By
Gary Hendricks
Computer
sound problems can be very frustrating. The truth
is that troubleshooting sound problems is a little
different than most other troubleshooting because
the usual troubleshooting approach of stripping
the PC down to bare essentials often doesn’t
apply.
The
following questions and answers help highlight what
can go wrong and suggest the approaches you can
use to diagnose and repair the problem.
Question
1: I only hear sound out of one speaker. What’s
happening and what can I do?
Answer:
You can troubleshoot this by isolating the problem
to the sound card/computer, cable, or speakers.
You can test your speakers on an alternate source,
such as a Walkman, portable stereo, or other audio
source.
If
the test works (and you used the same cable), the
problem is probably in the computer or sound card
setup. If the test fails, try a different cable.
If that works, the cable is the problem; otherwise,
you might have a problem with the speakers.
Check
the cabling between speakers and make sure the balance
control is set properly. If your speakers have independent
power sources, make sure both are working (don’t
forget that batteries fail).
Question
2: Why does the volume control on my speakers not
work?
Answer:
Your speakers require either an external power supply
or batteries to power the amplifier, which is what
implements the volume control. Make sure that you
have fresh batteries or the appropriate power supply
and that the power switch is turned on.
Question
3: Why does the red light on my speakers not turn
on when I turn on the power switch?
Answer:
Verify that you have fresh batteries or that you’re
using a power supply for the speakers and that it’s
powered on. If the speakers plug in, make sure there’s
power at the wall outlet.
Question
4: Can I use any speakers with any subwoofer?
Answer:
Not necessarily, because some speaker/subwoofer
combinations have nonstandard connections. What
you can do, though, is to cable the speakers as
if there are two independent sets of speakers (the
speakers themselves and the subwoofer).
You
do that by connecting a 'Y' adapter to your sound
card. Plug the tail of the Y into the computer and
speakers into the branches. (Alternatively, some
subwoofers work when plugged into the line-out jack
on the sound card, eliminating the need to split
the speaker-out jack connection.)
Question
5: I need to set up my computer for videoconferencing,
but the noise is too distracting to my office mates.
What can I do?
Answer:
The best answer is the same solution as for noisy
speakerphones — get a headset. You can get
headsets that plug into your sound card speaker
and microphone jacks directly, giving you good sound
quality, keeping background noise out of your conversation,
and keeping peace in your office.
Conclusion
Whew! That's a whole lot of questions and answers
about computer sound. Hopefully, the next time you
have computer sound trouble, these answers will
help you out.
