Problem with speaker output

[kevinarbogast]

Hey guys, I just can't figure this out. I have a compaq computer, and it's an old one. It has an internal speaker that works fine, but I hooked up a sterio system to it, and then it got awesome! It worked fine for the longest time, but just recently, I noticed that sound has stopped coming out of one of the speakers.

Now, I've turned on the radio, and both speakers work fine, and I've also hooked up my xbox, and other gaming systems to the sterio, and both speakers worked fine. Now, I know my computer used to put out sound on both speakers because I have a program called Finale, and I've messed with some sound on there, and played with the balance of noise.

I don't know if this would be a bad sound card problem or not. And, if it is, since this is so old, the sound card is built-in; therefor, would I be able to put a different one in?

If this may not be the sound card, please tell me what you think.

Thanks
--
Kevin

 

[towert7]

There are three other things I would check before thinking the sound card was bad.

First and eaisest! Unplug the cable from the sound card, and plug it back in fully. It could be simply that the cable came loose and you are only getting one channel (which it sounds like). From the sounds of it, there isn't a problem with the receiver to speaker hookup.

Did this fix it? If not, check the back of the receiver and make sure the cable going from your computer to the receiver is fully plugged in as well. Take it out and put it back fully to make sure.

If none of those fix it, do you have another cable you can try out in place of the one going from your computer to the receiver? May be the cable has a loose or broken connection on one of the channels. Might be worth it to try and get another cable to make sure.

If none of those work, double check to make sure all your sound settings (even windows settings) are set to a balanced output for Left and Right.

If none of this works, then you can start putting blame on the sound card or the receiver input.

~Hope this helps, and keep us posted

 

[kevinarbogast]

I would just like to say, thank you for replying to my post, it seems that now it's taking forever before someone post.

First off, I've tried unplugging it and plugging it back in, that's always the obvious. Second, I've made sure the cables are all tight and securely plugged into the reciever.

Now for the third solution, I'm going to explain something here:

My computer's sound is going to my reciever via headphone jack to a/v jacks (without the video part). I've also tried another method: I have a cord that goes from headphone jack to a tape player. Both methods I've tried will not work properly and I have the same problem with the speakers.

I have checked the balance in windows and all the programs I use, and in all of them, the sound is balanced.

So now, I guess I can put the blame on the sound card?

Thank you for your reply, all help is appriciated
--
Kevin Arbogast

P.S. Remember, this sound card that I currently have is a built-in sound card, with an internal speaker and an external output jack. Don't forget, I have another sound card, but do not know that that will work as an alternate solution.

 

[towert7]

Do you have a spare cable you can use in place of the one going from your computer to the receiver? Could be one of the wires in the cable broke off and now you are only getting mono. If you have a spare cable to test, then that would be ideal.

To furthur test, you can try and switch the speakers around (make the left become the right, and the right become the left) to make sure one of those speaker cables are not bad or one of the speakers are not bad.

If neither of these things work, then I would start looking at either the receiver or the computer audio as being broken. To test if the computer audio is messed up, just get yourself a pair of cheap headphones, plug them in directly, and see if you get stereo sound. If you do, then you can point the blame on the receiver. If not, something with the software or onboard audio is at fault.

~Hope this helps

 

[kevinarbogast]

I appriciate your help, and I apologize for taking so long to reply (it could be because it takes so long for anybody to reply, I just forget to check it).

I have plugged my headphones in (and they are actually expensive ones), and sound only came out of the left side. Meaning that this is in fact a sound card problem or as you said an onboard audio problem (whatever that is).

I doubt it would be a software problem, as I doubt that the sound for 5 different programs is messed up. Unless there is some kind of software my computer uses in general to generate the sound.

Thanks for the help
--
Kevin Arbogast

P.S. I have plenty of extra cables, tried them, and they don't work. However, there is a cable I have that goes into an audio tape. It doesn't account for balance, but I do get sound out of both speakers using it (because the tape equalizes the sounds).

 

[towert7]

Ah, I see. Well, than you are right. It could very well be the onboard sound, or it still may be some balance setting that got messed up somewhere.

Don't forget, I have another sound card, but do not know that that will work as an alternate solution.

Hm, I would try installing the sound card. Install it, disable the onboard sound in the bios, and connect this to your headphones or receiver.
If you get a balanced sound, than the onboard audio is broke. If you don't get balanced sound, its gotta be some software setting somewhere.

~Hope this helps, and good luck

 

[kevinarbogast]

Well, I took a look at the sound card I have, and it's actually too old for my computer...won't fit in the slots provided. I will try to buy a new one that work, and I will let you know if it works. Great advice, and thank you!