No Audio - dell diagnostics audio passes all test but no sound heard

How can the audio tests all pass but still no sound be heard?

The Dell Diagnostics audio tests are interactive in part, in the sense that you provide the results. The tests should have asked you if you heard the music and you should have answered "no". It is the "no" answer that would cause the tests to fail and generate an error code (which would just tell a technician that you answered no at that point in the tests).  I don't have a screen shot of that but here is a shot of how it looks in the mic test section of the tests.

I don't know why that didn't happen when you ran the tests. Perhaps your version of the tests works differently.

Would it indicate that the laptop speakers are broken?

Is there a separate PC speaker which makes the beeps?

That's a good question. I am not a hardware technician but I have not found a pc speaker inside my laptop. I have asked the same question to a technician who used to be a regular here but never got a satisfactory answer. My best guess is that at one time laptops had a separate pc speaker on the motherboard like desktops have, but I think modern laptops use the audio speakers for system tones. The fact that you don't hear POST tones could indicate non-functioning speakers, but if  just the speakers are non functional that would not cause Windows to report no audio device installed so there is something else going on. (On my laptop I don't hear the POST beep because I have system tones turned off.)

Laptop outwith warranty...whats the options for getting sound back on the device?

The combination of not hearing the tones and the music in the tests plus getting the error message indicates hardware failure. The Windows error message by itself indicates that the audio driver needs to be re-installed, but If the audio driver will not install that is a symptom of audio failure at the audio chip level, not just the speakers. The ultimate diagnostic test is to return the laptop to the original factory configuration using Dell's Factory Image Restore. That will cure all Windows & driver problems with the audio, but if the issue persists at that point then it is definitely caused by hardware failure.

IS a USB sound card a viable option?

Yes, a usb sound card or even a basic usb audio adapter will bypass the onboard audio hardware, but will not route the audio signal back to the laptop's speakers so you need headphones or external speakers. I don't move my laptop anymore so I use a SoundBlaster usb card even though my laptop audio hardware still works. I just like some of the features of the external card better.

Hi jimco,

Firstly, many thanks for taking the time to answer my post with such a clear and concise reply. As you migt expect, your reply has generated some more questions from me.

The tests should have asked you if you heard the music and you should have answered "no".

This statement from you confused me as I was never asked this question. I tried the diagnostics again and still no questions being asked. I then executed the diagnostics on a different laptop and finally got the popup  to ask if I heard the music. Of course, I had heard music on the other working laptop. Interestingly, on the working laptop there were 5 tests performed on Audio. However, on the laptop with no sound there was only 1 test run:

GOOD Working Laptop
Audio
   Intel ICH4 Audio
      Software Reset Test
      Register Test
      Interupt Test
      Analog Sound Playback Test
      Record and Playback Test

Laptop with no Sound
Audio
   Intel HD/HDMI audio
      Software Reset Test

So why would the 4 additional tests on a working laptop not be available in the diagnostics on the Inspiron 1440 with no sound?

Whilst in the diagnostics on the laptop with no sound, I tried the System Speaker -> Spraker Functionality Tests. These passed successfully and I heard the 8 speaker tones and received the popup asking if I heard the tones.

To summarise:

I have an Inspiron 1440 which can play tones using the system speaker in diagnostic tests, but plays no audio from the sound card. Additionally, the diagnostics only executes 1 test (Software Reset Test) and not the 5 tests which are found when executing diagnostics on a working laptop.

Any clues as to what might be wrong with the sound on this laptop?

I have not heard of this exact problem before. There have been cases on laptops with failed audio chips where the Dell Diagnostics will run, but when attempting to run the audio tests under "Custom", no audio tests appear. So I have always considered that behavior in Dell Diagnostics to be a symptom of a failed chip. I can only guess in your case, but my guess would be failed or failing chip.

Beep sounds on a Dell laptop comes from the speakers, There are no PC Speakers like in Desktops. 

Press Fn + Power button -> When you get the color bars Press Y/N page -> Press N, -> You should get Red Green Blue Black White colors along with this you should hear beeps for each color. Let me know if you hear the beeps. If there is no beeps heard. Then your laptop speakers have gone bad.

Did you drop your laptop recently?

Try connecting an external headphone to the ports on the side and try playing music within windows and check whether you can hear sound. If you hear sound then the sound card is fine, there is a problem with only speakers. 

If there is no beeps heard. Then your laptop speakers have gone bad.

Bad speakers would not account for all 3 symptoms: no POST beeps, Windows reports no audio device, and most of the audio tests are missing.

Try connecting an external headphone to the ports on the side and try playing music within windows and check whether you can hear sound. If you hear sound then the sound card is fine, there is a problem with only speakers.

When Windows reports no audio device, there won't be any audio.

Press Fn + Power button -> When you get the color bars Press Y/N page -> Press N, -> You should get Red Green Blue Black White colors along with this you should hear beeps for each color. Let me know if you hear the beeps. If there is no beeps heard. Then your laptop speakers have gone bad.

There are beeps heard during the graphics diagnostics test.

Did you drop your laptop recently?

Laptop has been stationary on the same desk for the last 6 months. As recently as 2 weeks ago there was sound and then one day the sound stopped.

Try connecting an external headphone to the ports on the side and try playing music within windows and check whether you can hear sound. If you hear sound then the sound card is fine, there is a problem with only speakers.

As JimCo noted...there is no audio device detected in Windows so no music can be played within any Windows application through either speakers or headphones.

Update: so only two places where any sounds can be heard from this laptop:

1) In the PC Speaker Diagnostic test when executing the latest Dell Diagnostics from a USB Memory Stick

2) In the graphics diagnositics test executed with a Fn + Power button switch on

No sounds heard in the Dell Diagnostics test and no sound card detected by Windows.

Going to be associate this to a failing or failed sound chip (as suggested by JimCo), assuming that PC Speaker-type tones are generated from a separate device to the sound chip. Unless anyone else has some ideas?

I have a similar problem as gec3sol - I also have a Studio 1440z - my personal machine. The internal speakers cut off after a short time - but are barely audible if you put your ear next to them.  The headphones work perfectly all the time.

I can't see any similarity at all there. suggest you start a new thread for your issue.

assuming that PC Speaker-type tones are generated from a separate device to the sound chip.

I'm not sure to what extent the system tones depend on the audio hardware other than speakers. Maybe veejdeej knows. On my laptop the tones are not handled like ordinary audio. The tones only come through the speakers, not through headphones, so it's like the motherboard itself is generating the tones and sending them directly to the speakers. My laptop is quite old and was made before software switching was developed -- before HD audio, so on it there is no way for an audio signal that is generated by the audio chip to physically bypass the headphones that I can think of.

Really - No similarity?

From gec3sol - "Inspiron 1440 Laptop - Sound suddenly stopped in Windows"

Sounds like the same attitude I got from Dell

I shall re-post and maybe get a different audience.  

I hope my description is not too detailed to eliminate all hit and miss solutions.