Techsurvivors

Archives => 2007 => Topic started by: Bill-R on November 28, 2007, 11:37:33 AM

Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: Bill-R on November 28, 2007, 11:37:33 AM
I am not sure what happened.  I was traveling to Denver with my ibook the day before Thanksgiving.  My flight was delayed due to snow in Denver and since I was already there two hours early I decided to watch a DVD while I was sitting in the airport.  I put in the DVD and plugged in my headphones and had a nice relaxing wait. Everything worked fine before that.  Now I get no sound out of the speakers.  I go into prefs and select "sound" and then "output" and only "headphones" is listed. They are not even plugged in. What happened to my speakers?

I am running a 12" G4 800 MHz iBook with 10.4.10 with 640 megs.

It is not a huge deal I do run in mute mode most of the time anyway but I do like to hear stuff from time to time and not have to use my headphones.

Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: Gregg on November 28, 2007, 12:19:40 PM
Bill, I don't have an answer to your question. Just wanted to comment on your avatar. As a former Colorado resident, I became an avid Broncos fan. Even 20 years removed, I try to follow them online and on TV whenever they're on here. It's been a tough season. So many things that could have gone the other way would make the won-lost record palatable. Oh well!

I did have a similar dilemma with sound on my desktop. Finally figured out it was the new speakers that came with the monitor, and not my settings. If you push the right buttons...

Good luck! smile.gif
Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: Xairbusdriver on November 28, 2007, 01:49:02 PM
Sounds like one of the contacts in the headphone jack are 'sprung.' One of the contacts in there touches another one when the headphones are not plugged in. When they do not make contact, as when the headphones are plugged in, they cut out the built-in speakers (and the System assumes there is a headphone plugged in, of course). You may have accidentally pushed the spring-loaded contact slightly off center when you inserted or removed the headphone jack. Easiest 'fix' is to re-insert and remove that jack and see if things get back into alignment. If they don't, you may be able to get access to the plug by disassembling the iBook case. More than likely, you'll be safer taking it in to the dealer...or just buy some external speakers, they'll have better sound than the very small ones in the iBook, anyway. smile.gif
Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: Bill-R on November 28, 2007, 09:01:44 PM
Greg - Always glad to meet another Bronco Fan!  I was born I Colorado and then moved to Alaska and then here to Washington but I have always stayed true to my Orange and Blue!  I agree the season could be better but I think the rookie has promise and will get better!

ABD - Yes thanks for the tip on the mini TRS connector I had thought of that and tried to reinsert the headphones and see if I can fix it but to no avail.  I have not tried to crack the case yet but I do think that is next.  Of course the small speaker idea is great but I do travel with this little guy a lot.

I just wanted to make sure it was not a software thing.

Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: krissel on November 29, 2007, 03:02:15 AM
It wouldn't hurt to do a PRAM zap (from a cold start). With any luck it may return the choices. Also you could remove the system prefs to the desktop, log out and in and see if that changes anything. Or create a new user and see if they have both choices. If so you know it's software related.
Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: Gregg on November 29, 2007, 07:42:31 AM
QUOTE(krissel @ Nov 29 2007, 03:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
It wouldn't hurt to do a PRAM zap (from a cold start).


Noting that Bill has OS10.4.10 this is further confirmation that the young lady I spoke to at The Store didn't know her stuff. This was when I was looking into wireless keyboards to use with my son's iMac. She acted like she had never heard of zapping the PRAM, and concluded that you don't have to do that with X.

Bill let us know how it works out. Go Broncos!
Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: krissel on November 30, 2007, 12:06:35 AM
Zapping doesn't do as much as it used to in 9 but it still has some effect on the system settings.

X
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86194

9
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: Bill-R on November 30, 2007, 12:46:56 AM
Well I tired to zap the PRAM and I forgot that I needed my headphones in order to hear the startup chime doh.gif  So I had to do that twice.  Nothing changed.

Then I got our my little fiber optic attachment for my mini mag light and looked up inside the headphone jack and it does look like it has been damaged in some way. So I think I will just have to live with it until I decide to open the case and try to fix it.

Greg - I changed my Avatar - My son made this one for me - He is a Bronco Fan also - Of course!
Title: Can you hear it now?
Post by: Gregg on November 30, 2007, 07:31:23 AM
QUOTE(Bill-R @ Nov 30 2007, 12:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Greg - I changed my Avatar - My son made this one for me - He is a Bronco Fan also - Of course!


He did a good job! My sons are both Bronco and Cubs fans, like their Dad. They both grew up in Milwaukee, although both were born in Colorado. I grew up in Illinois, but was never a big Bears fan. So it was easy to become part of the Bronco Nation when I migrated to Denver after college. There's still a mathematical chance of winning the West, but I think it will be a big challenge.