Okay so I have this computer left behind by my ex. No not THIS computer, I'm at work atm. But at home where I play WoW I use a desktop that he built.
I can hear sound in my headphones and use vent and the mic works fine.
I have speakers and a sub-woofer hooked up too but no sound comes out, regardless of my headset/mic being plugged in.
On the back of the machine there are a bunch of wires plugged into what I believe is the sound card and then going right back into some other place on the back, including what looks like an audio jack. It seems that Mr. ex, decided to put a dongle or close a circuit or something so the speakers don't work.
Anyway, I can remove all that and see if this makes things work and put it back if I break something.
My question is, what's the deal with speakers and using a headset/mic and how do people usually switch back and forth?
Ideally you could use your computer either way, hearing sounds from your speakers and then in your headphones depending on your preference at that moment.
Before I screw it all up, I jjust wanted to see what it SHOULD be set up like.
Thanks,
Roby
Roby I normally use a 1/8" Stereo Y Adapter to plug in both the speakers/headphones at once, then turn them off when not in use.
Aha! Okay, I can dig one out of the basement I think. That makes sense, thanks.
I can help you with this.. I fiddle with PCs all the time. Been through several Audigy 2/Z audio cards and several speaker systems (Creative, Logitech. 4.1, 5.1, etc) First I need some more info:
Basic question, was it ALL working correctly before he became an ex? Is the subwoofer getting electrical power? Firmly press in all connectors. What is your knowledge level of computers?
[b]I can hear sound in my headphones and use vent and the mic works fine.[/b]
Is your headphone-mic one entire unit or did you buy a headphone and a microphone separately? Is the headphone-mic unit USB by chance? Are these plugged directly in the back of the audiocard or are they plugged in elsewhere (like a special control box) ? If the headphone is plugged into the back of the PC, can you tell if the audio jack is along a vertical panel (most on-board audio is on a somewhat vertical panel near the internal power supply) *orientation of the computer being upright
[b]I have speakers and a sub-woofer hooked up too but no sound comes out, regardless of my headset/mic being plugged in.[/b]
What is your speaker system setup? 2 speakers and a sub-woofer? 4 speakers and a sub-woofer? Any way you can provide manufacturer and model number of your speaker system. Knowing the speaker system helps me figure out (and visualize the setup of) the audiocard he installed.
[b]On the back of the machine there are a bunch of wires plugged into what I believe is the sound card and then going right back into some other place on the back, including what looks like an audio jack. It seems that Mr. ex, decided to put a dongle or close a circuit or something so the speakers don't work.[/b]
More difficult to guess how he tried to wire this setup without seeing a pic of back of the pc, I can only visually guess the setup.. Alot of motherboards come with an on-board audiocard. If he installed a separate audiocard, he may have disabled the on-board audiocard.. in which maybe an essential line of your speakers is plugged. Conversely, he may have disabled the separate audio-card (where your speakers/subwoofer) are hooked up to, and enabled the on-board audio (which your headphone and mic) are connected to.
[b]My question is, what's the deal with speakers and using a headset/mic and how do people usually switch back and forth?
Ideally you could use your computer either way, hearing sounds from your speakers and then in your headphones depending on your preference at that moment.[/b]
I ended up with a headphone-mic unit that was USB driven.. it wouldn't conflct with the limited number of audio connectors on my audiocard. A setting from within Ventrilo allows me to pick my audio output and input devices.
Let me know what you find out.
It was not all working before, I think he put that ball of wires on the back to make it not work on purpose. The subwoofer has power. My knowledge level is very high but I don't work in the field. I know the speakers and subwoofer worked before he made it not work.
Headphone/mic is one unit and not a USB connection. There are 2 options to plug it in. Option one I plug it into the back of the computer using both an audio in and an audio out jack. This is probably directly plugging into the sound card. Option 2 is to use the panel on the front of the computer that routs to the sound card (likely what you call a break out box). The front panel has a USB, a firewire, a sound, and other connections. Right now I am using option 1 precluding me from plugging in the speakers at the same time in the back.
Set up is 2 speakers and a sub-woofer. I can provide manufacturer and model number when I am at home. The subwoofer plugs to power and the speakers plug to the subwoofer and that plugs to the computer I think.
I doubt the on-board audiocard is what is being used here. I'm pretty sure he installed a separate audiocard, he may have disabled the on-board audiocard if there was one.
I can play with it when I get home and see what I get, I was just checking before I started messing it all up.
Thanks for the help.