VOGONS


First post, by andre_6

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Hello everyone,

I unplugged the PC to install a missing I/O shield in my case, and I used the occasion to renew the grease on both DVD drives, which I removed to do so.

Replugging the PC and back cables, I saw a window that drivers for a USB keyboard was being installed, but I didn't think too much of it. After a few minutes, everything seemed fine, until I realised I only have sound from the right speaker channel. This is what I did next, to no avail:

1. Reconnected the speaker cables on every connection.
2. Tested the speaker on two other systems, and they were fine on both channels.
3. Removed and reinstalled Realtek drivers (onboard audio), and I even did the same for the Chipset ones, Nvidia and keyboard and mouse (motivated by the previous message I saw), and proceeded to update them online when possible.
4. Did System Restore twice.
5. Tested with headphones, same problem, sound from the right channel only.

I have an Asus P8H61/USB3 board. There's probably a conflict that I'm missing, any ideas? I've been at this for hours and hours. Thank you so much for your help and replies

Reply 2 of 16, by andre_6

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Plasma wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:26:

I suspect a mechanical problem. Are you using the rear speaker jack or front panel audio?

Rear speaker jack, it was working fine right before shutting down the PC and unplugging to do the maintenance, but after booting the problem appeared

Reply 3 of 16, by darry

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andre_6 wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:08:
Hello everyone, […]
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Hello everyone,

I unplugged the PC to install a missing I/O shield in my case, and I used the occasion to renew the grease on both DVD drives, which I removed to do so.

Replugging the PC and back cables, I saw a window that drivers for a USB keyboard was being installed, but I didn't think too much of it. After a few minutes, everything seemed fine, until I realised I only have sound from the right speaker channel. This is what I did next, to no avail:

1. Reconnected the speaker cables on every connection.
2. Tested the speaker on two other systems, and they were fine on both channels.
3. Removed and reinstalled Realtek drivers (onboard audio), and I even did the same for the Chipset ones, Nvidia and keyboard and mouse (motivated by the previous message I saw), and proceeded to update them online when possible.
4. Did System Restore twice.
5. Tested with headphones, same problem, sound from the right channel only.

I have an Asus P8H61/USB3 board. There's probably a conflict that I'm missing, any ideas? I've been at this for hours and hours. Thank you so much for your help and replies

My guess is that the I/O shield is not flush enough with the array of ports and is actually physically preventing the audio cable from fully engaging into the jack which causes audio to only work on one channel .

Reply 4 of 16, by andre_6

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darry wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:36:
andre_6 wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:08:
Hello everyone, […]
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Hello everyone,

I unplugged the PC to install a missing I/O shield in my case, and I used the occasion to renew the grease on both DVD drives, which I removed to do so.

Replugging the PC and back cables, I saw a window that drivers for a USB keyboard was being installed, but I didn't think too much of it. After a few minutes, everything seemed fine, until I realised I only have sound from the right speaker channel. This is what I did next, to no avail:

1. Reconnected the speaker cables on every connection.
2. Tested the speaker on two other systems, and they were fine on both channels.
3. Removed and reinstalled Realtek drivers (onboard audio), and I even did the same for the Chipset ones, Nvidia and keyboard and mouse (motivated by the previous message I saw), and proceeded to update them online when possible.
4. Did System Restore twice.
5. Tested with headphones, same problem, sound from the right channel only.

I have an Asus P8H61/USB3 board. There's probably a conflict that I'm missing, any ideas? I've been at this for hours and hours. Thank you so much for your help and replies

My guess is that the I/O shield is not flush enough with the array of ports and is actually physically preventing the audio cable from fully engaging into the jack which causes audio to only work on one channel .

Excellent guess thank you, checked it now, the jack sticks out correctly and the cable can't get more connected than this...

Reply 5 of 16, by darry

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andre_6 wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:40:
darry wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:36:
andre_6 wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:08:
Hello everyone, […]
Show full quote

Hello everyone,

I unplugged the PC to install a missing I/O shield in my case, and I used the occasion to renew the grease on both DVD drives, which I removed to do so.

Replugging the PC and back cables, I saw a window that drivers for a USB keyboard was being installed, but I didn't think too much of it. After a few minutes, everything seemed fine, until I realised I only have sound from the right speaker channel. This is what I did next, to no avail:

1. Reconnected the speaker cables on every connection.
2. Tested the speaker on two other systems, and they were fine on both channels.
3. Removed and reinstalled Realtek drivers (onboard audio), and I even did the same for the Chipset ones, Nvidia and keyboard and mouse (motivated by the previous message I saw), and proceeded to update them online when possible.
4. Did System Restore twice.
5. Tested with headphones, same problem, sound from the right channel only.

I have an Asus P8H61/USB3 board. There's probably a conflict that I'm missing, any ideas? I've been at this for hours and hours. Thank you so much for your help and replies

My guess is that the I/O shield is not flush enough with the array of ports and is actually physically preventing the audio cable from fully engaging into the jack which causes audio to only work on one channel .

Excellent guess thank you, checked it now, the jack sticks out correctly and the cable can't get more connected than this...

OK, that was worth a shot .

Here's another guess, maybe the added pressure of the I/O shield against the array of ports managed to brake a marginal solder point on the audio connector (or the audio connector has developed an issue for whatever reason),.

If you have a 3.5mm male to male stereo cable and a multimeter, you could check continuity between the connector and the corresponding solder points underneath the motherboard where the audio connector is located .

Reply 6 of 16, by andre_6

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darry wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:47:
OK, that was worth a shot . […]
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andre_6 wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:40:
darry wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:36:

My guess is that the I/O shield is not flush enough with the array of ports and is actually physically preventing the audio cable from fully engaging into the jack which causes audio to only work on one channel .

Excellent guess thank you, checked it now, the jack sticks out correctly and the cable can't get more connected than this...

OK, that was worth a shot .

Here's another guess, maybe the added pressure of the I/O shield against the array of ports managed to brake a marginal solder point on the audio connector (or the audio connector has developed an issue for whatever reason),.

If you have a 3.5mm male to male stereo cable and a multimeter, you could check continuity between the connector and the corresponding solder points underneath the motherboard where the audio connector is located .

I don't have a multimeter, that's where my abilities come to a halt. But I will keep that in mind when asking for help from people who do have it. So you don't really think the problem can be software originated?

Reply 7 of 16, by Plasma

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Well it was working fine before you took it apart. So unlikely to be a software issue. As long as your balance is centered I don't know what else it could be software wise.

You could try blowing out the audio jack in case there is some dust lodged in there. Or try another jack altogether. I think most modern Realtek audio lets you redefine the jack when you plug into it.

Reply 8 of 16, by andre_6

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Plasma wrote on 2022-01-21, 02:10:

Well it was working fine before you took it apart. So unlikely to be a software issue. As long as your balance is centered I don't know what else it could be software wise.

You could try blowing out the audio jack in case there is some dust lodged in there. Or try another jack altogether. I think most modern Realtek audio lets you redefine the jack when you plug into it.

I mentioned the software possibility because plugging in the PC after I did the maintenance it showed "installing USB keyboard" in the drivers pop up window for no reason, the keyboard was the same as 10 minutes before I unplugged it. So that gave me the idea it could be some kind of conflict in Windows 7. If I understood well, I can redefine the mic jack to be used as a speaker jack to try it out for example? I didn't find the options for it

In the image attached I have a streaming playing and a track playing on Winamp at the same time. And the sound never goes above 2 green bars, which is clearly weak and abnormal, even though the volume coming out of the right speaker is quite loud. I don't mean to insist, but isn't this strange software wise?...

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Reply 9 of 16, by Horun

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andre_6 wrote on 2022-01-21, 02:22:
Plasma wrote on 2022-01-21, 02:10:

Well it was working fine before you took it apart. So unlikely to be a software issue. As long as your balance is centered I don't know what else it could be software wise.

You could try blowing out the audio jack in case there is some dust lodged in there. Or try another jack altogether. I think most modern Realtek audio lets you redefine the jack when you plug into it.

I mentioned the software possibility because plugging in the PC after I did the maintenance it showed "installing USB keyboard" in the drivers pop up window for no reason, the keyboard was the same as 10 minutes before I unplugged it. So that gave me the idea it could be some kind of conflict in Windows 7. If I understood well, I can redefine the mic jack to be used as a speaker jack to try it out for example? I didn't find the options for it

That can happen if you plugged KB into a different USB port as Windows ties the KB to the port #, has to do with HID support...afaik

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 10 of 16, by andre_6

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Horun wrote on 2022-01-21, 02:30:
andre_6 wrote on 2022-01-21, 02:22:
Plasma wrote on 2022-01-21, 02:10:

Well it was working fine before you took it apart. So unlikely to be a software issue. As long as your balance is centered I don't know what else it could be software wise.

You could try blowing out the audio jack in case there is some dust lodged in there. Or try another jack altogether. I think most modern Realtek audio lets you redefine the jack when you plug into it.

I mentioned the software possibility because plugging in the PC after I did the maintenance it showed "installing USB keyboard" in the drivers pop up window for no reason, the keyboard was the same as 10 minutes before I unplugged it. So that gave me the idea it could be some kind of conflict in Windows 7. If I understood well, I can redefine the mic jack to be used as a speaker jack to try it out for example? I didn't find the options for it

That can happen if you plugged KB into a different USB port as Windows ties the KB to the port #, has to do with HID support...afaik

Yes that happened, I plugged the keyboard into a different USB port. I already reinstalled the mouse and keyboard, but I can try it again, like uninstalling, and reconnecting them on the fly maybe.

I did a test with the computer off, I plugged and turned on the speakers and moved the cable inside the board audio jack, moving it inside more to one side gave "sound" on both the left and right speaker, no problem, probably doesn't mean anything but oh well. I could just format the OS to see but configuring it again would be a massive, massive pain so I'd really like to explore all avenues before trying that way...

Reply 12 of 16, by andre_6

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Plasma wrote on 2022-01-21, 05:14:

Turn your computer on, unplug the speakers, then plug them into the mic jack. You should get a prompt asking what you just plugged in. Select headphone or front speaker out.

Thanks, Realtek / Asus sound manager doesn't allow me to choose the kind of function, it identifies the board jack immediately as its preset function and goes on from there. That's why I wasn't seeing any options as it turns out

Reply 13 of 16, by andre_6

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I couldn't resist to find out so I went ahead and formatted the OS, and it didn't solve the issue, so you were clearly right.

For the meantime while I'm not able to get help continuity testing the board I was thinking of bypassing the problem by getting a sound card, I found a SB Audigy 2, will it work well in Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit with my Asus P8H61/USB3 board? Who knows, might end up being an upgrade

darry wrote on 2022-01-21, 01:47:

OK, that was worth a shot .

Here's another guess, maybe the added pressure of the I/O shield against the array of ports managed to brake a marginal solder point on the audio connector (or the audio connector has developed an issue for whatever reason),.

If you have a 3.5mm male to male stereo cable and a multimeter, you could check continuity between the connector and the corresponding solder points underneath the motherboard where the audio connector is located .

When troubleshooting, you suggest to check the audio connector solder joints which I will, but if needed to investigate further along the solder tracks where is the audio chip on the board where it leads to? I can't seem to find it in the manual. Thanks in advance

Reply 14 of 16, by Plasma

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I still recommend trying to blow out the speaker jack in case there is debris in there. If your jack is damaged or has a bad solder joint, you can use the front panel audio connector (AAFP) on your motherboard with a bracket like this.

Reply 15 of 16, by andre_6

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Plasma wrote on 2022-01-21, 17:07:

I still recommend trying to blow out the speaker jack in case there is debris in there. If your jack is damaged or has a bad solder joint, you can use the front panel audio connector (AAFP) on your motherboard with a bracket like this.

Sorry I forgot to mention, I tried cleaning the jack too like you suggested. Thank you for the link, looks easy enough and seems like the best solution. Is there any configuration needed do you think? BIOS or otherwise?