possible damages.

Hopefully the usb sound card will work out for you there. On occasions you can find some good deals pricewise at EBay on new items.

(I ran across a board tester for about the same price which pointed out the bios chip on the board in the last case as I had suspected being another problem. Replacement bios found for good price there too!)

As far as damaging anything other then the audio chip that low current certainly wouldn't toast the cable itself by any means. When pressing down too hard on any new card being installed damaging the slot would be a possible concern simply from rough handling.

There are actually endless ways of causing different types of damages while that would take intent like ocing hardwares and never checking temps. As for simply patching cords into a sound card you wouldn't cook a cpu for example.

Running into a bad cable, connector, or adapter that reversed lead with ground would of course short things to ground could damage other things but by factory defect rather then anything you did. Even that would still kind of rare while defects do get out on occasion.

Your mention of problems when first going to unplug the cable from the tv and later mention of having speakers plugged in was why I had to wonder if you had both plugged in at the same time using different jacks like rear channel for the tv keeping the main speakers on the front jack.

Havimg more then just the speakers alone plugged in shouldn't be a problem if everything is in working order. You would simply be splitting up the output signal itself between two different amp/speaker sources. One question for you would be are you patching the tv as a second monitor or simply running audio alone through it?

As far a board tester I found two and ended ordering both one for under $5 from the same source. Unfortunately the second one cannot be plugged into a pci slot while being a 4 digit model. The first that can only had a 2 digit not 4 digit display like it was picrured! But it did point out the 2 digit code to look up pointing right at the problem suspected.

With those you must have and I emphasize "must have" the guide in a small booklet included with the tester or download it from a link provided in order to find out what the code displayed means. They have testers then go up over 4 digit displays where you would a tech to decipher the readout on those. Much more advanced!

As far as a dusty disk not being moved around where any bit of dirt got caught under it and saw scratches made you simply wipe it off with a soft cloth. The under side is the actual delicate part if not a dual sided dvd. Your fingers should only touch the very edges.

Note there are cd/dvd repair/cleaning kits found in most retail stores(Staples, Walmart, OfficeMax, etc.) that have a disk inside the case where you press any disk against the surface lightly and turn it to smooth out minor not deep scratches. Having a lens cleaning disk onhand always helps as well as how you store disks to start with.

(Don't worry. I have a few here at times actually one on top of the other on a soft coffee mug type place mat and never damage those!)

Generally the only damages seen with any disk is simply from handling. If you drop one on the floor surprizingly most of the time they won't break but roll a bit while stacking them together and bumping the stack will be more apt to see them scratched up.

As far as patching from the video card out most of the newer model mid to high card will typically see the output available especially those that support dual monitors seeing the twin HD connectors. Or they may simply have the s-video or audio only depending on the specific model.

Here for the main system I've always run a good expansion card leaving the onboard unused unless the card quit for some reason. The new build I got up and running to post this however is a micro atx case just having seen 7 Home Premium 64bit go on that has the video card's hsf covering one of the two pci slots and a modem that go into the other leaving one PCIe 1x slot on the opposite side for a card there.

That option probably won't be used since this was a basic build for someone who doesn't game or even spend much time on at all. Guess who has to maintain as well?

Just remember to look into things a little more before running into these types of problems however. It's always better to ask first if unsure rather then run into mishaps from having not asked any!

With one look at the card the green jack is the front pair, orange for rear and black for center mix. The blue is most like the line-in while the pink is for mic. Now you need to know the make and model card you have there in order to download the latest updates for it. At make and model series will help.

Yes you will need device drivers in order to run it while the update option in Windows will often list the latest drivers found under "optional for softwares and hardwares". At least you will get sound back anyways once those are on. Hopefully you can also find the application part for the speaker settings, mixer, and other settings as well.

As for patching out from video cards some see video and audio on one type of plug called s-video. S-Video - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Others will provide a digital audio output right from that type of expansion card. Video cards, sound cards, tv tuner cards, network adapter cards, pci modem cards all fall under the expansion card catagory being a separate card you add onto a system rather then using what is already present onboard.

At least you now have something to work with as long as it is a working card and you find the updates you need for it. The System Info for Windows(SIW) tool can often be a help as far as manufacturer's information while your friend should know the make and model. SIW | System Information for Windows by Gabriel Topala

I wouldn't have any idea on whether the card is good or bad since you will first need to find out the make and model or at least model series to download drivers/software for it once installed in the case. That's when you can use a program like SIW(free download) or another system information utility to see what that shows.

As for as s-video I was simply explaining some make and model video cards will have that option. Camcorders older models now will also see that type of composite audio/video cable you plug into a tv with the s-video jack seen as an auxillery input.

Once you install the card and power up the first step is to press the key assigned for entering the bios setup program for the main board. Review the instructions and illustrations if any for this in the user manual for that make and model board to get to know where things are there.

By default the onboard sound option is typically found in the onboard hardwares section depending on the way things are arranged and named according what bios is used. That could Award, Phoenix, AMI, or another where the manual is the first place to review the section there.

Once you know the audio chip like Realtek or whatever is used and find it you simply press enter when highlighted to switch that from enabled to disabled then use the exit and save option if the F10 doesn't see the change saved for you. This will then see the system restart as well as Windows looking for device drivers.

I just plugged the sound card to the PCI slot and downloaded drivers, and the sound works! :)
I think the sound quallity is even better then before XD
The full name of the sound card is "C-Media CMI8738-LX".

I didn't do anything in the BIOS menu, I couldn't find something related to audio :S
Is it crutial to disable the old sound chip?

Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate that:)


Edit:
Can I connect an SPDIF cord from my graphic card to the sound card?
I want my DVI to produce sound.
My graphic card is: BFG NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS OC2 512 MB
Where can I buy a cheap and good cord?
Thanks.