I reinstalled my audio driver the other day and (re)discovered a little gotcha which may catch some people out. Allow me to explain below.
My laptop has a Sigmatel C-Major Audio device and runs Windows Vista Business. Out of the box, audio works fine though the speakers. Plug headphones in though, and you may notice no sound coming through, as I did. Why is this? Well, for some reason yet to be discovered, the default state of the driver leaves the headphones option muted in the advanced sound properties dialog.
To switch it on, go to control panel, and open the 'sound' applet. In the first tab here you see playback devices, and you should see 'speakers' Highlight this and click properties (or just double-click). You should see a tab for 'levels'. scroll down the list until you see 'headphones. it'll be muted, as the image above shows. Switch it back on, stick your headphones on and rock out to your heart's content.
A number of other options are switched off, including microphone, which would make Skype a fun experience ("can you hear me? I SAID CAN YOU HEAR ME??).
FInally, I'm unable to get the headphone jack in my port replicator/docking station working, but that's a problem for another day.
posted @ Thursday, January 11, 2007 1:40 PM