Computer Front Panel Sound And Mic Inputs Not Working

[temo1051]

Ever since I upgraded to Windows 7 from XP I am unable to get the sound inputs to work on the front panel of my computer. I downloaded and installed the latest Windows 7 driver from Realtek but that did not fix the problem. Any suggestions on what to try next? TIA

[Xircal]

There isn't a direct upgrade path from Win XP to Win 7. There's a tutorial on how to go about the task @ Upgrade Windows XP to Windows 7

Maybe take look at that and compare it with what you did to see if you missed a step somewhere along the line.

[mosan]

If you have the CD with the driver software that accompanies the mainboard in your computer, you'll find an application by realtek that manages sound. It allows you to set up/manage the type of speakers or headphones you're using and also adjust your listening environment and the ports you're using on your computer. The application is usually located in a folder labled "Audio" and may be listed under WinXP or Vista if you have an older mainboard.

You said that you downloaded the latest Realtek drivers and if so, then the Sound Manager should be included in that package and probably needs to be installed separately.

Once installed, a Sound Manager icon will appear in the lower-right task bar. Open the program and locate the "Enable Front Panel Audio Jack Monitoring" check box and DISABLE (remove the check mark) front jack monitoring. Now plug into your front panel audio jack, play something and you should have sound!

Cheers

[temo1051]

Actually I didnt upgrade Win XP I did a clean install so I think the installation is correct.

I tried to install the sound manager from my motherboard CD and I got an error saying it wasnt Windows 7 compatible so I didnt install it and went to the Realtek site to download the driver.

The Sound manager is installed and I have checked and unchecked the disable front panel jack detection several times with no success. I dont see anywhere that allows me to enable the front panel jacks.

My Headphones work fine in my Iphone and when I plug them into the back panel speaker jack so the problem isnt with them.

My motherboard is an ASUS and I am running the Realtek HD Audio Manager

My search of the internet has found that there are several people with the same issue and many different fixes that seem to work for some but not all. Unfortunately none of them have worked for me

[Daffy D]

I have a ASUS motherboard with the same problem.

Had to change a setting in the BIOS Advanced chipset to get it working.

[temo1051]

I have a ASUS motherboard with the same problem.

Had to change a setting in the BIOS Advanced chipset to get it working.

I checked the BIOS and it shows the HD Audio that I have installed. It also showed the option of AC97. Do I need to choose the AC97 instead?

[temo1051]

I have a ASUS motherboard with the same problem.

Had to change a setting in the BIOS Advanced chipset to get it working.

I checked the BIOS and it shows the HD Audio that I have installed. It also showed the option of AC97. Do I need to choose the AC97 instead?

I switched the BIOS to the AC97 and the front panel jacks are now working. Unfortunately the rear speaker jack is still active when I plug my headphones into the front jack. The option to change this that was previously available before changing to the AC 97 is not showing in the HD Audio Manager like it was previously to changing to the AC97.

So the curent options are to select the HD audio in the BIOS and only have the rear jacks or use the AC97 and have both front and rear jacks simultaneously.

[NanLaew]

Well done! You fixed it yourself!

BTW, there's nothing 'unfortunate' about having the back audio jacks live when only using the front audio jacks; nothing is going to get broken because you haven't plugged anything in. The upside is you have a spare set of jacks if you want to share your audio. Why not get a cheap set of 3-way speakers that have a switch to turn them off. That way if you get bored with the headphones, just take them off and turn on the speakers that are running off the back jack.