Problems with sound on Dell computer

el_scorcho

Reputable
Jul 12, 2014
6
0
4,510
Normally, the sound on my computer is perfect. But, however, from the start of today, I have been having constant problems with the sound on my computer. It all started when I placed my headphones in the audio jack only to find that the sound was still coming from the speakers and not from the headphones. It had not recognised that headphones had been placed in the audio jack. I tried with some other headphones, but they were not recognised either.

I left my computer for a while, and went back on it to watch some videos, only to find that the speaker sound was completely gone. I put my computer into sleep mode, which fixed the problem with the speakers, but again found that my headphones were not working. I went on the playback devices, disabled the Realtek speakers and re-enabled them, which fixed the issue with the headphones for around two hours, until the headphone sound disappeared again, as well as the speaker sound. I used my two previous methods to solve each problem, and now have both my headphones and speakers working currently.

However, I have gone on Audacity to record some music, and when I attempt to use the microphone, no sound is recorded, and the already-recorded music that plays sounds distorted and loud until the microphone is turned off. I have tested my microphone by filming a short webcam video, but there is no sound either.

I know temporary fixes for the speaker and headphone problems, but none for the microphone problem. I would like to know a permanent solution for all three issues, as this is extremely frustrating and lessens the enjoyment I have on my computer greatly.

 

el_scorcho

Reputable
Jul 12, 2014
6
0
4,510
Now the fix involving the headphones does not seem to work, and the speaker audio has got poorer, frequently making cracking sounds. I honestly have no idea what to do anymore, as my sound is getting worse and worse, the speaker audio becoming silent around every twenty minutes.
 
If this problem comes back and persists, I would recommend reinstalling the most recent drivers from your computer or component manufacturers website. Generally speaking, and not in all cases, recurrent loss of soundcard settings tends to be driver corruption or the beginning of failure of the component. Of course there are fifty other things that can affect driver integrity as well but it still comes down to needing to reinstall the driver in most cases.