New case, no audio... help

I have just transfered my PC to a new case, and everything is working, except audio. I haven't made any new audio connections to the motherboard... I have onboard sound and I'm using the same output jack I used previously.. i.e. the one hard mounted on the motherboard.

Windows reports the audio as fine and working. I know my stereo is working and I hear a lot of noise pickup as I unplug the jack... so stereo lead and amp is ok.

Any ideas?

In case it is important... 2nd time I booted, the machine reported new hardware found and found my gfx card... even though it seemed to be running fine with it on the 1st boot.

Assuming you've plugged the audio lead into the correct socket (there are three audio sockets together on the back of your mobo, right?)...

Possibly an IRQ conflict - did you plug all the PCI stuff back into their original PCI slots? Or have you moved stuff around?

What I'd do is find the audio hardware in device manager, delete it, then right-click and "Scan for new hardware". Then reboot.

You're not likely to have an IRQ conflict and still have the device say it's working properly in the control panel.

Try what Gfk said as far as deleting and reinstalling the device. Be sure your lead is in the correct plug, your subwoofer/speakers are powered, if necessary, the volume is up both on the speakers and in your operating system, and you have the proper drivers installed (probably from a motherboard CD, don't count on Windows or Linux finding the proper driver for you).

Edit: Also, do a regular old reboot after all of the above. Sometimes you'll have a problem with accessing the sound device after a fresh install.

SpaceAce

Thanks, guys. I have taken all your advice... and still not a dickybird. Now I'm wondering if I fragged something when I took the motherboard out.

Have to ask again cos its bugging me - are you absolutely sure that you've got your stereo plugged into the correct socket? There are three (Line Out (the one it should be in), Line In and Mic In) - accidentally plugging it into the wrong one is very easily done.

If windows reports that the hardware is OK, and your stereo definitely works, then perhaps you have a faulty cable, or slightly worse, a dry joint on your motherboard under the audio connectors thats stopping them from working.

Do you have a mic? Are you getting any input with that? Try it with some audio software that gives a visual representation of sound. I think the built in Sound Recorder should maybe do the job.

Check you haven't muted the sound volume in windows (not just turned it down, I meanticked the little mute box under the volume slider). Sounds obvious but I've seen it been done before (hell I've even done it).

If you're checking for mute, double click the volume control and make sure wave isn't muted (the volume icon doesn't change unless the main output is muted).

Thanks guys... I do appreciate the ideas. The sound isn't muted. The cable is ok (hear pickup when I pull it out), and yes GFK, it is in the right jack. It never hurts to double check, and I also tried plugging it into the other two jacks, with no success. I will try the mic thing if I manage to get it working.

I'm now getting BSOD, but the screen flicks off too quickly for me to see what the exact error message is.

Theres a setting in XP where you can tell it not to auto reboot after a BSOD. Hit Windows + Break to bring up System Properties, click advanced, click Settings in the Startup and REcovery section, untick Automatically Restart. Hope this helps.

Sounds like something is screwed. That's a technical term. Good luck.

Cheers Grey you may have saved me pulling all my hair out.

there's the possibility of a short, make sure no component's conductive surfaces are touching the case (i.e. motherboard)

Was thinking the same thing myself but its difficult to know what to suggest without it seeming patronising.

Repeated blue screen crashes would be telling me that there's a hardware problem. I would assume you've placed risers between the motherboard and the case? Also make sure that none of the backplates on the PCI hardware are touching motherboard components, and that all the components are pushed in properly.

Just another couple of "just in case" suggestions:

- Plug a pair of headphones in to all three jacks, just to see. It probably won't make a difference, but it'll narrow down the search by eliminating the cable and the stereo (or by implacting them!).

- If the jacks are auto-sensing (not likely on a motherboard) then check using the software provided for it that they haven't auto-sensed incorrectly (as I've seen happen often). If so, set them manually.

Best of luck.

If you have a surround-sound capable audio chipset (most are), then the audio jacks are programmable -- the colors on the jacks may not necesarily match those in the software configuration. It's quite possible that your 'normal' front/side audio is mapped to a microphone port or vice-versa. check in your control panel if you have any audio application specific to your hardware (e.g. a 'realtek', 'sigma' or other icon) Launch it, and see if there's an option to auto-detect the jacks. This has caused me some difficulty in the past.

another option: If you have more than one piece of audio hardware (or even a vitual device driver!) that is capable of playing sound, it's possible that your default hardware device for sound output is set to the incorrect one.
check under control panel -> sound and audio devices -> audio, and make sure that your default sound playback device is indeed set to the correct soundcard.

I set up my surround sound yesterday for the first time ever from my PC. it all went really well.


This isn't any help to you, of course ;)

this probably is a non-issue but years ago you had to put little cardboard washers on top of the risers so that the metal risers didn't touch the motherboard because they didn't have very much "margin" around the screw holes! I once fixed a PC for a guy which made a "squeeling" noise every so often (and crashed). I discovered that whoeever built it only screwed the board to one riser (the others were just loose) and so the board roated round the pivot point and the others risers would hit those little chip pins that poke down through the board and short them, thus making a crazy noise from the PC speaker! It was like it was screaming in pain...