Onboard Sound Problems

[paxman356]

I recently upgraded my computer at work. It now has an ECS 760GX-M Micro ATX AMD Motherboard with an AMD Sempron 2600+ processor, and 512MB RAM in an ATRIX (Colors it) CSCI-C8002-A1 case with 400watt PSU. It worked great out of the box, but after plugging my headphones into the audio port in the front of the case, I have problems.

I have a 2.1 speaker set from Creative. After plugging into the front port, only the left speaker and the woolfer work. When I try to adjust the balance to the Left, nothing happens, to the right, the sound goes away. I have plugged other speakers and my headphones into the back port with the same results. I seemed to have fixed the problem when I flashed a new BIOS to the motherboard, but I didn't learn from the first time, and used the front audio port again, with the same result.

That was a couple months ago. I decided to bite the bullet and get a different mobo, since most people think ECS is of low quality. This time I got a Gigabyte GA-K8NS. Plugged everything in and it worked like a charm. That is until I plugged my headphones into the front port. I should have known better. Now I have the same problem, with a twist. I can get the software to recognize my speakers in the pink port, instead of the green, and I get good stereo.

Big question is, what should I do next? Is there a way to fix the case to solve the problem? Should I return the mobo and never use the front port again? Should I get a different case? Help!

[Guest Tony]

Hi paxman356,

Welcome to Besttechie, my name is Tony.

Try this:

1) Plug you speakers into the back of your computer

2) Update your soind drivers.

[JDoors]

(From your description I'm not positive how your hardware is set up so forgive any confusion on my part.)

Was the headphone jack an integral part of your computer case or a drive? It's likely defective, considering using it caused a problem. When you plug into that type of jack little pins are moved into or out of connection to change the speaker configuration. If the pins are not moving correctly or do not return to the correct position when you unplug the jack, it can leave your speaker configuration just as you describe.

If the jack is in a drive you could tear apart the drive and see if you can bend the pins so they work, but taking apart a drive isn't always easy, you may not have easy access to the jack, and you may not be able to get the pins to function properly. If you can get to the jack but cannot get it to function you may be able to buy the jack from Radio Shack, they're fairly standardized in size & mounting options.

If you don't want to tear into it or can't fix it otherwise, err, you'd have to buy a new drive.