Inspiron 7720 soundcard

the machine installed only a generic sound driver when I did a clean install of Win8

Well each model has a drivers & downloads page. Here is the one for the Inspiron 17R SE.

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/04/Product/inspiron-17r-se-7720

The page defaults to Win 7 so you should use the dropdown box to switch to Win 8.

B0real , I have seen your several posts about the subwoofer. I don't know the answer, how to test it. You could try Dell's hardware diagnostics, but I don't know if there is a test for the sub or not.

I'd like to know, too... the machine installed only a generic sound driver when I did a clean install of Win8

I've found it. too simple. lol

After installing the Dell driver proposed by Jimco, on the taskbar at the bottom right, you ust clickto to show all the icons and there is one called "Dell Audio." Hard to miss.

on the taskbar at the bottom right, you ust clickto to show all the icons and there is one called "Dell Audio."

Doing that helped you with your sub woofer?

With the software, no. I found nothing that can verify a speaker at a time. I use my ears and hands to feel the vibration.