Digital Audio

In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and now I've seen the same problem twice this month.


One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some specific
hardware and the other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.


In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no speakers
they now want sound...and analog speakers do not work.


In both machines digital audio is available but there is no analog option.


How they heck would I get analog enabled?

On 31/03/2017 17:37, philo wrote:
In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and now I've seen the same problem twice this month.


One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some specific
hardware and the other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.


In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no speakers
they now want sound...and analog speakers do not work.


In both machines digital audio is available but there is no analog option.


How they heck would I get analog enabled?



Do you mean that there are no analog sound sockets, or that there are
some but they don't work?

It's very unlikely not to have some on the motherboard, even if they're
not currently connected to the outside world.

If there *are* some, check that they're physically connected to the
motherboard, and that they are enabled. [Right click the speaker icon in
the system tray, and then click on Playback Devices].
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On Fri, 31 Mar 2017 11:37:13 -0500
philo wrote:

In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and now I've seen the same problem twice this month.


One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some
specific hardware and the other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.


In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no
speakers they now want sound...and analog speakers do not work.


In both machines digital audio is available but there is no analog
option.


How they heck would I get analog enabled?



What kind of dumbass question is this?

Stay in the ghetto boi...DAMN!

On 03/31/2017 12:18 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2017-03-31 12:50, Roger Mills wrote:
On 31/03/2017 17:37, philo wrote:
In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and now I've seen the same problem twice this month.


One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some specific
hardware and the other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.


In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no speakers
they now want sound...and analog speakers do not work.


In both machines digital audio is available but there is no analog
option.

All speakers are analog. The speaker jack on the back of the desktop
delivers an analog signal. If the computer has internal speakers,
they're analog, too. "Digital" is internal audio-processing only.

If the speakers don't work, then either the default sound output is
being sent to a headphone jack, or the speakers haven't been activated.
Also make sure the sound level is at least medium. Some speakers have a
volume control, make sure it's turned up too. Every external speaker
I've ever seen also has a power-on LED. If it's not lit, the jack on the
computer is faulty. Or you haven't switched on the speakers (some come
with on-off switches).



How they heck would I get analog enabled?

Do you mean that there are no analog sound sockets, or that there are
some but they don't work?

It's very unlikely not to have some on the motherboard, even if they're
not currently connected to the outside world.

I have never seen a PC, desktop or laptop, without audio output.

If there *are* some, check that they're physically connected to the
motherboard, and that they are enabled. [Right click the speaker icon in
the system tray, and then click on Playback Devices].

Or open Sound in the Control Panel. Or Devices and Printers.





Both machines have on-board audio and the standard green speaker jack.

It's simply that there is no audio output and in the control panel it
shows the sound card as digital output.

The drivers are installed and the speaker icon is in the task bar and
I've confirmed the speakers are working an plugged in to the correct place.

I guess if I can't get the on-board sound working I can always add a
sound card, I have a whole box of them.

On 03/31/2017 11:50 AM, Roger Mills wrote:
On 31/03/2017 17:37, philo wrote:
In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and now I've seen the same problem twice this month.


One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some specific
hardware and the other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.


In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no speakers
they now want sound...and analog speakers do not work.


In both machines digital audio is available but there is no analog
option.


How they heck would I get analog enabled?



Do you mean that there are no analog sound sockets, or that there are
some but they don't work?

It's very unlikely not to have some on the motherboard, even if they're
not currently connected to the outside world.

If there *are* some, check that they're physically connected to the
motherboard, and that they are enabled. [Right click the speaker icon in
the system tray, and then click on Playback Devices].



Both machines have a speaker jacks.

When I look at "sound" in the control panel, where there is usually a
listing such as "high definition audio device" there is no such
listing...all it shows is "digital audio device."

"philo" wrote in message
news
In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and now I've seen the same problem twice this month.


One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some specific
hardware and the other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.


In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no speakers
they now want sound...and analog speakers do not work.

Do the speakers need a power source (other than being plugged into the
speaker jack)? Are they turned on?

In message , philo
writes:
On 03/31/2017 12:18 PM, Wolf K wrote:
[]
I have never seen a PC, desktop or laptop, without audio output.

I didn't think you were _that_ young (-:

(PCs originally did not have audio output, other than an internal
speaker [which desktops often still have, though tends to be a piezo
unit these days] which could only produce beeps. Then sound cards
started to appear as add-ons, probably the best-known being the
SoundBlaster; eventually, sound circuitry did indeed start to become
provided on the motherboard, which is now virtually universal except for
specialist systems like blades.)

If there *are* some, check that they're physically connected to the
motherboard, and that they are enabled. [Right click the speaker icon in
the system tray, and then click on Playback Devices].

Or open Sound in the Control Panel. Or Devices and Printers.





Both machines have on-board audio and the standard green speaker jack.

It's simply that there is no audio output and in the control panel it
shows the sound card as digital output.

The drivers are installed and the speaker icon is in the task bar and
I've confirmed the speakers are working an plugged in to the correct
place.

I guess if I can't get the on-board sound working I can always add a
sound card, I have a whole box of them.

They may well be for sockets your motherboard no longer has though -
certainly if ISA; even PCI I gather isn't always there these days.


You say the drivers are installed, but that the list in control panel
only lists "digital audio device", not "high definition audio device".

Anything in Device Manager? If so, it might be worth "Remove"ing it,
then searching for new hardware.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The trouble with the death penalty has always been that nobody wanted it for
everybody, but everybody differed about who should get off. - Albert
Pierrepoint, in his 1974 autobiography.

On 03/31/2017 12:18 PM, Wolf K wrote:

[snip]


All speakers are analog. The speaker jack on the back of the desktop
delivers an analog signal. If the computer has internal speakers,
they're analog, too. "Digital" is internal audio-processing only.

They have to be, considering that we can only understand analog sound.
The same way, the OUTPUT of a monitor must be analog.

A USB speaker is using digital output from the PC. It contains a digital
to analog converter. As far as the PC is concerned, it's a digital speaker.

[snip]

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Kill one man and you are a murderer. Kill millions and you are a
conqueror. Kill all and you are God." [Jean Rostand (1894-1977) French
biologist, writer]

On 03/31/2017 03:12 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , philo writes:
On 03/31/2017 12:18 PM, Wolf K wrote:
[]
I have never seen a PC, desktop or laptop, without audio output.

I didn't think you were _that_ young (-:


Maybe I should have said, "within the last 20 years" I have a vintage
computer collection but even in the days of DOS there were sound cards.

(PCs originally did not have audio output, other than an internal
speaker [which desktops often still have, though tends to be a piezo
unit these days] which could only produce beeps. Then sound cards
started to appear as add-ons, probably the best-known being the
SoundBlaster; eventually, sound circuitry did indeed start to become
provided on the motherboard, which is now virtually universal except for
specialist systems like blades.)



Just recalled some old DOS game that was setup to make sounds thought
the PC "bios beep" speaker. No sound card was needed!
If there *are* some, check that they're physically connected to the
motherboard, and that they are enabled. [Right click the speaker
icon in
the system tray, and then click on Playback Devices].

Or open Sound in the Control Panel. Or Devices and Printers.





snip

They may well be for sockets your motherboard no longer has though -
certainly if ISA; even PCI I gather isn't always there these days.


Both machines are new enough that there are no ISA cards and the speaker
jacks or right off the mobo

You say the drivers are installed, but that the list in control panel
only lists "digital audio device", not "high definition audio device".

Anything in Device Manager? If so, it might be worth "Remove"ing it,
then searching for new hardware.


Did that, all it shows is "digital audio"



Well. as it turns out the guy with the Vista machine told me not to
bother. He does not use it much and has several other ways to listen to
music in his studio.

As to the second one...I will stop by next week...I did not see it
myself but the guy had a helper with him who is fairly knowledgeable and
the description sounded good.

On 03/31/2017 02:54 PM, dadiOH wrote:
"philo" wrote in message
news
In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and now I've seen the same problem twice this month.


One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some specific
hardware and the other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.


In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no speakers
they now want sound...and analog speakers do not work.

Do the speakers need a power source (other than being plugged into the
speaker jack)? Are they turned on?




Yes.

In one case he tested them on another machine and I am going to look at
the second one next week.

Easy to test the speakers, just touch the audio plug and they should hum
a bit

In message , philo
writes:
[]
I have never seen a PC, desktop or laptop, without audio output.

I didn't think you were _that_ young (-:


Maybe I should have said, "within the last 20 years" I have a vintage
computer collection but even in the days of DOS there were sound cards.

(PCs originally did not have audio output, other than an internal
speaker [which desktops often still have, though tends to be a piezo
unit these days] which could only produce beeps. Then sound cards
started to appear as add-ons, probably the best-known being the
SoundBlaster; eventually, sound circuitry did indeed start to become
provided on the motherboard, which is now virtually universal except for
specialist systems like blades.)



Just recalled some old DOS game that was setup to make sounds thought
the PC "bios beep" speaker. No sound card was needed!

I was wondering whether to mention the clever driver that I remember
someone producing, that actually made the internal speaker work as a
sound card. It was painful to listen to, but impressive in concept! (I
also remember oh****.com - I think it was a .com, not a .exe - which, in
a drawling American accent, made the speaker enunciate those two words;
a simple version of the game you mention, I guess.)
[]
Both machines are new enough that there are no ISA cards and the
speaker jacks or right off the mobo

You say the drivers are installed, but that the list in control panel
only lists "digital audio device", not "high definition audio device".

Anything in Device Manager? If so, it might be worth "Remove"ing it,
then searching for new hardware.


Did that, all it shows is "digital audio"

Hmm; I think you've exhausted my (pretty limited) knowledge of the W7
sound system. One last thing - by what evidence do you know that the
drivers are installed?


Well. as it turns out the guy with the Vista machine told me not to
bother. He does not use it much and has several other ways to listen to
music in his studio.

As to the second one...I will stop by next week...I did not see it
myself but the guy had a helper with him who is fairly knowledgeable
and the description sounded good.

I hadn't realised you were helping other people. Does the reference to a
helper mean the person is blind or similar? I've found TeamViewer very
helpful with my blind friends. (Though thinking about it, this is
probably not the situation, as a blind person would have the sound
"system" working in order to use the computer, the days of standalone
speech hardware being mostly long past.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The trouble with the death penalty has always been that nobody wanted it for
everybody, but everybody differed about who should get off. - Albert
Pierrepoint, in his 1974 autobiography.

philo wrote:
In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with digital audio and
now I've seen the same problem twice this month.

One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some specific hardware and the
other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.

In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no speakers they now want
sound...and analog speakers do not work.

In both machines digital audio is available but there is no analog option.

How they heck would I get analog enabled?

???
I've never seen or heard of a purely digital sound computer.
If analog does not show in device manager then I would suspect that the
drivers are either not installed or corrupted and not loading at boot.

On 03/31/2017 03:41 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , philo writes:
[]
I have never seen a PC, desktop or laptop, without audio output.

I didn't think you were _that_ young (-:


Maybe I should have said, "within the last 20 years" I have a vintage
computer collection but even in the days of DOS there were sound cards.

(PCs originally did not have audio output, other than an internal
speaker [which desktops often still have, though tends to be a piezo
unit these days] which could only produce beeps. Then sound cards
started to appear as add-ons, probably the best-known being the
SoundBlaster; eventually, sound circuitry did indeed start to become
provided on the motherboard, which is now virtually universal except for
specialist systems like blades.)



Just recalled some old DOS game that was setup to make sounds thought
the PC "bios beep" speaker. No sound card was needed!

I was wondering whether to mention the clever driver that I remember
someone producing, that actually made the internal speaker work as a
sound card. It was painful to listen to, but impressive in concept! (I
also remember oh****.com - I think it was a .com, not a .exe - which, in
a drawling American accent, made the speaker enunciate those two words;
a simple version of the game you mention, I guess.)
[]


Never saw that one but vaguley recall spkdrv.exe or somthing

Hmm; I think you've exhausted my (pretty limited) knowledge of the W7
sound system. One last thing - by what evidence do you know that the
drivers are installed?


The sound card is shown in the control panel and the speaker icon is in
the task bar

Well. as it turns out the guy with the Vista machine told me not to
bother. He does not use it much and has several other ways to listen
to music in his studio.

As to the second one...I will stop by next week...I did not see it
myself but the guy had a helper with him who is fairly knowledgeable
and the description sounded good.

I hadn't realised you were helping other people. Does the reference to a
helper mean the person is blind or similar? I've found TeamViewer very
helpful with my blind friends. (Though thinking about it, this is
probably not the situation, as a blind person would have the sound
"system" working in order to use the computer, the days of standalone
speech hardware being mostly long past.)


The helper is not blind, she simply knows a lot more about computers
than the owned of the store.

It's a very small operation and the guy just barely earns a living.

In the past two years I've charged him a total of $40 for hours worth of
help.

On 03/31/2017 03:18 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 03/31/2017 12:18 PM, Wolf K wrote:

[snip]


All speakers are analog. The speaker jack on the back of the desktop
delivers an analog signal. If the computer has internal speakers,
they're analog, too. "Digital" is internal audio-processing only.

They have to be, considering that we can only understand analog sound.
The same way, the OUTPUT of a monitor must be analog.

A USB speaker is using digital output from the PC. It contains a digital
to analog converter. As far as the PC is concerned, it's a digital speaker.

[snip]



OK, I think he may actually have some USB speakers so will try them.

I may have time to stop by tomorrow

On 03/31/2017 03:52 PM, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
philo wrote:
In all the years I've been working on computers I've never dealt with
digital audio and
now I've seen the same problem twice this month.

One machine runs Vista and the person uses it just to run some
specific hardware and the
other is a run of the mill Win7 machine.

In both cases, the users decided after going for years with no
speakers they now want
sound...and analog speakers do not work.

In both machines digital audio is available but there is no analog
option.

How they heck would I get analog enabled?

???
I've never seen or heard of a purely digital sound computer.
If analog does not show in device manager then I would suspect that the
drivers are either not installed or corrupted and not loading at boot.




I have never heard of that either...

Will find out more, probably tomorrow