Sound (microphone and speakers) stopped working on laptop

I have a Compaq Presario V6700 laptop that is just over two years old. Its microphones are built into the lid, with two of them just above the display. Its speakers are just above the keyboard.

About six months ago the microphones stopped working. I can plug in a headset, though, and use that microphone fine. Now the speakers have stopped working as well. There, too, the sound comes out fine on a headset speakers.

It does not seem to be a software problem. I thought it might be some problem with the line going to the lid of the computer. But the speakers are in the main part of the laptop.

Any suggestions on what to check?

Thank you.

 

No, there's an electronic touch pad just above the keyboard. It has blue LEDs, with a mute control and volume control. I wish it were mechanical instead of electronic. It's hard to adjust it.

But it works fine. As does the software. I think it must be hardware, a short of some kind. But I don't know where to start looking. I'll do more research on the Internet. As always, I checked here first.

 

Do you have the service manual?
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01295079/c01295079.pdf
If it is easy to open a panel or two to check the connections, I might do that. Check where the connections are in the manual. I was given a laptop the other day that had a broken touchpad. I was able to take off one panel and found the connector had popped out, 5 minute job. I replaced an LCD screen on another, that was quite a lot more work.

Your laptop appears to have Realtek Audio. I have it on my desktop computer and it has a lot of settings. I couldn't get my speakers to work because the Realtek Audio Manager was set to Digital output, I changed it to Speakers and they started working. Microphones, I have the choice of Front Mic, Microphone and Line in. They all have volume controls and mute buttons. Apart from Realtek settings, there is the Windows audio controls as well. You should have two icons in the Notification Tray, one for Realtek and another for Windows audio. (PS If you make changes in the settings and they don't work, go back immediately and change it back or you might start getting even more problems). Double-clicking the icons opens the controls, but right-clicking on them has settings as well (like for Devices).

You have a set of headphones with a microphone, did you install any software for that? That software might be clashing with the Realtek software. If you may have updated drivers for the audio from the Windows Update website, it might have scrambled the Realtek software. If I suspected software, I think I would uninstall any audio software in Programs and Features (Vista), download the Realtek drivers/software from HP and install that.

Also check in the BIOS. I have disabled my Digital output in the BIOS so that it won't show up as a device in the Realtek manager. Your BIOS might have speaker and microphone enable/disable settings. If your battery goes really flat it can upset the BIOS settings. Set the BIOS back to defaults (it might be F9).

Start from the hardware end or the software end and work through methodically, checking everything you can. Don't "jump around" testing here and there or you might overlook the cause. Thoroughly check each section as you go.

Matt

 

Thanks for the suggestions, Matt. I looked for Realtek software, and didn't find any. So I checked all the software I could find and saw nothing unusual.

I was thinking of checking some hardware things when suddenly the sound started working. I don't know how long that will last. But it's hard to find out what the problem is when there is no problem.

So I'll watch this for a while and check back in if the problem reappears.

 

Well, that did not last long. The speakers no longer work. Again.

 

It is probably not the cause, but I would get the drivers/software for the audio. If the correct drivers are not installed, it might cause problems. Check for any chipset driver updates as well.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...page=product&docname=c00033108&product=212728
Is the system a Compaq original installation? If it is, it should have an "audio manager" installed and that would mean the correct drivers as well.

Do you have any media players apart from WMP? I might suspect them, but check any settings they have.

When the speakers worked, was there any crackling, like a loose or broken connection?

Matt

 

Thanks for the advice, Matt. I checked the drivers. They are correct and updated. I have no other media playing programs. So I do not suspect software, although I do not rule it out either.

When the speakers work, there is no crackling sound, or static. It's clear sound. Either perfect sound or none at all.

It looks like it may be the switch that turns sound off when headphones are put in the headphone jack. It may stick even when the jack is taken out.

Others on the Internet have pointed to that as the culprit. They suggest putting in the jack and pulling it out several times. But that does not work for me.

I checked just now, and the sound is working again. So it does indeed look like the jack is the problem.