Sound problem

So, I made the mistake of letting my dad operate the mouse for about 30 seconds and he somehow killed the sound on my stereo-attached to computer-setup. I have an old Creative labs two speaker+sub connected through my line-in port. He clicked somewhere in an attempt to turn up the volume (not noticing the separate control hanging next to my monitor) and now I have to turn the physical dial up all the way on my stereo just to get to a normal volume.

I checked in the "Volume Control's" panel and everything is set to max. I also maxed the volume in Windows Media Player and checked the properties for my hardware. Is there some other likely culprit that could be easily switched to "low" by some random clicking around?
It is a universal sound reduction in all programs. Thanks.

 

Try uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers. If you right-click on the little speaker icon down by the clock, first choose Open Volume Control and make sure that nothing is muted or turned down (Line In muted is OK). Then right-click again and choose Adjust Audio Properties and go thru all the tabs, volumes, and advanced settings in there and make sure all that is copasetic. It may not be a bad idea to check where the speakers plug into the sound card. If that plug is somehow loose, or pulled out just a hair, you can get reduced volumes. Also, try sort of 'spinning' the plug in the jack (GENTLY) and see if that improves volume.

hopperdave2000

 

I've tried the above, but found a temporary solution in the process. For some reason if I turn the master volume slider DOWN past a certain level I get my normal levels restored. For now, I'm fine with that, but if that information helps anyone solve the mystery, I'd love to hear it.
Thanks