dell speakers no sound

[lamboss]

hi everyone i have a dell inspirion 1501 laptop , but there is no sound from the speakers only from the headphones , and im sure the speakers are running fine because i ran diagnostics utility in dos n sound came out from the speakers but its not coming out in windows 7 same with xp

im only getting sound from the headphones jack

its SigMatel audio btw


pls help me fix this problem

thank you

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Did you raise the volume level in speaker mode. There is a micro switch in the headphone jack, try making and un-making this connection several times to see if maybe the switch is stuck.

 

[lamboss]

i dont see any micro switch ?

 

[bassfisher6522]

Try using the FN key. Hold down the fn key then at the same time tap the volume up key to your desired level.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Try a quick blast of air to clean the jack. Are there front and rear audio out jacks try both to see that as well.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Micro switch is there trust me.

 

[lamboss]

the volume is up to the max , the only way i can get sound is when i plug in my earphones

and i just tried blowing air into the jack and that didnt work ..

@linnemeyerhere , i dont see the micro switch anywhere ?


ohh and btw guys im talking about my internal laptop speakers not external

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Give me a bit and when I return I'll play with my laptop and see what settings I find that could help. It's odd how these sound issues turn out to be so simple when you finally find them. Stay tuned !

 

[lamboss]

yep i know and i have a funny feeling its something simple , okay thx man

 

[Aphelion]

You will never see the Microswitch, it's something inside the headphone jack, it mutes the speakers when the headphones are plugged in. Sometimes this switch can stick so that the speaker connection is never made when the headphone plug is removed.

If it's a true multifunction jack it can suffer from yet another problem.. when the headphones are removed the microswitch kicks in the digital output instead of switching to the speakers. Macbooks by the 1000's suffered this problem. You could always tell if the digital out was engaged, if you looked in the headphone jack you could see a red light. (optical digital out)

In Windows 7, right click the speaker icon in the task bar and select playback devices... what devices show up? (right click in the PB devices window and enable disconnected/disabled devices)

Ap

 

[lamboss]

i dont think there is any problem with the jack because when i ran the diagnostics program from a usb bootable drive there was sound from the speakers and didnt seem to have any problem ?
but its really confusing because in windows and in linux enviroment im not getting any sound

and i just checked the playback option in the speaker icon. I am only getting the "Speakers" also there is nothing dissabled

 

[Aphelion]

Ok, select Playback Device again and single left click on the "Speakers" icon, the "Properties" and "Configure" button becomes active.

Go to Configure and make sure it's set on Stereo.
Now backup and go to Properties What tabs to you have General, Levels, Enhancements, Advanced... are some of the possibilites. Go to Enhancements and Disable all Sound Effects, reboot. Next under advanced set to 16-bit 44.1kHz.

If you have a levels tab, try bringing up some of the levels to see if any one of them affects the speakers.

That's about all I got! This problem has been posted before but I never knew if a resolution was found.

Ap

 

[Hikertrash]

I was having trouble with my speaker and headphone sound after using my TV as expanded display and used the Windows 7 trouble shooter to correct it. Worked like a charm and am I happy because the problem had me baffled.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

You can try checking all the sound devices in Device Manager maybe something has been changed. This was the solution in my laptop but it runs xp pro. Also you can check to see if Dell has any updates that relate to sound and run those updates. Then lastly you can try a restore system to a point when you know the speakers were working.

 

[lamboss]

i tried all that guys i even reinstalled my operating system and put in new speakers i ordered and its still the same

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I'm back to that freakin little micro switch. I believe it's stuck in the headphone position even when the jack is removed. How many times did you try making and un-making the headphone jack? Wait you ordered external speakers and they connect via the same headphone jack? and the headphones will work but the speakers won't?

 

[lamboss]

im going to try find that micro switch .. no i bought internal speakers and i replaced the ones in the laptop because i taught they were the problem

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Finding it will require opening the laptop up completely and it's not recommended without a manual and even then it could tax your wits. Is this the only headphone/speaker jack on the laptop. You may want to give a sound card a try they aren't that expensive and could even improve the sound?
Sabrent USB-SBCV External 2.1 Surround Sound Adapter - USB 2.0 at TigerDirect
This is pricier.
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook Sound Card - 5.1 channel, ExpressCard 3454 70SB095000004 at TigerDirect

 

[jenaiel]

I fixed it!

I fixed my no sound problem! Thanks to Aphelions post which got me into the speaker icon, try this: rt click on speaker icon (lower right of screen), and you see tabs: General, Custom, Levels, Sound Blaster, Enhancements, Advanced.

Click "custom" tab. In that tab I had "PC Spk Mute" checked. How was it checked? When? I have absolutely no idea. However, after months of no sound, I unchecked this little box, and voila, there is sound!!

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Cheers, It's always the simple things that prove to be so maddeningly tough !