How to enable digital audio output (SPDIF)

[paddygoodlet]

Hi

I am trying to connect my laptop's SPDIF output to my digital AV receiver in order to get surround sound for DVDs, games etc.

I have a realtek HD audio sound card (i think it is integrated but to be honest I am not sure). From the control panel utility I can get the following information - audio driver version 5.10.00.5122, directx 9.0c, audio controller is "HD Audio" and audio codec is "ALC880". No idea what any of these mean (except for directx).

My problem is that I have no idea how to enable the SPDIF output. Having played extensively with the settings for windows xp volume control I can find no setting that looks like it could be relevant.

Secondly, I am not sure what type of cable to use to connect the two. The spdif on the laptop is like a normal headphone socket and the digital input on the receiver is RCA. Would I just use a normal mono RCA to headphone cable?

Thanks in advance for your help. Let me know if you need more info re my system.

P