I am new so if I have forgotten something please let know; The speakers on my XPS L701X (Windows 7) stopped working recently

I forgot to include that I replaced the dell audio drivers although they did not need it. I also found this on the site:

   * Speakers don't work and are not muted or deselected

   * Headphone jack does work

   * Reinstalling audio driver does not help

   * Audio test in Dell Diagnostics passes

   * On models with 2 headphone jacks, one may be "checked" in the control panel as if in use

   * Sometimes but not always, a very gentle wiggle of a plug in the jack will get it to resume normal functioning, at least temporarily.

THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT ABOUT MY SYMPTOMS IS  that I did try jiggling the jack and this did NOT bring the speakers back. I too just bought this laptop and if it is a motherboard issue, can someone let me know how to determine this because Dell has me convinced it must be a software issue and I too jut put in about $3,000 to buy this laptop, including a 3 year hardware warranty.

* Sometimes but not always, a very gentle wiggle of a plug in the jack will get it to resume normal functioning, at least temporarily. THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT ABOUT MY SYMPTOMS IS  that I did try jiggling the jack and this did NOT bring the speakers back. I too just bought this laptop and if it is a motherboard issue, can someone let me know how to determine this because Dell has me convinced it must be a software issue and I too jut put in about $3,000 to buy this laptop, including a 3 year hardware warranty.

The last symptom, about wiggling the plug, is only a symptom if it temporarily restores audio through the speakers. If it does nothing then it signifies nothing -- it is not a symptom that you have the sense pin issue and it is not a symptom that you do not have the issue. In other words, you do have all of the symptoms of the issue if you have the 1st five in the list. I probably should re-write that part of the FAQ.

You mentioned two tests that you have run, the "Dell support test facility" and "diagnostic center tests". I am not familiar with those terms. The test to run is the Dell Diagnostics Audio Tests (link below my name).

The only ways to definitely test for this issue are:

> replace the jacks with new ones that are known to work and see what happens, or

> restore the computer to the original factory configuration. If it was actually a software problem, the restoration will cure it. But if the problem remains after restoration then it is a hardware problem, and the only hardware problem that fits those symptoms is the sense pin issue. Any other hardware problem would have caused the Dell Diagnostics Audio Tests to fail.

If you do not want to do that then the only way is to judge by the symptoms. That would be good enough for me -- there is nothing else that explains those symptoms -- but Dell support might require a restoration to prove that it is a hardware issue. If you are not backing up your data on a regular basis then you might consider doing so. You will be glad you did if you ever have serious problems with the laptop.

If this answers your question please mark it as "verified". Thanks.

I forgot to include that I replaced the dell audio drivers although they did not need it.

You might want to double check that they are installed. When you look in your Sound properties it should have the word "Realtek", something like this:

If the word "Realtek" is missing then reinstall the Realtek audio driver.

I have heard both the music and the drums during the diagnostic tests.

I have installed the drivers both because the Dell agent was there when I did it and because the picture you presented DOES look exactly like mine. The Dell Diagnostics from the Dell Support Center (a PC-Doctor Ap which comes with the XPS) has its own hardware test for the speakers which was the test I alluded to which passed. This is why Dell tells me it must be a software issue. As to backups I run backups weekly however they do no include all the websites I  have to reconstruct after doing a backup (to my knowledge) and this would take me at least 3 hours to ressurrect even witrh such aids as Firefox's Synch AP. So I dread having to restructure my PC so that it looks brand new due to all the work I would subsequently have to do. It strikes me that the Dell Diagnostics Audio Tests would show the same results I get when I run the Dell Support center Audi tests, namely I can hear sounds from the speakers then but not if I run a film or music. However I will give it a try.

There is ONE difference between your picture and mine (as to REAL-TEK) which I have assumed is due to the fact that you have  an external speaker. On my picture it says that the REAL-TEK DIGITAL OUTPUT is NOT plugged in. (If this has nothing to do with your having an external speaker. please let me know ASAP, BECAUSE THAT COULD MEAN WE ARE ON TO SOMETHING). I AM NOT SURE HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU REGARDING THIS ISSUE SINCE i AM RESPONDING TO MY OWN ISSUE AND DO NOT KNOW IF THAT GETS SENT TO YOUR EMAIL OR NOT. i HAD BEEN WAITING FOR AN EMAIL ALERT REGARDING any RESPONSE TO MY QUESTION AND HADN'T EVER RECEIVED ONE, WHICH IS WHY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO RECHECK THE ISSUE AND SEE YOUR RESPONSE.

There is ONE difference between your picture and mine (as to REAL-TEK) which I have assumed is due to the fact that you have  an external speaker. On my picture it says that the REAL-TEK DIGITAL OUTPUT is NOT plugged in. (If this has nothing to do with your having an external speaker. please let me know ASAP, BECAUSE THAT COULD MEAN WE ARE ON TO SOMETHING). I AM NOT SURE HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU REGARDING THIS ISSUE SINCE i AM RESPONDING TO MY OWN ISSUE AND DO NOT KNOW IF THAT GETS SENT TO YOUR EMAIL OR NOT. i HAD BEEN WAITING FOR AN EMAIL ALERT REGARDING any RESPONSE TO MY QUESTION AND HADN'T EVER RECEIVED ONE, WHICH IS WHY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO RECHECK THE ISSUE AND SEE YOUR RESPONSE.

As far as the picture, I said it should "look something like this" because it was just a random screen shot that somebody had posted that I had saved. I have a folder full of them. My own laptop is rather ancient and has nothing remotely resembling yours.

To get e-mails, click on your name to go to your page, then "settings", then "e-mail configuration". Also, when you reply to a post, if you click "use rich formatting", there is an additional option to receive e-mails but on mine it is always pre-selected.

Please refrain from posting in my FAQ's. We used to be able to lock and unlocked our own posts but something is wrong with the forum and we can no longer do that, so I have to ask people to not post. Needless to say almost all of my FAQ's have been messed up now by people posting on them.

Where I am now is that it still is not fixed. I have convinced Dell to replace the motherbboard to see if that is the prolem ut I have my doubts since I can hear the speakers if I do not use Windows. That ssuggests to me that the motherboard is working. When it comes to backups, I have back-upped every week HOWEVER there are various kinds of backups and I am not certain whicn I have. I have a snapshot of my system and I have certain files backed up that were chosen b y the system . These file may or may not allow me to replace all the files I need after a reconfig, BUT I AM NOT CERTAIN OF THIS. There is a second backup system which involves an emergency disk and I simply do not understand the difference or whether doing it that way is more comprehensive. It is simply not clear.This mean I do not know what my options are when it comes to relying on backups, since I do not know which kind of backups I am relying on. Does that explain things more clearly?

Where I am now is that it still is not fixed. I have convinced Dell to replace the motherbboard to see if that is the prolem ut I have my doubts since I can hear the speakers if I do not use Windows. That ssuggests to me that the motherboard is working. When it comes to backups, I have back-upped every week HOWEVER there are various kinds of backups and I am not certain whicn I have. I have a snapshot of my system and I have certain files backed up that were chosen b y the system . These file may or may not allow me to replace all the files I need after a reconfig, BUT I AM NOT CERTAIN OF THIS. There is a second backup system which involves an emergency disk and I simply do not understand the difference or whether doing it that way is more comprehensive. It is simply not clear.This mean I do not know what my options are when it comes to relying on backups, since I do not know which kind of backups I am relying on. Does that explain things more clearly?

I have my doubts since I can hear the speakers if I do not use Windows. That ssuggests to me that the motherboard is working.

I agree. Your symptoms point to the problem being a faulty sense pin in the headphone jack. The sense pin (when it is working) triggers some Windows-based switching software. If the sense pin is not working then the Windows-based software does not function and so the audio signal does not get routed to the speakers. That explains why your speakers work both when you do not use Windows and when you run the Dell Diagnostics audio tests. As I said in the Headphone Jack FAQ in the section "The Reason that Dell Diagnostics Audio Tests Pass", the tests do not run in Windows (that is why you have to re-boot and change the boot menu to get to the tests).

So I agree that replacing the motherboard is not likely to help. The jacks are on the separate I/O circuit board that also has the eSata/usb jack and the ports on the right rear of your laptop. Here is a link to the XPS L701X Service Manual section about replacing the I/O circuit board. The 2nd picture is the view from the bottom so everything looks reversed -- the back of the laptop is facing left.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsL701X/en/sm/iobrd.htm#wp1213253

I do not know what my options are when it comes to relying on backups

Everybody has their own strategy I suppose. I only save my data files, plus the .exe files of any applications I might want to re-install, and e-mails. I save them to external media such as an external hard drive and dvd's. One could also use a storage site on the internet such as Dell DataSafe Online. You should post on the  New to the Community Board where there are people who would know which options would be best for you with your XPS laptop. There is also a Storage Board but it seems to be for technical issues with the storage software.

The thing about the sense pin is that it is backwards in time for it to be the reason I can't hear. In other words, I did not have ear phones (and consequently a faulty headphone jack...unless the JACK is not part of the headphones but is part of the laptop, which isn't clear to me from how you phrased it) when I first got the laptop and only purchased them AFTER my speakers stopped working, hoping that they would replace the speakers, which they did. So I do not think this sense pin on the Ear Phones CAUSED the issue.

As to your link, I did not see any I/O circuit board, in fact no pics come up, just a great many steps to follow for separate issues.

Welcome back.

unless the JACK is not part of the headphones but is part of the laptop, which isn't clear to me from how you phrased it

In the U.S.,  headphones have a cable attached to them, and at the end of the cable is a metal piece called the "plug" (the male part). The plug goes into a receptacle called a "jack" (the female part).  I understand that in some countries the respective terms would be "jack plug" and "jack socket". That makes more sense than the U.S. terminology because "jack" should refer to a male part rather than to the female component.

So I do not think this sense pin on the Ear Phones CAUSED the issue.

The sense pin can fail whether or not you use headphones. The main symptom of failure is that the computer thinks there is a headphones plug in the jack socket whether there is or not.  If the computer thinks that there is a plug in the jack socket then it will mute the speakers.

As to your link, I did not see any I/O circuit board, in fact no pics come up, just a great many steps to follow for separate issues.

I just checked the link it and it works okay for me.  All of those steps are not for separate issues. Those are all of the steps a technician has to follow to disassemble the laptop enough to get to the point where he or she could replace the jack circuit board.

Yesterday I had my speakers replaced. No Help.

I was wondering, could I uninstall ONE BY ONE ALL of the WIndows Security updatesa and in this way determine if ONE of them created this problem with my speakers? Of course after on eis uninstalled and nothing happens I would reinstall it immediately and go on to the next.

THEN could I uninstall all 112  INSTALLE PROGRAMS ON ADD?REMOVE ONE BY ONE< to see if that has any affect on the issue?

Do either of these scenarios make any sense?

Last week supposed ly I wasass told they did replace my motherboard.