I recently had a problem at work with a speaker not working. Now something so simple you would think it wouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to sort out. However I soon realised the humble computer sound system was a lot more complicated. With some of the settings in multiple places and even after Googling I realised there was no resource that addressed all the potential problems. So here at Tech Tumble we decided to create the resource any beginner can use when they have no sound coming out of their computer speakers.

How To Test If Your Computer Or Laptop Speakers Have No Sound Coming Out

When you first realise your speakers are not working you have to ensure you are playing a sound to not only make sure you do have a problem with your computers sound but also to test when you have changed and setting or plugged in a wire if  it has fixed your problem and your sound is working again.

Now you could put a CD in you drive and try and play some music or open another media player like windows media player or iTunes however this could be adding another complexity into the mix as you may just have a problem with that software. For this reason you are best to try and play a test sound from your operating system. Below are instructions for playing a test sound for the Windows 7 computer operating systems.

Windows 7

Press the Windows 7 Start Button  (Normally bottom left of your screen)

Control Panel > Hardware and Sound >Change System Sounds

Select one of the sounds that has a speaker against it for example Critical Stop

Press Test to play the sound

You can click Test as many times as you like to ensure if you can hear anything.

How To Fault Find and Fix Your Computer When It Play’s No Sound

In my many years’ experience as an IT Manager I am asked on a weekly basis to help with both work and home related computer problems. My first question normally is “has it ever worked” and “have you made any changes on your computer recently.” Depending on these answers will set you down specific paths of finding the fault. So follow the flow chart below which will get you to test individual faults by a process of elimination.

How to Check If External Speakers Are Setup Correctly

If you have external speakers whether they are on a laptop or desktop PC then below is the common problems you may have. Run the sound test after making any changes.

• Check the power supply to your speakers is plugged in and switched on
• If there is a power light, is it illuminated? If not then go to “How to Test the External Speaker Hardware”.
• If the speakers have a volume then check the speaker volume is turned up. If you are unsure of which direction to turn the volume control knob, turn it to both extents and leave it somewhere in the middle.
• Check the sound lead from the computer is plugged into the input of the speaker. In fact I always pull the connector out and then push it back in just to make sure.
• Check the lead going to the speakers is plugged in the correct port on your computer. This is one of the most common faults when first setting up your computer speakers. I am never quite sure which port to plug the speakers into and although normally color coded I have to look closely to identify the correct port.  The table below shows the common color coding and explains what each symbol means.

Sound Card Connections
Port Color Code	Symbol	Description
		Microphone Audio Input
		Line Level Audio Input
		Line Level Output (To Speakers)

How to Check Your Laptop Speaker Volume

Now with laptops depending on the design of the laptop you may have a buttons or rotary wheel to set the volume and a separate mute button.  Look carefully around the laptop for anything that looks like volume wheel or mute button. If you are unsure then refer to your laptop manufactures manual. Examples of such buttons can be seen below.

Again if you are not sure which way to turn the rotary volume wheel, rotate the wheel to the full extents and set it somewhere in the middle. Also if you are unsure if the mute is on or off then test both cases, although there is normally a clear indicator light.

How to Test the External Speaker Hardware

So you are suspicious the speakers may be the culprit. To test them confirm they are to fault  just plug the speakers into another sound source for example an MP3 player or stereo. If that doesn’t work you can double check to confirm they are faulty by also plugging another set of speakers into your soundcard. If you haven’t got another set of speakers you could always try a set of headphones as they should be the same size (3.5mm) jack.

How to Check and Change the Sound Level on Your PC

If your speakers have been working and you now get no sound coming from them then this is one of the most common causes. If you have muted the computers sound then no sound will come out of your speaker. To check this, do the following.

1. Select the speaker icon in the hidden notification area . (Normally bottom right)Or
2. Press the Windows 7 Start Button  (Normally bottom left of your screen)
3. Control Panel > Hardware and Sound >Adjust System Volume

1. Push all the sliders to the top and ensure the speakers are not muted.
   e.g. If they display click the icon until it displays

One other place to just check although this normally links to the OS levels seen above is if you have a multimedia keyboard. Make sure the mute or volume buttons  are not stuck. Test with another keyboard if you suspect this maybe the problem.

Check the Sound Card Driver and Reinstall

If you have got to this stage then you are probably beginning to get frustrated but don’t give up this isn’t as complicated as it sounds (excuse the pun) . To check the sound card driver do the following:

1. Press the Windows 7 Start Button  (Normally bottom left of your screen)
2. Control Panel > System and Security > System
   
3. Click Device Manager in the left hand menu
4. Click the arrow by Sound, video and game controllers to expand the tree
   
5. If there is a yellow exclamation triangle by the soundcard driver then there is something wrong driver. To correct right click the sound card driver in the tree and select
   Update Driver Software….
   
6. Then click Search Automatically for updated driver software
   
7. If it finds an updated driver, Windows 7 will install it. If it doesn’t find a driver you will need to go to the sound card manufacturers website to download the latest driver and run the driver installation package.

Glossary

Bass: Lower end frequency sounds.

Mono: Mono or monophonic describes a system where all the audio signals are mixed together and routed through a single audio channel giving no time phase information that would simulate directional sound.

Satellite Speaker: Normally are the smaller (satellite)  speakers which carry the mid-bass positioned either side of the sub-woofer .

Sound Card: Sometimes known as an audio card is a computer expansion card that enables audio input and output.

Stereo: True stereophonic sound systems have two independent audio channels, and the sounds that are reproduced have a specific level and phase relationship to each other. This would simulate directional sound of the original sound source.

Sub-woofer Speaker: The speaker that carries the bass sound which is  normally a larger powered speaker  postioned centrally.

Treble: Higher end frequency sounds .

Tweeter: The speaker that carries the treble sound.

Speaker Configurations