is my sound card dying?

[mikekazik1]

Hi, just recently I have had some technical difficulties with the sound on my computer. At first I thought some of the setting in the control panel may have been changed, but I checked that and the settings are fine. For some strange reason, sometimes there is no sound when I start up the computer. A lot of times, restarting the computer will fix the problem. But why is this happening in the first place??? The only way to explain this would be a hardware problem. It could either be the sound card, or it could be the built-in speakers in my monitor. I'm guessing that the problem is probably being caused by the monitor, but I need to know for sure. Several months ago, I had some problems with the monitor (the screen would be milk at first but then it would slowly return to normal after it was on for a while). The problem went away on its own. What do you guys think? What is causing this problem (sound card or monitor speakers)? How can I find out for sure?

 

[Aintry]

This is why I keep cheap testing equipment around. Get a really cheap set of stereo headphones and hook them up to your sound card to see if you get any audio dropouts. Or try the same thing with your stereo if you don't like the headphones idea.

 

[mikekazik1]

This is why I keep cheap testing equipment around. Get a really cheap set of stereo headphones and hook them up to your sound card to see if you get any audio dropouts. Or try the same thing with your stereo if you don't like the headphones idea.

Is there any way to test the sound card using software? Or do I have to test it manually?

 

[Aintry]

Is there any way to test the sound card using software? Or do I have to test it manually?

Well, you could use 'Device Manager' in 'Windows XP' to determine whether the card was malfunctioning or not. But I'd still use a manual test regardless.

 

[mikekazik1]

Well, you could use 'Device Manager' in 'Windows XP' to determine whether the card was malfunctioning or not. But I'd still use a manual test regardless.

When I right-clicked the sound card in device manager, it said that is was working properly. Do you know if there is any way to test the speakers that are built into my monitor? I think they might be responsible for the problem.

 

[Aintry]

When I right-clicked the sound card in device manager, it said that is was working properly. Do you know if there is any way to test the speakers that are built into my monitor? I think they might be responsible for the problem.

You'd have to hook the speakers up to another sound device of some kind. I assume there is an 1/8" stereo plug leading out of the speakers that you could plug into something -- a boom box, a mp3 player, etc.?

Just watch (!!) the volume level if you decide to test with something like, say, a home theater amplifier.

If you have onboard sound for your computer you could use that as a sound source, too, just for testing purposes. You'd just have to activate it first in the 'Sounds and Audio Devices' control panel.

 

[mikekazik1]

You'd have to hook the speakers up to another sound device of some kind. I assume there is an 1/8" stereo plug leading out of the speakers that you could plug into something -- a boom box, a mp3 player, etc.?

The only outlets on my monitor are:

1) DC 12V Input
2) DVI input
3) S-VHS input
4) RCA INPUT
5) Audio in
6) Audio out
7) USB up
8) USB down

Which out those should I use?