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Front Panel Audio Help?

M

mx6er2587

n00b
Joined
Sep 29, 2009
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8
So I'm not sure this is the best place for this thread, but as it relates to a ITX board and case I thought I'd see if any of you out there can lend a hand.

I completed an sg06 build a couple months ago using an ASRock z97e-itx/ac motherboard. Running windows 7 x64. Everything has been running perfectly and I've been very happy with it except for one nagging problem.

The front audio ports are constantly showing as having devices plugged in even though they do not. Further audio will play when I plug in headphones but it doesn't mute the rear output. My realtek audio manager does not appear to have the option available to toggle this setting.

I'm not sure if this is a realtek issue, a case hardware problem, motherboard driver/setting, or a windows problem? I have installed the latest audio drivers from ASRock and played with every setting I can find. No luck.

Thoughts?
 
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This is most likely a problem with your case.

The front panel audio header has a return signal for both audio ports, which requires an isolated switch inside the audio ports. The manufacturer of a front audio panel (i.e. the case manufacturer) can save a few cents by using a audio ports without such a switch and just shorting the signal, letting the board think that something is always plugged in.

No desktop I ever owned automatically muted the speakers when something was connected to the front audio ports, so I think you'd have to solve that by just turning your speakers off manually.
 
iFreilicht said:
This is most likely a problem with your case.

The front panel audio header has a return signal for both audio ports, which requires an isolated switch inside the audio ports. The manufacturer of a front audio panel (i.e. the case manufacturer) can save a few cents by using a audio ports without such a switch and just shorting the signal, letting the board think that something is always plugged in.

No desktop I ever owned automatically muted the speakers when something was connected to the front audio ports, so I think you'd have to solve that by just turning your speakers off manually.
Click to expand...

I happen to be having a similar issue with 2 systems I build for customers in the past month.
In my case I keep getting the popup that a headphone is connect to the front audio port, but it isn't, it keeps connecting and disconnecting at random intervals, but at least once a minute.

What you explain is what I expected at first to be the problem, but I have build 2 different systems with the only thing they have in common the motherboard. Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD3

I had disconnected the cable from the front audio panel, that didn't solve it. Only removing it from the motherboard solved it, so my guess would be some form of EMI.

Perhaps with the OP has a similar issue, having such a small case might make it more apparent.
 
Well some more investigation seems to prove this is some sort of driver/software issue.

The HD audio on the motherboard and case both support jack sensing. Further there's a nifty utility in the bios that shows the status of different system components, including the audio ports. In the bios you can plug/unplug devices into the front audio ports and see that the jack sensing is working properly.

Sigh, I've found a thread over on reddit with the same problems on another ASrock motherboard but they haven't figured out a solution either.
 
Wish I could be of help, I can confirm my Z77 extreme 4 from AsRock will automatically switch audio from my speakers (rear mobo I/o) to my headphones when I plug them into the front panel I/O. Sorry I can't be of more help, good luck!
 
One trick you could try is in the Windows audio panel. Open up 'Playback Devices' with headphones unplugged, and set the speakers as the default device. Close the panel, plug in headphones, open it up again, and set the headphones as the default device. Now, the active device should switch whenever the headphones are plugged or unplugged. Bear in mind that most programs open at the time may need to be restarted to switch between devices (web browsers are a culprit if you have a tab open with a video or audio file that can play, even if it's muted or paused, or some Flash advert that's got the audio flag checked even if it doesn't actually make any sounds).
 
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