Troubleshooting my laptop AUX Drive...

[LukeS]

So I've posted before that my laptop's headphone jack was broken. I skipped to the conclusion and didn't run any tests or anything. So I've run a few driver/system tests. I've ended up uninstalling my headphone drivers. The headphone jack only recognizes a microphone not the headphones themselves. Any ideas why this would occur?

 

All I get from my headphones when I plug them in is a constant "crackle and fizz" and when I do the troubleshooting technique, and the troubleshooter "plays a sound" the "crackles" turn into a "fuzz" type sound. Which probably means that there's a connection problem, no?

 

Help please!

 

 

UPDATE 1: I plugged in my headphones after doing a bunch more diagnosing. My laptop says 'you plugged in an audio device' but plays from the speaker, not the headphones. I went to the volume mixer and sound devices and it doesn't say it's plugged in.

[tlink]

try booting into debian or something like that. if the problem still percists its not a driver but a hardware issue. probably a bad solder joint.

[LukeS]

6 minutes ago, tlink said:

try booting into debian or something like that. if the problem still percists its not a driver but a hardware issue. probably a bad solder joint.

How easy would it be to fix a 'bad solder joint'? I know basic attatching and reattatching... Is it any harder?

 

Update2: I went and played a youtube video... I put everything on high, and I could hear mimicking whispers in my headphones.

 

[tlink]

17 minutes ago, LukeS said:

How easy would it be to fix a 'bad solder joint'? I know basic attatching and reattatching... Is it any harder?

 

Update2: I went and played a youtube video... I put everything on high, and I could hear mimicking whispers in my headphones.

 

well its not really easy as it requires some special gear to fix and might not even work depending on the problem. best way to troubleshoot a problem like this is with a multimeter, if the signal caries trough completely till the joint then its the joint that needs to be re soldered or the headphone jack replaced completely. if the signal gets interrupted before that than its a lot harder to do. first thing to do though is figure out if its hardware or software. you could possibly let it get fixxed at a repair shop but those are more expensive than doing it yourself and buying the gear for it.

[LukeS]

14 minutes ago, tlink said:

well its not really easy as it requires some special gear to fix and might not even work depending on the problem. best way to troubleshoot a problem like this is with a multimeter, if the signal caries trough completely till the joint then its the joint that needs to be re soldered or the headphone jack replaced completely. if the signal gets interrupted before that than its a lot harder to do. first thing to do though is figure out if its hardware or software. you could possibly let it get fixxed at a repair shop but those are more expensive than doing it yourself and buying the gear for it.

So I would take a multimeter and put it up to the headphone jack?

[tlink]

11 hours ago, LukeS said:

So I would take a multimeter and put it up to the headphone jack?

yes essentially, but this really is a pretty complicated process, it almost is an art because you have to know how to interpreter the numbers you get from it and how to use the multimeter correctly. would probably be easier to just buy a usb amp and be done with it.

[LukeS]

2 hours ago, tlink said:

yes essentially, but this really is a pretty complicated process, it almost is an art because you have to know how to interpreter the numbers you get from it and how to use the multimeter correctly. would probably be easier to just buy a usb amp and be done with it.

Or just open up the laptop and sodder the cables together if they're detached?

[tlink]

2 hours ago, LukeS said:

Or just open up the laptop and sodder the cables together if they're detached?

there are no wires, thats the point. and if there are than its a little plug but that would also carry mic in signal etc.

[LukeS]

5 hours ago, tlink said:

there are no wires, thats the point. and if there are than its a little plug but that would also carry mic in signal etc.

Oh. Is there a video out there on the internet that you could give me so I can better understand what I might be dealing with?

 

[tlink]

4 minutes ago, LukeS said:

Oh. Is there a video out there on the internet that you could give me so I can better understand what I might be dealing with?

 

not really, i couldn't find one atleast. tried youtube and everything but could only find people replacing PCB's with the jack on it, not the actual troubleshooting itself.