Audio Hardware - More Problems
(Page 15 of 17 )
Some Speakers Don't Play
If you can hear sound coming from some speakers, but not others, check the following:
Incorrect sound mixer settings. Most systems assume that you are using two-channel (stereophonic) sound, even if you have plugged in four or more speakers. Select the correct speaker type with the Windows Speaker icon or a third-party sound mixer.
Additional speakers are connected to the wrong jacks. Make sure you connect the additional speakers needed for four-channel or six-channel audio to the correct jacks. If you connect them to line-in or microphone jacks, they won't work.
Incorrect balance settings. The volume control also adjusts the balance between the left and right speakers. If you hear audio from the left speakers only or the right speakers only, the balance control needs to be centered with the Windows Speaker icon or a third-party sound mixer.
Note - On some systems with integrated audio, audio jacks have multiple uses. For example, in six-channel mode on some systems, the normal line-in and microphone jacks might be reconfigured to work with rear and center/subwoofer speakers. In such cases, the mixer controls need to be reset.
Some Types of Sounds Play, But Others Don't If you can hear CDs but not WAV or MP3 digital music, or can play WAV and MP3 but not CD or MIDI files, check the following:
Low volume or mute settings for some audio types. Some audio mixers have separate volume controls for WAV/MP3, MIDI, CD digital, CD audio, and other sound types and sources. Unmute any audio types you play back and adjust the volume as desired.
I/O port or DMA conflicts when playing DOS games. On most ISA-based sound cards or PCI-based sound cards or integrated audio solutions, separate I/O port address ranges and DMA channels are used for MIDI, FM synthesis, and normal audio. A conflict can cause some types of sounds not to play.
See Chapter 20 of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 12th Edition on the disc packaged with this book for details on resolving conflicts involving ISA sound cards and game ports.
Scratchy Sound Scratchy or static-filled sound can be caused by several problems. Improving the sound can be as simple as rearranging your hardware components. The following list suggests possible solutions to the problem of scratchy sound:
Is your audio adapter near other expansion cards? The adapter might be picking up electrical interference from other expansion cards inside the PC. Move the audio card to an expansion slot as far away as possible from other cards.
An ISA-based audio adapter requires a lot of CPU attention. Frequent hard disk access can cause dropouts due to the CPUs switching between managing the sound card and the hard drive.
Are your speakers too close to your monitor? The speakers can pick up electrical noise from your monitor. Move them farther away. Subwoofers should never be placed near the monitor because their powerful magnets can interfere with the picture. They should be on the floor to maximize low-frequency transmission.
Are you experiencing compatibility problems between particular games and your sound card? If you notice sound problems such as stuttering voices and static on some games but not others, check with the game vendor for a software patch or with the sound card vendor for updated drivers. If the game uses DirectX, run the DXDIAG diagnostics program (select Start, Run; type DXDIAG; and click OK) and click the Sound tab. Adjust the slider for Hardware Sound Acceleration Level down one notch from Full (the default) to Standard, click Save All Information, and exit. Retry the game. If the problem persists, adjust the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level to Basic. If other games have performance problems after you adjust the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level, be sure to reset it to Full before playing those games.
Your Computer Won't Start If your computer won't start at all, you might not have inserted the audio adapter completely into its slot. Turn off the PC and then press firmly on the card until it is seated correctly.
If you can't start your computer after installing a new sound card and its drivers, you can use the Windows "bootlog" feature to record every event during startup; this file records which hardware drivers are loaded during startup and indicates whether the file loaded successfully, didn't load successfully, or froze the computer. See the documentation for your version of Windows for details on how to create a bootlog when necessary.
Parity Errors or Other Lockups Your computer might display a memory parity error message or simply crash. This is usually caused by resource conflicts in one of the following areas:
If other devices in your system are using the same resources as your audio adapter, crashes, lockups, or parity errors can result. You must ensure that multiple devices in your system do not share these resources.
See Chapter 20 of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 12th Edition on the disc packaged with this book for details on resolving conflicts involving ISA sound cards and game ports.
Advanced Features If you are having problems playing DVD audio, playing MP3 files, or using SPDIF connections, make sure that
You have enabled the hardware resources on the sound card.
You are using the correct playback program.
Your mixer has the correct volume control setting for the device.
Your cabling is correct for the device.
Other Problems Sometimes sound problems can be difficult to solve. Due to quirks and problems with the way DMA is implemented in some motherboard chipsets, problems interacting with certain cards or drivers can occur. Sometimes altering the Chipset Setup options in your CMOS settings can resolve problems. These types of problems can take a lot of trial and error to solve.
The PC standard is based loosely on the cooperation among a handful of companies. Something as simple as one vendor's BIOS or motherboard design can make the standard nonstandard.
A good way to solve problems of all types with Plug and Play cards, a PnP BIOS, and a PnP operating system (Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP) is to use the Device Manager to remove the sound card, restart the system, and allow the card's components to be redetected. This installs a "fresh" copy of the software and reinserts Registry entries.
If you are using a motherboard with a VIA chipset, be sure to download and install the latest versions of VIA drivers.
 | This chapter is from Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 16th edition,by Scott Mueller. (Que Books, 2004, ISBN: 0789731738). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now! |
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