No Sound from Speakers with Onboard Audio

[LaneReiss]

I recently put together a new system with a fresh installation of Windows 7 64 bit. I cannot get sound to come from my speakers no matter what I have tried. I have trolled through all the forums I could find on the subject, and tried every possible solution, to no avail. I am hoping I simply missed something somewhere along the way, so I will list my specs, as well as everything I have tried thus far.

I am going to attempt to provide as much information as possible, but if I miss something you need to get the full picture, please let me know.

Specs first:

• MSI 870A-G54 motherboard (with onboard audio - Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC892)
• AMD Athlon II X2 255 CPU - 3.1 Ghz Dual Core
• Corsair 8 Gb Ram - DDR3 1333 MHz
• Windows 7 64 bit (also tried to get this working on Vista 32 bit installation on same machine, with same results)
• XFX ATI Radeon HD 5550 Graphics Card
• Seagate 1 TB SATA 300 HDD
• Antec 500W PSU
• Creative 5.1 surround speakers - The jacks are the usual black, orange and green, for Center/Sub, Rear, and Left/Right

Now, here are the steps I have followed:

• Installed Win 7, and soon discovered sound was not configured properly. The system kept picking the optical output as the default device, even though there was no optical device connected, and it also showed that the speakers were not plugged in, even though they were, as in the pic below​

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• After digging through various forums, got advice to click on the Connector Settings (the icon that looks like a folder) in the Realtek Audio Manager, and selecting 'Disable Front Panel Jack Detection', as in the pic below

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• This enabled the speakers, but even though the system showed them as working, there was still no sound coming from them. This is shown below

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• I played with various settings in the 'Device Advanced Settings Tab', but none of them enabled the speakers to function, and sometimes actually disabled the speakers. The settings I have stuck with are shown below

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• I did notice that in the Audio manager, the rear panel jacks appear to be faded out, as opposed to the front jack images. This strikes me as odd considering the settings, and perhaps is related to the speakers not actually playing sound, even though they are supposedly getting a signal. The faded rear input images are shown below

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I tried running a virtual version of XP, as well as a separate installation of Windows Vista, 32 bit. I could not get any sound from the speakers in any configuration. I have also tried installing the drivers from the link on these forums, as an alternate, but they did not resolve the issue.

I am at my wit's end on this one. I know these speakers work, and have tested them on other systems successfully. Is this onboard audio simply dead, or am I missing something else? If anyone can offer a new solution to try, I am all ears.

Lane

 

[Sardonicus]

One thing that comes to mind, is that the levels may need to be adjusted.

Go to the Windows Sound manager and select Speakers > Properties > Levels
Look for the "Front" and other necessary levels.......make sure they're not at zero.

 

[LaneReiss]

Thanks for the suggestion, p5bdkw, but I have already done that. I even tried setting the levels for up for things like 'Rear Green In', etc. And to be clear, I tried various settings of these levels, both at zero and 100, to no avail.

By all means, keep the suggestions coming, though. I am open to trying just about anything here, because I really don't want to have to go through the hassle of removing this mobo and replacing it if there is an actual solution.

Lane
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[Sardonicus]

Lane
You probably already checked, but are your connections correct?

 

[LaneReiss]

I have confirmed the color coding according to the motherboard manual, and they are, indeed, correct. Just to be sure, though, I tried each plug in each rear panel jack. Still no sound. I can tell there is some kind of signal going to the speakers, though, because I can hear that characteristic 'buzz' when plugging and unplugging the input jacks.

 

[johnnya]

Hi lane and welcome to the Forum. I am absolutely sure you have already checked this - but.
In BIOS, under Integrated Peripherals. HD Audio Controller. Is it enabled?
Regards
JohnnyA

 

[LaneReiss]

Thanks for the welcome, Johnnya.

Yes, I have made sure it was enabled in the BIOS.

In addition, I have flashed the BIOS with the latest version available from the manufacturers website. Keep the suggestions coming, by all means.

 

[Vertex]

Have you tried adjusting the sound quality to the lowest sound quality which is CD quality? Try adjusting it to CD quality and see if it does anything.

 

[LaneReiss]

That was something I hadn't tried, so thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it had no effect on the lack of sound emanating from my speakers.

 

[Vertex]

Was your sound working before?? And was it working before you updated the BIOS?? I think, there's a possibility this is a problem with your hardware. So my advise would to to open your system unit and clean your motherboard if its dusty cause dust can render hardware functions or have a technician inspect your motherboard for any physical damages or problems.

 

[LaneReiss]

This is a new build, so dust is a non-issue. I am starting to think it is a hardware issue, as well. However, there is one more thing which may be behind this.

This is actually the second MSI motherboard involved in this installation. The first one had some non-working USB ports, so I took it back to Fry's and exchanged it for this one. Unfortunately, I can't recall if the sound worked on the first board, because I was focused on the USB ports at the time.

I did not do a clean install when I got the replacement, because I figured it was the same make and model. Is it possible a clean install would help? I did try a 32 bit Vista installation, as well as a virtual XP installation, and sound did not work on either of those.

I REALLY don't want to have to make another trip to Fry's, but or looks like I am running out of options.

Lane

 

[Vertex]

This was a motherboard exchanged for your first motherboard with broken USB ports, so you are saying this is NOT a brand new motherboard?? So it may have defects.

So maybe yeah, its a hardware issue.

 

[LaneReiss]

It IS a brand new motherboard, which I got after returning the first one (same make and model) with the non-functioning USB ports. It definitely might be hardware, but I want to rule out everything else before going through the process of exchanging this board yet again.

 

[neo101]

Try fiddling with the frequencies

- like start at basic CD 16bit 44.1Hz
Then work your way up to 24bit DVD quality etc

 

[LaneReiss]

Thanks, Neo. Tried that, too. It's looking more and more like a faulty board. I'm starting to get a very bad taste in my mouth for MSI

 

[neo101]

Stop spraying then

Pepper Spray /MSI Chemical Weapon?

Have you plugged amp/spkr into another 'puta to test?

Try just with one wire = stereo setup

Pull the front panel sound connection from your case lead off - see if that changes anything

 

[1Bowtie]

Do you have the latest graphic card drivers for your card, they also have a bearing on sound, also do you have the latest chipset drivers, just some possibilites

 

[Sardonicus]

Have you tried plugging a pair of headphones into the "Line-Out"