Not detecting/working with speakers/headphones

[Sooty]

I just installed windows 7, and the sound cuts whenever I plug in exteral headphones (I've double checked to make sure they work).

No notification coms up that anything has been plugged in either.

How can I fix this?

Thanks.

Edit:

Thanks for the replies.

They're jack headphones. Another thing to add is that the sound quality has decreased drastically. Also, the volume buttons (physical ones on my laptop) aren't doing anything either.

I think it is a driver problem, I'm not really clued in to this but I tried downloading audio drivers off the internet but it doesn't seem to make a difference. Does it have to be a specific version?

Edited March 13, 2010 by Sooty

[cluberti]

Is the audio driver doing any monitoring of the front headphone jacks to detect when the outlet contains a plug or not (some do, some don't). Given the behavior, I'd have to say it is (this isn't a native Windows function, btw, at least not for actual audio jacks) - if this is a USB headset/headphones, then that would be more a USB bus thing, but if we're talking about an actual headset and RCA jack, this is going to come back to your audio drivers or motherboard chipset drivers (depending on who's responsible for the insert notification event along that bus).

[Sp0iLedBrAt]

The old VIA Vinyl codec/driver chose the front panel of the case as default for using headphones, so anytime (on every restart) I plugged the headphones in the back, I had to enter the menu and uncheck the option. Worth a try.

[Sooty]

Thanks for the replies.

They're jack headphones. Another thing to add is that the sound quality has decreased drastically. Also, the volume buttons (physical ones on my laptop) aren't doing anything either.

I think it is a driver problem, I'm not really clued in to this but I tried downloading audio drivers off the internet but it doesn't seem to make a difference. Does it have to be a specific version?

[Sp0iLedBrAt]

Well, the best way to find corresponding drivers is probably your PC manufacturer's website. What are your specifications: sound card, OS (32 or 64-bit), current driver version?

[Sooty]

I fixed it.

For some reson there are two sets of speakers in the "manage audio devices" (even though it's a laptop).

Choosing the second means it's all fine, normal quality and headphones work (apart from not being able to use using the volume buttons, but tha's minor).

I don't know how obscure or not that is, just thought I'd put it up if anyone else has the same problem.

Thanks anyway!

[Tripredacus]

For some reson there are two sets of speakers in the "manage audio devices" (even though it's a laptop).

I am thinking that 7 detects devices that the drivers support, not so much just ones that are physically present. For example, I have a sound card and it detects an SPDIF (or Digital Out) type of speaker choice but my sound card doesn't have any plugs for such a thing.