No sound in Thinkpad - maybe the keyboard ?

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

Hi all,

I was happily re-installing files onto my new HD and also applying
some OS tweaks for best performance, when I noticed I wasn't getting
any sound from the laptop.

The puzzling thing is this: I have a triple-boot system, as follows:
- win98se in a FAT32 partition (C
- winXP in a NTFS partition (E
- and another NTFS winXP partition (X just in case things go wrong
while applying changes to the other OS.
- Programs and user files are kept in separate NTFS partitions.

Well, I'm not getting sound from ANY of the three different OSs, even
though changes were mostly done to the main XP install only, the other
was kept unchanged.
So I thought: it could be the Crystal audio chip, or driver.

Then I ran win98se, which allows me to use an old pcmcia sound card
which has a break-out box with line-out jacks. Guess what: no sound
there either. And it all appears OK software-wise: I play a wav or mp3
file with WinAmp and the LEDs and timer are there moving. It all
appears as if "mute" is applied to audio applications. But it's not.
Which leads me towards the laptop's sound KEYS, located beside the
"Thinkpad" key. I often use those to muting or turning up/down the
volume, as they apparently have an overall machine control over audio
that comes out from either OS.
I wonder if there is any way to disable these keys in the laptop, as a
way to rule out possible sources of the problem. It could be that the
muting key got stuck somehow, with the machine set to no sound.
That's the only thing I can think of, unless one of the changes
applied in one OS could affect the others. Could it happen ?

I certainly appreciate any word of advice.
Thanks for reading this.

Augusto

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

visitor2NOSPAM@terra.com.br wrote:

> Well, I'm not getting sound from ANY of the three different OSs, even
> though changes were mostly done to the main XP install only, the other
> was kept unchanged.
> So I thought: it could be the Crystal audio chip, or driver.

What model of Thinkpad do You have (IBM made a lot of them)? On newer models
You can activate the volume beep in BIOS. If this beep works the sound chip
is ok, if not it's dead for sure. Had the same problem with my IBM TP A31...

Benjamin

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

( before e-mailing, remove "NOSPAM" from address )


It's a T23, and yes the volume beep is enabled: each time I press one
of the sound keys I can hear a dull (low-pitched) sound. But that's
the only sound I get. Still no audio from wav or mp3 or avi files.
Are you sure the beep is guarantee that the sound chip if functional ?
It doesn't seem to make much sense having no sound in all three
Windows instalations. It really seems as if there was a hidden
all-machine mute function activated. Can't think of anything else.
Thanks for helping.

"Benjamin Gawert" <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote:
>What model of Thinkpad do You have (IBM made a lot of them)? On newer models
>You can activate the volume beep in BIOS. If this beep works the sound chip
>is ok, if not it's dead for sure. Had the same problem with my IBM TP A31...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

visitor2NOSPAM@terra.com.br wrote:

> It's a T23, and yes the volume beep is enabled: each time I press one
> of the sound keys I can hear a dull (low-pitched) sound. But that's
> the only sound I get. Still no audio from wav or mp3 or avi files.
> Are you sure the beep is guarantee that the sound chip if functional ?

Honestly, no. It has been a long time ago when my A31 had no sound, but now
when I think about it I have the feeling that indeed the beep was working.
The main logic board had to be replaced, thankfully it was under warranty.

Your T23 should still have warranty as well, so I'd get it fixed by IBM.

Benjamin