Re: no sound from computer
 

[IMG]http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/665/dscf02717vm.jpg[/IMG]

It should look like this.

Re: no sound from computer
 

If the mobo has onboard audio you might need to download the drivers from Dell in order to get it working, particularly if you had a PCI sound card already in there. As a side note, it's really weird for a sound card to just up and die one day. Not impossible, but very unusual.

Personally I wouldn't screw with onboard sound, but I'm picky about things like that.

Like Malcom said, if you get another PCI sound card, go Newegg.com. I order hardware on a regular basis and I order from Newegg every time, no exceptions. Their prices, selection and shipping cost/speed is the best in the business, and their return/RMA process is fantastic as well.

If you're shopping for cards, Sound Blaster is pretty much THE name in the PC audio business unless you're doing production level mixing or something, and even then there are some nice high-end sound cards.

If you just need a quick fix and aren't real picky, a basic [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102002"]Audigy SE[/URL] would work well.

If you're into sound and have some nice speakers to pair it with, I can personally vouch for the [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102190"]X-Fi Platinum[/URL].

There really aren't any compatibility issues to be concerned about. With a few very rare, bizarre exceptions, any Sound Blaster card from the past 2 or 3 years should work fine in any mobo from the past 2 or 3 years.

Re: no sound from computer
 

Honestly, I bought the Turtle Beach card and got GREAT sound from it. Very cheap.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection][IMG]http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/665/dscf02717vm.jpg[/IMG]

It should look like this.[/QUOTE]

What's that computer doing outside in the grass??

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]Honestly, I bought the Turtle Beach card and got GREAT sound from it. Very cheap.[/QUOTE]

Great sound is a very relative term ;)

I had a Turtle Beach card a few years ago with a midrange speaker setup and it was ok. I then upgraded my speakers to a bangin' setup and realized the shortcomings of the Turtle Beach card.

You really only need an expensive card if you've got high-quality speakers, otherwise you're just wasting money.

I personally just trust the Creative Labs (Sound Blaster) name - they've been doing it better for years and I'll spend an extra $20 or so for a name I can trust.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[quote=mheisig]What's that computer doing outside in the grass??[/quote]

Going for a walk.

Re: no sound from computer
 

Seriously though, that's very strange. I just found that image on Google image search.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[quote=cpayne5]Did you plug in the speakers and enable the ports in the bios?[/quote]

Nope didn't do that, I'm back at work now, I'll try that later

Re: no sound from computer
 

if your really "serious" about sound, you'd get an RME card and $4000 worth of powered pro monitor speakers (events or mackies)... you hear all kinds of stuff on CDs you never noticed before, though unless audio is your job, I seriously doubt its worth the cost.

your onboard sound should be fine, I use an audigy, but SB cards are tied to their driver CDs, so don't lose them.

I'd guess the SB live 5.1 (what i believe you have) may have had some kind of software conflict and its also possible a power surge or various other cause flipped a bit or two on the hard drive in the wrong place... kinda hard to tell from hundreds or miles away though.

Re: no sound from computer
 

I'm not that serious...

I do listen to music on my computer all the time though, and I have a subwoofer hooked up.

If I buy a similar new sound card, should that do the trick?

Re: no sound from computer
 

In a word: yes.

New sound card = problem solved.

It "could" be the PCI slot you had the old card in, so I would put the new card in another slot when you get it.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=That Guy][B]if your really "serious" about sound[/B], you'd get an RME card and $4000 worth of powered pro monitor speakers (events or mackies)... you hear all kinds of stuff on CDs you never noticed before, though unless audio is your job, I seriously doubt its worth the cost.

your onboard sound should be fine, I use an audigy, but SB cards are tied to their driver CDs, so don't lose them.

I'd guess the SB live 5.1 (what i believe you have) may have had some kind of software conflict and its also possible a power surge or various other cause flipped a bit or two on the hard drive in the wrong place... kinda hard to tell from hundreds or miles away though.[/QUOTE]

I think you're confusing "serious" with "sick" ;) or maybe "filthy rich."

Audiophiles can spend some insaaaane amounts of cash on audio equipment. I think it's really a sickness or something. I know this guy, I kid you not, who sold his car to fund his audio system. He biked to work like 10 miles away. I guess he's probably healthier now too, who knows...

Re: no sound from computer
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection]In a word: yes.

New sound card = problem solved.

It "could" be the PCI slot you had the old card in, so I would put the new card in another slot when you get it.[/quote]

Would it be worth trying the old card in a new slot first?

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]I'm not that serious...

I do listen to music on my computer all the time though, and I have a subwoofer hooked up.

If I buy a similar new sound card, should that do the trick?[/QUOTE]

Seeing as I haven't inspected your machine myself, I make no guarantees about anything:)

I would say that at this point it sounds like you've pursued all the likely troubleshooting avenues, and dropping a few bucks on an entry-level sound card would be a pretty decent idea.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Would it be worth trying the old card in a new slot first?[/QUOTE]

While you've got the box open you might as well - don't get your hopes up though.

In all my years of hardware troubleshooting I've only had one PCI slot go bad, so I'd say the chances are slim to none.

Re: no sound from computer
 

They go bad more often than you thought. I support almost 500 Dells and we've had more than a dozen go bad in the past year. It would definitely be worth trying. You'll have to get the driver from Dell, BUT it would maybe save you some cash.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[url]http://ftp.us.dell.com/audio/R69382.EXE[/url]

Here's the link to the drivers for your sound card. I'll check the Creative site and see if there are any more updated drivers.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[url]http://ccftp.creative.com/manualdn/Drivers/AVP/8265/0x4F656EC1/SBL5DL_PCPatch_LB_3.exe[/url]

Actually, try that link. It's probably a newer driver.

Re: no sound from computer
 

Yeah, I compared the two drivers. The one from Dell is about a year older than the one from the Creative website. Put the card in a different slot, use the Creative driver patch, restart and see if that does it.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]They go bad more often than you thought. I support almost 500 Dells and we've had more than a dozen go bad in the past year. It would definitely be worth trying. You'll have to get the driver from Dell, BUT it would maybe save you some cash.[/QUOTE]

Damn! A dozen within a year? Has that been consistent over a long period of time, or is Dell's QA going downhill?

Maybe I've had better luck because I typically only deal with high-end, enthusiast level mobos ;) I had a Dell years ago...swore I'd never by pre-built systems again.

Of course I'd hate to be the guy who has to custom-build 500 machines for your company, so I see your point ;)

Re: no sound from computer
 

Yeah, unfortunately they don't allow us to custom build computers. It would eventually get to be a pain in my ass. It's a specific model that has the problem. It's the Optiplex GX270 line.

Re: no sound from computer
 

In addition to that, they have this capacitor "popping" problem. I actually saw one catch fire once.

Re: no sound from computer
 

I'll give it a go, if it doesn't work I'll just pick up a new card this weekend. As always thanks for the help guys.

Re: no sound from computer
 

No problem.

Re: no sound from computer
 

Ok, note to self: steer clear of the exploding, bad PCI slot Dell's.

I'd actually pay to see a computer spontaneously combust...someone else's of course, but it'd be cool nontheless.

Re: no sound from computer
 

Dell's in general aren't bad. We get to keep one computer a year from where I work, so I take them home, fix them up and I have to say they work pretty well.

Re: no sound from computer
 

onboard sound is free... the cheapest pci sound cards are like 5-10$ plus shipping (my dad had an old emachine and the driver for its onboard sound card couldn't be found anywhere, and generic drivers for the actual sound chip wouldn't work, so i just bought a $5 sound card instead).

Re: no sound from computer
 

You ever make it to Liquid in the Old City?

Re: no sound from computer
 

[quote=mheisig]Ok, note to self: steer clear of the exploding, bad PCI slot Dell's.

I'd actually pay to see a computer spontaneously combust...someone else's of course, but it'd be cool nontheless.[/quote]

cheap power supplies are the most likely to pop caps. they'll pop right out of the pcb a lot of time or bulge up (towards the top silver part of the cap). actually exploding or catching fire is much more rare.

the best piece of electronic gear for fires are power amps. find an old really powerful one, turn it on, unplug the output cables, and just wait for enough energy to build up...

Re: no sound from computer
 

[quote=mheisig]I think you're confusing "serious" with "sick" ;) or maybe "filthy rich."

Audiophiles can spend some insaaaane amounts of cash on audio equipment. I think it's really a sickness or something. I know this guy, I kid you not, who sold his car to fund his audio system. He biked to work like 10 miles away. I guess he's probably healthier now too, who knows...[/quote]

well, there's a difference ;) you can actually hear the difference with real pro monitors. Once you decide to go the million dollar, gold plated everything, $2,000 monster cable surge protector route though you're just tossing money away. after about 6-10k$ you won't notice any difference.


of course you could if your music was all recorded and produced in a 192 or 384khz environment and you have speakers that could actually deal with that and the equipment to not degrade the signal from start to finish... but since that doesn't exist outside a single pyramid amp with 2 96khz stereo speakers, its not actually possible.



if you're lisstening to mp3s and oggs then the difference between onboard and an augidy probably won't be all that noticeable either, since the audio is already lossy compressed. actual DVD audio might sound different though, if you're the type that watches them on your pc...

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]You ever make it to Liquid in the Old City?[/QUOTE]

Not yet - really haven't spent much time downtown since I moved here.

I'll be a Knoxville City Police Officer here in about 6 months though, so I'm sure I'll spend plenty of time down there arresting drunk college kids and hookers ;)

Woot for crazy career changes.

Re: no sound from computer
 

Just wondering. I'm down there every couple months visiting my buddy who goes to UT. It was a GREAT club.

Re: no sound from computer
 

And you can't be a jerkoff Knoxville Police Officer. They have a reputation of being cool cats. I was at this party that got busted right outside of Knoxville Place and they were nothing but cool.

Re: no sound from computer
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]And you can't be a jerkoff Knoxville Police Officer. They have a reputation of being cool cats. I was at this party that got busted right outside of Knoxville Place and they were nothing but cool.[/QUOTE]

I try to avoid being a jerkoff as much as possible ;) KPD is pretty cool - the highway patrol can be real pricks at times, but that's true of most state police agencies.

Wish me luck - I head to the police academy on the 26th for 6 months...so nervous...

Re: no sound from computer
 

Good luck indeed. If you see some 25 year old guy partying with the college kids, just let him go, because it'll be me. I said 25 will be my last year of partying at colleges. Gotta' grow up sometime. :(

Re: no sound from computer
 

I switched my card to a different PCI slot and what do you know... it works!

Re: no sound from computer
 

Nice work! Guess you had a bad PCI slot after all - you're not using that exploding, fiery Optiplex that TMC warned about, are you? ;)

Re: no sound from computer
 

[quote=Mattyk72]I switched my card to a different PCI slot and what do you know... it works![/quote]

Consider that my donation for the year. ;)

J/K