Have you plugged in headphones to see if audio is getting to the jack?
If you get audio though headphones but not speakers, run the ePSA quick audio test to make sure the speakers are functional.
If you have no audio from both the jack and the speakers, and if you have the same symptoms with both the IDT audio driver and the Windows native driver, you might have a hardware failure. To test for hardware failure, perform a system recovery and test the audio immediately afterward, before updating Windows or drivers. If the audio still does not work then there has been hardware failure.
has been newly set up by the former owner
If the laptop cannot perform a system recovery I would get my money back from the previous owner. System recovery is the only tool you have for determining with 100% certainty whether an audio issue is in the hardware or software. (Well, replacing parts is another way to determine if hardware is faulty, but it can be a very expensive diagnostic method.)
I could only speculate whether it is okay or not. In order to know for sure, perform a system recovery and test the audio immediately. If you get the same symptoms that you have now then there has been failure of the audio hardware. If the hardware has not failed then audio will work normally after the recovery.
I ran the dell PC diagnostic earlier, but it didn't help me too much: There was no sound when I was told to check the sound, so I choose "not working". Afterwards, the tool suggested to check the sound card. But: I have a sound (for the duration of the test) when I go to the "audio administration", choose the headphone/Communication-device and test it (though it doesn't work with the "Speaker/Headphones"-device). So shouldn't the hardware be alright?
I'm afraid there is no factory image (at least I went into the boot options via F12 and didn't find anything; when I pressed F8, nothing happened), so I probably would have to get a Win7-DVD and re-install it? Or did I miss a place where I could look for an option to do a system recovery? (Sorry for the stupid questions; I'm not really into this...)
I did a "Quick audio check" via the boot options. It said "these tones are played through the audio subsystem" and played some tones... Is that of any help?
It would be difficult to give the laptop back, so I'm afraid I have to keep trying...
Uninstall the program and the audio device from the device manager, run Ccleaner's cleaner and registry cleaner. Restart the computer and try installing the driver again.
There are two playback decives listed: One called "Speakers/Headphones (IDT HD Audio CODEC standard device)" which has a green tick and doesn't give any sound while testing (though these green "volume bars" move up and down when I test or play music in general), and one called "Communication Headphones (IDT HD audio codec, standard communication device)", which plays sound when testing und has a green "phone"-button next to it. Any ideas what this could mean?
I tried to do as the guidelines told me (unistalled program; device was gone from the device manager then anyway; run Ccleaner, did a restart, re-installed the driver), but unfortunately without success. In the list of programs, I found one program called "IDT audio", which I uninstalled at the beginning, but there was another one ("NVIDIA hd audio driver") and I didn't dare to uninstall it. Shall (and can) I uninstall this one as well without causing damage and try the whole procedure again afterwards?
Its possible that Microsoft Windows is trying to use it as the default playback device.
Right click the volume icon in the taskbar and select "Playback Devices"
Test all the Devices by right clicking them and selecting test.
The IDT one should be the only device you hear chimes from.
Finally ensure that your IDT driver is set to default. It will have the green tick if its at default. If not you will have the option to set it as default:
Right click "Speakers/Headphones (IDT HD Audio CODEC standard device)" and select configure.
Select all the Audio Channels and test them all separately.
It may have defaulted to 7.1 Surround Sound opposed to Stereo for example and hence the device is receiving audio playback and sending it to non-existent speakers.
It may have defaulted to 7.1 Surround Sound opposed to Stereo for example and hence the device is receiving audio playback and sending it to non-existent speakers.
Philip, thank you for helping out.
I do not think the problem is related to the IDT audio driver because UserWho reported the same symptoms when using the native driver ("had a try with the windows driver").
However, one thing about IDT and HD audio in Windows is that there can be 2 separate audio streams available, one for normal audio and one for communications audio. The purpose of it is so that gamers (for example) can chat with each other through headsets while still hearing the game's audio through the laptop's speakers. Maybe some program has hijacked this function and is trying to send all audio to the communication stream or something. However I don't know how that could happen. It might help to disable communications headphones entirely.
It is a shame that the previous owner wiped the restoration image or apparently failed to make recovery media. Without being able to determine if the issue is hardware related or not we have one hand tied behind the back.
It is a shame that the previous owner wiped the restoration image or apparently failed to make recovery media. Without being able to determine if the issue is hardware related or not we have one hand tied behind the back.
We can try using a Linux live USB such as Fedora or Ubuntu. If the audio works with a Linux Live USB then we know its a software issue. I suspect it is a software issue as the F12 preboot diagnostics pass.
I am very grateful for your support und I am sorry for the additional inconvenience caused by the lack of an "easy" way of system recovery...
Perhaps a manual clean installation is the best way forward. I have a full in depth guide here:
Phew, the manual installation sounds rather complicated to me (that might sound naive, but as I have never done a new installation, I just thought you download Windows, put it on a dvd, put the dvd in your laptop and take the product key to be able to install it... well, many things tend to be more complicated than one might think ;))...
I will think about whether I dare to do the manual installation and write again soon... I suppose (and fear) there is no alternative from your point of view?
Its not as complicated as it looks. I have however put a lot of information in my guides to make them step by step and to cover all reinstallation scenarios. Look at these in particular:
Jim Coates
4 Operator
•
13.6K Posts
0
July 12th, 2014 04:00
Hello. Have you run the Dell PC Diagnostic on the E6420 support page?
Have you plugged in headphones to see if audio is getting to the jack?
If you get audio though headphones but not speakers, run the ePSA quick audio test to make sure the speakers are functional.
If you have no audio from both the jack and the speakers, and if you have the same symptoms with both the IDT audio driver and the Windows native driver, you might have a hardware failure. To test for hardware failure, perform a system recovery and test the audio immediately afterward, before updating Windows or drivers. If the audio still does not work then there has been hardware failure.
If the laptop cannot perform a system recovery I would get my money back from the previous owner. System recovery is the only tool you have for determining with 100% certainty whether an audio issue is in the hardware or software. (Well, replacing parts is another way to determine if hardware is faulty, but it can be a very expensive diagnostic method.)
Jim Coates
4 Operator
•
13.6K Posts
0
July 12th, 2014 06:00
I could only speculate whether it is okay or not. In order to know for sure, perform a system recovery and test the audio immediately. If you get the same symptoms that you have now then there has been failure of the audio hardware. If the hardware has not failed then audio will work normally after the recovery.
UserWho
9 Posts
0
July 12th, 2014 06:00
Hello Jimco,
thank you very much for your quick reply!
There is no sound on the headphones either.
I ran the dell PC diagnostic earlier, but it didn't help me too much: There was no sound when I was told to check the sound, so I choose "not working". Afterwards, the tool suggested to check the sound card. But: I have a sound (for the duration of the test) when I go to the "audio administration", choose the headphone/Communication-device and test it (though it doesn't work with the "Speaker/Headphones"-device). So shouldn't the hardware be alright?
Best wishes
UserWho
UserWho
9 Posts
0
July 12th, 2014 10:00
Hello!
Thank you very much again!
I'm afraid there is no factory image (at least I went into the boot options via F12 and didn't find anything; when I pressed F8, nothing happened), so I probably would have to get a Win7-DVD and re-install it? Or did I miss a place where I could look for an option to do a system recovery? (Sorry for the stupid questions; I'm not really into this...)
I did a "Quick audio check" via the boot options. It said "these tones are played through the audio subsystem" and played some tones... Is that of any help?
It would be difficult to give the laptop back, so I'm afraid I have to keep trying...
Philip_Yip
9 Legend
•
16.1K Posts
0
July 12th, 2014 16:00
Uninstall the program and the audio device from the device manager, run Ccleaner's cleaner and registry cleaner. Restart the computer and try installing the driver again.
See here for some guidelines:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/downloading-drivers-checking-hardware-ids-and-downloading-and-installing-dell-system-drivers-in-the-correct-order/uninstalling-a-device-in-the-device-manager-in-windows-vista-7-and-8/
UserWho
9 Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 04:00
Hello!
There are two playback decives listed: One called "Speakers/Headphones (IDT HD Audio CODEC standard device)" which has a green tick and doesn't give any sound while testing (though these green "volume bars" move up and down when I test or play music in general), and one called "Communication Headphones (IDT HD audio codec, standard communication device)", which plays sound when testing und has a green "phone"-button next to it. Any ideas what this could mean?
UserWho
9 Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 04:00
Hello!
Thanks a lot for your help!
I tried to do as the guidelines told me (unistalled program; device was gone from the device manager then anyway; run Ccleaner, did a restart, re-installed the driver), but unfortunately without success. In the list of programs, I found one program called "IDT audio", which I uninstalled at the beginning, but there was another one ("NVIDIA hd audio driver") and I didn't dare to uninstall it. Shall (and can) I uninstall this one as well without causing damage and try the whole procedure again afterwards?
Philip_Yip
9 Legend
•
16.1K Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 04:00
Its related to the graphics driver.
Its possible that Microsoft Windows is trying to use it as the default playback device.
Right click the volume icon in the taskbar and select "Playback Devices"
Test all the Devices by right clicking them and selecting test.
The IDT one should be the only device you hear chimes from.
Finally ensure that your IDT driver is set to default. It will have the green tick if its at default. If not you will have the option to set it as default:
Philip_Yip
9 Legend
•
16.1K Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 05:00
Right click "Speakers/Headphones (IDT HD Audio CODEC standard device)" and select configure.
Select all the Audio Channels and test them all separately.
It may have defaulted to 7.1 Surround Sound opposed to Stereo for example and hence the device is receiving audio playback and sending it to non-existent speakers.
UserWho
9 Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 05:00
There is only one channel ("stereo"); I tested it, but there was no sound.
Jim Coates
4 Operator
•
13.6K Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 07:00
Philip, thank you for helping out.
I do not think the problem is related to the IDT audio driver because UserWho reported the same symptoms when using the native driver ("had a try with the windows driver").
However, one thing about IDT and HD audio in Windows is that there can be 2 separate audio streams available, one for normal audio and one for communications audio. The purpose of it is so that gamers (for example) can chat with each other through headsets while still hearing the game's audio through the laptop's speakers. Maybe some program has hijacked this function and is trying to send all audio to the communication stream or something. However I don't know how that could happen. It might help to disable communications headphones entirely.
It is a shame that the previous owner wiped the restoration image or apparently failed to make recovery media. Without being able to determine if the issue is hardware related or not we have one hand tied behind the back.
Philip_Yip
9 Legend
•
16.1K Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 08:00
We can try using a Linux live USB such as Fedora or Ubuntu. If the audio works with a Linux Live USB then we know its a software issue. I suspect it is a software issue as the F12 preboot diagnostics pass.
Perhaps a manual clean installation is the best way forward. I have a full in depth guide here:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/
Use the Digital River .iso and the ABR program as installation media and perform the secure wipe with DBAN.
UserWho
9 Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 08:00
Hello!
I disabled the communications headphones listed in the playback device list, but it didn't change anything.
I uninstalled the IDT driver again as well and tried the windows driver once more, but it didn't help either.
Any additional suggestions what I could do/try?
I am very grateful for your support und I am sorry for the additional inconvenience caused by the lack of an "easy" way of system recovery...
UserWho
9 Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 10:00
Phew, the manual installation sounds rather complicated to me (that might sound naive, but as I have never done a new installation, I just thought you download Windows, put it on a dvd, put the dvd in your laptop and take the product key to be able to install it... well, many things tend to be more complicated than one might think ;))...
I will think about whether I dare to do the manual installation and write again soon... I suppose (and fear) there is no alternative from your point of view?
Philip_Yip
9 Legend
•
16.1K Posts
0
July 13th, 2014 14:00
Its not as complicated as it looks. I have however put a lot of information in my guides to make them step by step and to cover all reinstallation scenarios. Look at these in particular:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/windows-7-sp1-iso-download/
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/windows-7-installation/
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/microsoft-product-activation/the-activation-backup-and-recovery-program-windows-vista-7-version/