Sound is playing via headphone socket on onboard sound card, but not
via internal speaker.

Internal speaker has been replaced by Dell and works OK for beep codes
at startup (we removed some RAM to test).

Also, if I change the Sound Scheme in XP (SP2) to 'No Sounds', then
the volume slider control beeps via the internal speaker when you
change it's setting?!

If change the Sound Scheme to 'Windows Default' then the volume slider
control stops beeping when you adjust it.

This is the wrong way around?!

In both cases, no Windows sound plays when you test the WAV file via
the Control Panel applet, and there's no sound at all via WMP (v9). I
have tried both of the options in WMP where you select the playback
device, but again, stick in a pair of headphones and it all works
fine.

On an identical system, this is all works without a problem. I would
much rather understand what's going on here and resolve it than just
give up and reinstall, so any ideas what may be causing this?

Cheers

Rob

On 11 Apr 2007 01:26:11 -0700, info_removethis_@robsavage.com wrote:

>Sound is playing via headphone socket on onboard sound card, but not
>via internal speaker.
>
>Internal speaker has been replaced by Dell and works OK for beep codes
>at startup (we removed some RAM to test).


That's a small piezo-electric speaker, connected to the motherboard
and driven by the BIOS via a couple of resistors and maybe a
transistor.

It's not intended to be used for audio playback unless I've missed
something about the way Dell throw their systems together these
days...

>Also, if I change the Sound Scheme in XP (SP2) to 'No Sounds', then
>the volume slider control beeps via the internal speaker when you
>change it's setting?!

Oh, dear. It sounds like the grunts who serviced your machine have
connected the "internal speaker" directly to the sound card. Look at
the cable. It should go onto the motherboard, to a 2-pin header and
nowhere near the audio circuits of the sound system.


>In both cases, no Windows sound plays when you test the WAV file via
>the Control Panel applet, and there's no sound at all via WMP (v9). I
>have tried both of the options in WMP where you select the playback
>device, but again, stick in a pair of headphones and it all works
>fine.


Perhaps in windows Volume Control, you can pull up Options ->
Properties and say if you see a 'PC Speaker' setting ? I'm not
expecting there to be one listed.

However I'm expecting that either the Main volume control, or the Wave
volume control there has a check in the 'Mute All' or Mute box.

It shouldn't have if you want to hear any sounds form the sound card
or WMP at all. Untick all checkboxes there - any change ?

>On an identical system, this is all works without a problem. I would
>much rather understand what's going on here and resolve it than just
>give up and reinstall, so any ideas what may be causing this?

Cause reinstalling solved 10/10 problems, everybody knows that hah ;-)

Cheers - Neil
------------------------------------------------
Digital Media MVP : 2004-2007
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/mvpfaqs

Neil

Appreciate your suggestions - of course reinstalling is *always* the
answer! Everyone know all us IT bods do is restart things to get 'em
working...

As to your points raised - I was surprised too when I was told that
you could get playback through an internal speaker, but I have opened
these units up and there is a 4-wire connector direct onto the
motherboard, and on other identical machines it definitely is playing
back audio via that internal speaker.

The Mute & Mute All boxes are all present, but all are unchecked. I
have tried ticking them, saving the change and removing the tick, but
to no avail.

Cheers

Rob