The vast majority of currently existing personal computers are digital multimedia systems. Even models with relatively low performance can play video and audio files. The indicated possibility has become quite natural: no one now wonders what could be otherwise.
By integrating the sound codec chip on the motherboard, manufacturers finally left in the past the famous division into multimedia and non-multimedia class computing systems (in the absence of a
sound card). Thus, sound systems such as speakers and headphones are purchased for almost every home computer. The second is simply indispensable when listening to any songs, for example, at night, when the rest of the household is already sleeping.
It is difficult to convey the whole storm of emotions when it suddenly turns out that the headphones do not work. Especially if yesterday everything was fine, but today, after their next inclusion, there is nowhere from where the problem arose. Often it can be quickly solved independently, so there is no particular reason for panic. Although, of course, if the headphones do not work, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the main reasons, make sure that this is not the case. And only then apply the famous method of "trial and error."
So, here it is, a list of possible malfunctions:
- a problem with the driver;
- damage to the cable going from the headphones to the plug;
- Incorrect BIOS configuration, leading to the fact that the headphones do not work;
- Errors in the driver settings.
Let us dwell on each item in more detail.
A headphone is a device that converts electrical signals generated by a sound card into air vibrations, perceived as sound. Therefore, if the headphones do not work, then you do not need to immediately buy new ones. It is necessary to determine the model of the installed sound card: for built-in solutions, the name can be found in the instructions for the motherboard, and a discrete card will require the launch of an information utility (SiSoft Sandra) or a careful study of the box (or stickers on it). Then everything is simple: you should go to the developer's site and download the driver for your card, designed for the operating system you are using. Obviously, in the case when the Windows 7 headphones do not work, you should not download the control program for Windows XP, but you need to choose it for the Seven. After downloading and installation, sound may appear.
In 70% of cases, the problem of inoperability lies in mechanical damage. Sometimes it’s enough to accidentally touch the cord or pull it to render the whole system unusable: the conductors in the cable break and break off normally.
In addition, the presence of a factory defect cannot be ruled out: a particularly sore spot is the area of soldering of the wire and plug. The best way to check your guess is to connect the headphones to a known-good audio output from another computer. It works - we are looking for the cause in "hardware and software", still silence - the "ears" are faulty. Sometimes users notice that the headphones on the front panel do not work, and when plugged into the connector on the back, everything is fine. This connector is connected to the motherboard via a loop inside the system unit. Errors with its connection - and there is no sound.
Headphones should not be connected to the front panel. This can be done using the simplest 3.5 mm splitter tee, which provides for the simultaneous inclusion of the plugs of two devices.
For integrated solutions in BIOS (“Del” button after power-up), AC97 and HD Audio modes can be selected. Now the second is more relevant, although in case of problems you can set AC97 for verification. By the way, sometimes there is no sound in the headphones due to the mistakenly selected connector - you need to carefully check everything.
In the driver settings of the built-in sound solutions there is a point to disable the definition of sockets for the front panel. Alas, sometimes the mechanism is triggered with an error. Therefore, the "checkmark" (enabled by default) must be removed. This recommendation is for owners of embedded HD and AC solutions.