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Inspiron 8600 No Sound
I've tried to find solutions through the Wiki, etc., but here is the scenario:
I have an out of warranty Inspiron 8600 that in the last year or so lost sound. When the problem first arose, I lost laptop speakers, but was able to allow my kids to use small headphones or a speaker to hear. Then we lost the headphone capability. I ran a diagnostic test just recently and I could hear the sound during the audio test through the earphones, but not the laptop. But I can't hear any normal sounds on the earphones (only during the diag test). Since it asked me if I could hear the sound/music, I said no and it provided the error code 1B22:061B.
Any ideas or is an external soundcard and/or mobo the only way to go?
Jim Coates
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February 17th, 2010 08:00
It appears that you have a hardware problem and a software problem too.
Hearing the headphone audio during the test but not when you boot back into Windows means the hardware is okay but there is a problem with the audio driver or with Windows, or an incorrect configuration (for example the volume being turned down in the audio control panel).
Hearing no audio through the speakers during the test means a hardware failure, obviously between the headphone jack and the speakers. There could be a problem in the headphone jack where the contacts fail to close and thus prevent the signal from going to the speakers, or a loose connection, or bad speakers but this is least likely. There is a connection to the speakers in the palm rest that can be loose and yet the headphones will still work.
As far as the software problem, your model does not have software switching in the jacks, so it must be either the driver or Windows (or mis-configuration).
> Audio Driver -- reinstall
Often the driver is the cause of problems. It might be not installed, incompletely installed, or corrupted. Often there is no way to tell if the driver is defective except by uninstalling and reinstalling it and then trying to use your audio again. Go to Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager. Find the Sigmatel audio driver under Sound Controllers, right click on it, and then click Uninstall. Restart the computer. Windows should automatically detect your device and display a wizard that helps you reinstall the driver.
> Audio Driver -- download a driver
If that doesn't help then try this, Delete the audio driver files from your computer to ensure a clean new driver installation. Go to your hard drive
c:\Dell\Drivers\R...and delete any folders whose 'R' names correspond to a Sigmatel driver. The Sigmatel folders will be the ones that have a subfolder named "WDM". There could be none, one, or more.
Next download and install a new audio driver from the Inspiron 8600 driver downloads page. When you open that page first check the operating system dropdown box and make sure that your OS is selected. Next expand the 'Audio' category and download the driver named Sigmatel. Use your browser and download in the regular way instead of using Dell Download Manager which has been known to cause problems.
.If no luck then try checking :
> Audio Service
Go to Start/Run and type "services.msc" then hit the 'Enter' key (or click 'ok'). The Services window will appear. Scroll down until you find "Windows Audio" towards the bottom of the list. Check that it is enabled, set to automatic, and running. If it isn't, double click on it and change the Startup type to Automatic, then click Start, Apply, and OK.
> Software Device Enumerator
If you get a message like "no audio device detected" or "driver is enabled but has not been started", go into the Device Manager (Start/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/System Tools/Device Manager/System Devices) and check that 'Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator' is installed and running. It will be listed alphabetically if there.
> Modem
In some models the modem can have an undetectable problem that prevents the audio from working properly. AussieChris, a regular on the Audio board and a technician, first told me about this. Symptoms include inability to get the audio driver to install, getting an error message saying no audio hardware present, and audio properties settings being grayed out. To test this you have to physically remove the modem, not just uninstall the driver. With the modem removed, try again to install the audio driver. If the audio works after removing the modem then you might need to replace it.