Problems with integrated audio chipset after thunderstorm - speakers not found

[Delo]

So last night I was listening to some music on my PC (through headphones) when an enormous flash of lighting lit up the sky. To those who might chastise me for being on my computer during a thunderstorm, this was one of those flash thunderstorms that suddenly appears out of nowhere. When the lightning flashed, I heard a burst of static in my headphones. The lightning strike set off our house alarm but didn't knock out our power.

I returned later that night to my computer and noticed that the audio "popped" when it was above a certain level (I was watching a video at the time). I thought that maybe the speakers in my headphones had been blown out by the static and resolved to look at it further in the morning.

When I checked this morning, I didn't get any sound at all from my computer and my audio control panel only displayed Realtek audio. The speakers were marked as "not plugged in". I unplugged the speakers, thinking maybe they were damaged somehow (nothing on my computer turned off last night, and everything related to my computer is plugged into a surge protector that did not turn off) and tried to get sound through my monitor, which is what I used to use before I bought speakers. Nothing.

I checked the monitor with my Xbox and got sound without a problem. My headphones were also fine.

I googled around and tried uninstalling and reinstalling my audio drivers. Still no luck getting sound through my speakers or monitor. When I run the "troubleshoot audio playback" option in the control panel, it just tells me a device is unplugged, which it mostly certainly isn't. The speakers don't have drivers either, they were the plug in and play kind.

I'm guessing that somehow my audio chipset has been damaged by the storm, even though my surge protector and PC never turned off and everything else on my PC is absolutely fine. I'm not entirely sure why only the audio would be damaged and nothing else.

Is there something I can do to try to fix the audio? Would buying a sound card override the problem or do I need to replace the whole motherboard?

 

[Outlander_04]

head for device manager , and look for sound devices . Uninstall the driver

and then reboot

windows should do the rest

 

[smorizio]

Also check that windows has the realteck audio chipset As the main audio output and not hdmi audio. Also check realteck audio control panel make sure it not set to digital output. If it a power glitch you can try clearing your CMOS see if the mb sound will come back. If no sound you can add a cheap sound card.

 

[Delo]

Thanks for the help. I looked at the realteck control panel and noticed analog was grayed out so I tried to get it working again. I did some googling and disabled the "front panel detection" option which restored everything back to normal. What a weird glitch.

UPDATE: So I get sound but I get a ringing/buzzing sound in my headphones through the speakers and I'm not sure if my mic works either (they're attached). Speakers are fine, but headsets are problematic.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

Sounds like his suggestion of a replaced cheap sound card might be the solution. Either that or get a new computer ($300 at Walmart) and cobble together parts (the PSU + Graphics) if you want to save the cost too.

 

[nostall]

Go to RealTek's website, download new drivers for your sound chip and install them

Might want to check Control Panel, Sound, Playback, and make certain you speakers are configured properly there: Then look at recording to check on the Mic. Make sue Windows isn't trying to 'playback' sound through the microphone; that could lead to some distortion.

 

[Delo]

So after some fiddling and driver updating, I realized that the buzzing/ringing sound is ONLY coming from the right headphone or right speaker. Left headphone/speaker is perfectly fine. In short, I just get audio on the left side.

I'll probably end up ordering a cheap soundcard to see if that fixes the problem.

 

[nostall]

So last night I was listening to some music on my PC (through headphones) when an enormous flash of lighting lit up the sky. To those who might chastise me for being on my computer during a thunderstorm, this was one of those flash thunderstorms that suddenly appears out of nowhere. When the lightning flashed, I heard a burst of static in my headphones. The lightning strike set off our house alarm but didn't knock out our power.

I returned later that night to my computer and noticed that the audio "popped" when it was above a certain level (I was watching a video at the time). I thought that maybe the speakers in my headphones had been blown out by the static and resolved to look at it further in the morning.

When I checked this morning, I didn't get any sound at all from my computer and my audio control panel only displayed Realtek audio. The speakers were marked as "not plugged in". I unplugged the speakers, thinking maybe they were damaged somehow (nothing on my computer turned off last night, and everything related to my computer is plugged into a surge protector that did not turn off) and tried to get sound through my monitor, which is what I used to use before I bought speakers. Nothing.

I checked the monitor with my Xbox and got sound without a problem. My headphones were also fine.

I googled around and tried uninstalling and reinstalling my audio drivers. Still no luck getting sound through my speakers or monitor. When I run the "troubleshoot audio playback" option in the control panel, it just tells me a device is unplugged, which it mostly certainly isn't. The speakers don't have drivers either, they were the plug in and play kind.

I'm guessing that somehow my audio chipset has been damaged by the storm, even though my surge protector and PC never turned off and everything else on my PC is absolutely fine. I'm not entirely sure why only the audio would be damaged and nothing else.

Is there something I can do to try to fix the audio? Would buying a sound card override the problem or do I need to replace the whole motherboard?

So after some fiddling and driver updating, I realized that the buzzing/ringing sound is ONLY coming from the right headphone or right speaker. Left headphone/speaker is perfectly fine. In short, I just get audio on the left side.

I'll probably end up ordering a cheap soundcard to see if that fixes the problem.

Before investing the time (especially) and the money in a sound card try a couple more troubleshooting steps.
1st, and probably been done, plug the headphones into the rear speaker plug (the one directly connected to the mobo) and make sure the headphone plug is securely in the connection. Listen to something (music?) and gently twist or turn the headphone plug in the connector and/or move the wires on the head phones: your looking for broken wiring or connector.
I KNOW you have already tried these steps, sorry, but it is worth one more check.
2nd. Though you have tried your headphone and monitor on the XBox, if you did the steps above and still had sound problems, check them one more time on the XBox.

3rd. Get the sound card. If you live in the U.S., Best Buy has a Creative sound Blaster Audigy SE PCI on sale right now for $29.99. Newegg has a slightly better version for the same price:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Creative+-+Sound+Blaster+Audigy+SE+PCI+2.1+Sound+Card/1250442.p?id=1218410299977&skuId=1250442
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102003
BE AWARE these inexpensive cards have a proprietary front panel connector; you case's front panel connector probably WON't be able to be used (speaker and mic connections).
There are a lot of sound cards and sound card options out there, those were only two of them. Do some shopping and comparisons before buying, especially if you use the front panel connectors.

Last part: Why would the "power blackout/surge take out just one channel." Not trying to be a wise guy here, but no one ever knows nor will we ever find out. Electrical and Electronics failures can be some of the most illogical of all 'breakages.' Two computers in the same house, one is perfectly fine, the other is toast; I guess it can only be called bad luck.
Hope this helps.

 

[Delo]

So last night I was listening to some music on my PC (through headphones) when an enormous flash of lighting lit up the sky. To those who might chastise me for being on my computer during a thunderstorm, this was one of those flash thunderstorms that suddenly appears out of nowhere. When the lightning flashed, I heard a burst of static in my headphones. The lightning strike set off our house alarm but didn't knock out our power.

I returned later that night to my computer and noticed that the audio "popped" when it was above a certain level (I was watching a video at the time). I thought that maybe the speakers in my headphones had been blown out by the static and resolved to look at it further in the morning.

When I checked this morning, I didn't get any sound at all from my computer and my audio control panel only displayed Realtek audio. The speakers were marked as "not plugged in". I unplugged the speakers, thinking maybe they were damaged somehow (nothing on my computer turned off last night, and everything related to my computer is plugged into a surge protector that did not turn off) and tried to get sound through my monitor, which is what I used to use before I bought speakers. Nothing.

I checked the monitor with my Xbox and got sound without a problem. My headphones were also fine.

I googled around and tried uninstalling and reinstalling my audio drivers. Still no luck getting sound through my speakers or monitor. When I run the "troubleshoot audio playback" option in the control panel, it just tells me a device is unplugged, which it mostly certainly isn't. The speakers don't have drivers either, they were the plug in and play kind.

I'm guessing that somehow my audio chipset has been damaged by the storm, even though my surge protector and PC never turned off and everything else on my PC is absolutely fine. I'm not entirely sure why only the audio would be damaged and nothing else.

Is there something I can do to try to fix the audio? Would buying a sound card override the problem or do I need to replace the whole motherboard?

So after some fiddling and driver updating, I realized that the buzzing/ringing sound is ONLY coming from the right headphone or right speaker. Left headphone/speaker is perfectly fine. In short, I just get audio on the left side.

I'll probably end up ordering a cheap soundcard to see if that fixes the problem.

Before investing the time (especially) and the money in a sound card try a couple more troubleshooting steps.
1st, and probably been done, plug the headphones into the rear speaker plug (the one directly connected to the mobo) and make sure the headphone plug is securely in the connection. Listen to something (music?) and gently twist or turn the headphone plug in the connector and/or move the wires on the head phones: your looking for broken wiring or connector.
I KNOW you have already tried these steps, sorry, but it is worth one more check.
2nd. Though you have tried your headphone and monitor on the XBox, if you did the steps above and still had sound problems, check them one more time on the XBox.

3rd. Get the sound card. If you live in the U.S., Best Buy has a Creative sound Blaster Audigy SE PCI on sale right now for $29.99. Newegg has a slightly better version for the same price:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Creative+-+Sound+Blaster+Audigy+SE+PCI+2.1+Sound+Card/1250442.p?id=1218410299977&skuId=1250442
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102003
BE AWARE these inexpensive cards have a proprietary front panel connector; you case's front panel connector probably WON't be able to be used (speaker and mic connections).
There are a lot of sound cards and sound card options out there, those were only two of them. Do some shopping and comparisons before buying, especially if you use the front panel connectors.

Last part: Why would the "power blackout/surge take out just one channel." Not trying to be a wise guy here, but no one ever knows nor will we ever find out. Electrical and Electronics failures can be some of the most illogical of all 'breakages.' Two computers in the same house, one is perfectly fine, the other is toast; I guess it can only be called bad luck.
Hope this helps.

Yeah, I'm getting the sound problems even with the back panel, and everything else works alright on other devices. I'm 90% sure something with the onboard audio got screwed up so I'm going to get a moderately priced sound card like what you suggested. Thanks for the help!

 

[Delo]

So last night I was listening to some music on my PC (through headphones) when an enormous flash of lighting lit up the sky. To those who might chastise me for being on my computer during a thunderstorm, this was one of those flash thunderstorms that suddenly appears out of nowhere. When the lightning flashed, I heard a burst of static in my headphones. The lightning strike set off our house alarm but didn't knock out our power.

I returned later that night to my computer and noticed that the audio "popped" when it was above a certain level (I was watching a video at the time). I thought that maybe the speakers in my headphones had been blown out by the static and resolved to look at it further in the morning.

When I checked this morning, I didn't get any sound at all from my computer and my audio control panel only displayed Realtek audio. The speakers were marked as "not plugged in". I unplugged the speakers, thinking maybe they were damaged somehow (nothing on my computer turned off last night, and everything related to my computer is plugged into a surge protector that did not turn off) and tried to get sound through my monitor, which is what I used to use before I bought speakers. Nothing.

I checked the monitor with my Xbox and got sound without a problem. My headphones were also fine.

I googled around and tried uninstalling and reinstalling my audio drivers. Still no luck getting sound through my speakers or monitor. When I run the "troubleshoot audio playback" option in the control panel, it just tells me a device is unplugged, which it mostly certainly isn't. The speakers don't have drivers either, they were the plug in and play kind.

I'm guessing that somehow my audio chipset has been damaged by the storm, even though my surge protector and PC never turned off and everything else on my PC is absolutely fine. I'm not entirely sure why only the audio would be damaged and nothing else.

Is there something I can do to try to fix the audio? Would buying a sound card override the problem or do I need to replace the whole motherboard?

So after some fiddling and driver updating, I realized that the buzzing/ringing sound is ONLY coming from the right headphone or right speaker. Left headphone/speaker is perfectly fine. In short, I just get audio on the left side.

I'll probably end up ordering a cheap soundcard to see if that fixes the problem.

Before investing the time (especially) and the money in a sound card try a couple more troubleshooting steps.
1st, and probably been done, plug the headphones into the rear speaker plug (the one directly connected to the mobo) and make sure the headphone plug is securely in the connection. Listen to something (music?) and gently twist or turn the headphone plug in the connector and/or move the wires on the head phones: your looking for broken wiring or connector.
I KNOW you have already tried these steps, sorry, but it is worth one more check.
2nd. Though you have tried your headphone and monitor on the XBox, if you did the steps above and still had sound problems, check them one more time on the XBox.

3rd. Get the sound card. If you live in the U.S., Best Buy has a Creative sound Blaster Audigy SE PCI on sale right now for $29.99. Newegg has a slightly better version for the same price:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Creative+-+Sound+Blaster+Audigy+SE+PCI+2.1+Sound+Card/1250442.p?id=1218410299977&skuId=1250442
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102003
BE AWARE these inexpensive cards have a proprietary front panel connector; you case's front panel connector probably WON't be able to be used (speaker and mic connections).
There are a lot of sound cards and sound card options out there, those were only two of them. Do some shopping and comparisons before buying, especially if you use the front panel connectors.

Last part: Why would the "power blackout/surge take out just one channel." Not trying to be a wise guy here, but no one ever knows nor will we ever find out. Electrical and Electronics failures can be some of the most illogical of all 'breakages.' Two computers in the same house, one is perfectly fine, the other is toast; I guess it can only be called bad luck.
Hope this helps.

Yeah, I'm getting the sound problems even with the back panel, and everything else works alright on other devices. I'm 90% sure something with the onboard audio got screwed up so I'm going to get a moderately priced sound card like what you suggested. Thanks for the help!

I installed the soundcard today (a relatively cheap Sound Blaster) and all the audio issues have disappeared. Thanks for the help everyone. Case closed.