Laptop Speaker Problem

Have you tried a new driver?

 

As hinted at above you need to make sure it is a a hardware issue rather then a software one... update or reinstall the driver, and check it's status in device manager before moving on to hardware troubleshooting.

 

Thanks for putting it better!

 

wow i have the samelaptop, no speaker problems but some software problems, dell makes ****ty laptops....

 

As someone who has worked in IT for over 7 years now I'll have to disagree... Dell is the only major PC maker that doesn't make me cringe when I have to work on one. Thankfully though, I don't work on PCs anymore...

 

Preach preacher !!

I have a Dell laptop and we have 50+ dell machines..

I love the Dell factory outlet.

DD

 

Not that I haven't already complained about my laptop enough, but my volume turns itself all the way up when I restart or close it.

RocketFan007 - make sure the Wave settings are turned up as well as your master volume.

 

I wouldn't say that they make ****ty laptops, just inferior to others, specificly from Japan like Sony, Toshiba and Fujitsu. You get what you pay for and expect from Dell- a usable machine.

 

Since we're talking sound here, my Dell Demension 8300's headphone jacks don't work. What's up with that? And what should I look for? I haven't used them in ages, but decided I wanted to crank things up louder late at night, recently, and was surprised that nothing came out of, let's see, the 3 different spots I could plug in one.

Anyone have an idea?

 

It might be the driver, or it might be muted. Go to control panel-sounds and audio devices and poke around in there to make sure your headphone jack isnt muted. Other than that, it may be broken, although I've never seen that happen unless it was a dropped laptop.

 

The jacks may be color coded, one may be red, one black and one green... if they are, you want to plug into the green one.

 

As said before, as someone who has worked on hundreds (if not thousands) of laptops there is none better then Dell. The Japanese PC makers you speak of have horrible service and are some of the most difficult to work on, and their performance is overshadowed by that of Dell laptops... not to mention the fact that Sony and Toshiba are very proud of their computers (ie cost more).

 

IT sector here also, I've placed MILLION dollar orders with Dell in the past at places I've worked.. IMO Dell laptops are solid for the price you pay, but they're no IBMs..

 

The company I am with now is exclusivey IBM (our CEO is on the board of directors of IBM, go figure)... and I am happy with my last two months on IBM hardware. However, I also take care of the IT billing and assetts and I can say that we could pay at least 1/3rd less per user if we were using Dells. IBM support is top notch however (I imagine it might have something to do with who our CEO is), and when I have trouble with my servers they can have parts here in less then 3 hours if need be. With all that said I can see why IBM is great for corporations, but I don't see much use for small businesses or individuals to use IBM while Dell is there with their very low prices and solid service. I love the Netfinity server line, but could do WITHOUT IBM DB2 Content Manager... I have nightmares because of that ridiculous product.

 

Nothing is muted. (is that my problem? )

I've got an SB Audigy ZX. Could there be a conflict with the Sound MAX digital audio, which is the one from the motherboard? (I think) I installed the soundcard myself, but that was a long time ago... at least a couple of years. Still puzzled.

 

It shouldn't be a problem, Windows XP has no problem with handling multiple audio devices. You might want to go ahead and check the device manager in control panel though and just make sure that they are both working properly without any errors. You can disable your onboard Sound MAX card in the bios if need be... worth a shot.

 

hmm I have had my inspiron 8200 for over 3 years and it's rock solid... not one issue.