I need help. My speakers wont work.

I was wondering if anyone can help me. My speakers are not working. I verified that they are hooked up properly. I also went to the speaker setting and it is not even reconizing the speakers. I also went to dell's website and redownloaded a speaker driver. Still nothing. The speakers are a aftermarket set. Please some one help.

 

Check these things, then upload the report from Everest as an attachment and a screen shot of what is in your Sound, video and game controllers section of your Device Manager.

First step: Is the volume on?
Double click the audio icon in the task bar to get to the Master Volume controller
Second step: Is the Windows Audio service running?
Go to Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Services
Scroll down the list of services until you find Windows Audio
Open up Windows Audio by double clicking
Make sure it is running, if not, click on Start.

If the first 2 steps didn't fix the problem.

Third step: Check to see if your Sound Device drivers are OK. Use Device Manager:
To open Device Manager: Start>Control Panel> System. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager, then click the plus sign in front of Sound, Video, Game Controllers.
In Device Manager, if there is a ? in front of your audio device, that means no audio driver is installed.
A ! means driver installation attempted but with problems.
Fourth step: System Information
Use Everest to get a report of your system’s hardware, OS, and drivers. Upload the report as an attachment
Everest: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

 

Here is that report. I am puzzeled. I mean I have un hooked he speakers, restarted with them unhooked and hooked up. It just is not reconizing them. How much of a difference does it make if they are aftermarket speakers?

 

Well, the big question I have. Did you just recently buy those aftermarket speakers? If so, do the original speakers work?

Can you test the new speakers on another computer?

 

They have been working for like the last 4 months and then about a week ago just stopped. I had to get rid of a bunch of spyware and stuff off my computer and then they stopped working.

 

Did you follow all the steps that musksnipe gave ye?

If so, try uninstalling the sound drivers via add/remove programs and then reinstalling them.

 

And if that doesn't work, post the Model # of your Dell and upload a screenshot of your audio in Device Manager. Is there an unknown device there?

This is more than likely a driver issue (malware tends to corrupt drivers). We need all this info to make sure which one was affected and to find you the right one.

 

model = Dell DE051
This is from the log he gave us.

 

I saw that and it was listed as the mobo name. :confused Anyway, thanks. (Read the signature)

@ steveostl
I found your sound driver.(thanks to theefool waking me up)
I can't guarantee it will install right because I haven't seen what your Device Manager has to say.

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...s&releaseid=R105155&formatcnt=1&fileid=135650

This is a list of possible problems that can effect your speakers.

Onboard audio is disabled in the BIOS
The BIOS Setup program is accessed by pressing the <F2> key after the Power-On Self-Test (POST) memory test begins and before the operating system boot begins. Go to the Advanced > Peripheral Configuration menu to make sure onboard audio is enabled.
Audio settings in the sound mixer are incorrect
Check your audio mixer software to ensure audio is not muted or the volume level is not turned too low.
The speakers or headphones may be connected to the wrong jacks
Make sure you connect all speakers to the correct jacks. If you connect them to line-in or microphone jacks, they won't work.
Audio drivers are not properly installed
Check Device Manager under the Sound, video and game controllers section for any errors associated with the audio driver. Reinstall the audio driver if necessary.
Audio to back panel is muted if front panel is connected
Check your audio mixer software for a setting that mutes back panel audio if you have plugged headphones into a front panel audio solution. Uncheck this setting to allow audio to both the back and front.
Sound Playback is set to wrong device
In Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices, go to the Audio tab. Check the default device for sound playback; there may be multiple selections. Select the desired device, either rear panel or front panel.

 

None of that worked. I dont know what else to do!

 

I really need to know if you have an unknown device in your audio section in Device Manager.

 

Did you check to see if the speakers work on another system?
Did you follow the directions for installation of the audio driver that Dell posted? Save the downloads to your desktop.
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=3&fileid=135650
Install
1.Double-click the new icon on the desktop labeled R105155.EXE.
2.The Self-Extracting window appears and prompts you to extract or
unzip to C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R105155. Write down this path so the executable (I.e.
Setup.exe) file can be found later.
3.The Self-Extractor window appears.
4.Click OK.
5.After completing the file extraction, if the Self-Extractor
window is still open, close it.
6.Click the Start button and then click Run.
7.Type C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R105155 in the Open textbox and then click OK.
8.Follow the on-screen installation instructions.

The next step would be, your chipset drivers.
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=27&fileid=125390
Install
1.Double-click the new icon on the desktop labeled R96614.EXE.
2.The Self-Extracting window appears and prompts you to extract or
unzip to C:\DELL\DRIVERS\r96614. Write down this path so the executable (I.e.
Setup.exe) file can be found later.
3.The Self-Extractor window appears.
4.Click OK.
5.After completing the file extraction, if the Self-Extractor
window is still open, close it.
6.Click the Start button and then click Run.
7.Type C:\DELL\DRIVERS\r96614 in the Open textbox and then click OK.
8.Follow the on-screen installation instructions.

 

There is no unknown device showing.

 

Did you read my last post? #12

 

Are these USB speakers or do they plug into the light green colored analog jack (typically on the back of your computer)?

What make and model are these speakers? Have you checked your BIOS settings to insure that your onboard sound card is turned on? (If you don't know how to make changes in your computer BIOS let us know that before you begin tinkering around on your own in the BIOS.)

 

They plug into the back into the green hole.

 

If these speakers plug into the green jack which is wired into the onboard sound chip on your motherboard then they're standard analog speakers (which is what many of us, including myself, use on our computers) and the speakers themselves won't show up on your list of hardware devices. If they were USB they probably would (I'm guessing though, since I've never used USB speakers) since that would be a digital connection, but the analog audio hookup doesn't provide any means for the system to "know" whether or not anything's plugged into that green analog jack, much less obtain any specific info about your speakers to relay to your hardware device manager.

What should show up on your list of devices is the built in audio on your motherboard and I do see it there listed in the report you attached to your second post: "Multimedia: Audio Adapter Intel 82801EB ICH5 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-2/A-3]"

The fact that your speakers are after market speakers doesn't matter -- you said they worked fine for 4 months, right? Have you tried wiggling the plug in the green socket and at the speaker end also (if the cables aren't wired right into the speakers) or pulling it out/pushing it in very slightly to insure it's connecting properly? Has anything happened to the speaker cables? (Family cat chewing on them, etc?) Assuming that the problem isn't just a faulty connection or bad speaker cables....

What anti-spyware software (or other software utilities) did you use to remove the spyware you mentioned? Do you have any of the spyware quarantined? If you had help here in the malware forum can you provide us with a link to that thread so we can see exactly what software and procedure you followed to remove the spyware?

If you first make sure to disconnect your system from the internet, you could then try restoring, from quarantine, some of the spyware to see if that will allow you to regain the use of your speakers. If you are able to do this, restore only one file or piece of spyware at a time so you can isolate the cause of the problem. Each time you find no effect -- i.e. you still have no sound -- restore that file/spyware to quarantine and try the next quarantined item. If you find a file restored from quarantine that does bring back your audio, make a note of the spyware you restored that brought your build in sound card (which is apparently really what's not working) back to life and post that info here. But only attempt this if you're confident you can easily move the spyware related files comfortably back and forth from quarantine and only if you first disconnect from the internet to insure the spyware you're restoring can't "phone home" or otherwise send data or your personal info to a stranger.

If it's really spyware removal that's caused your built in audio to quit working, knowing exactly what spyware you removed that caused your audio to quit may help us figure out how to fix your problem. Or we may have to refer you to the malware forum here for further assistance.

You might also work through all of mucksnipe's suggestions again, just in case you overlooked something or missed a piece of info that might be helpful to us in figuring out your problem. And have you tried hooking up your speakers to another computer or even a small stereo system to make sure they do, in fact, still work fine?

I think they probably are fine and that the actual problem is the built in sound on your motherboard (probably missing or corrupt drivers for your motherboard's built in audio chip) but it would be good to confirm that these speakers do actually still work by connecting them to another computer or by plugging them into a small stereo to test them.

Summing up -- your speakers, as you've described them, are analog devices and won't show up on the list of hardware devices attached to your system (just as my analog speakers aren't listed by my hardware device manager). Most likely your problem is that your on board/built in sound chip on your motherboard has stopped working, probably because the drivers aren't installed any longer or have gotten corrupted, perhaps because of some spyware you removed. But another possibility is that something audio related on your motherboard got fried by static electricity if you've been working inside the case and didn't make sure to ground yourself first -- or even by just plugging and unplugging stuff into your computer (like the speaker connector) without grounding yourself first.

Did you do any other computer maintenance while you were removing the spyware? Did you open up the case and do anything inside the system or did you install or uninstall any other software (particularly audio or media related software) during the time just before your audio stopped working?