XP Laptop suddenly not producing sound

[Guest]

I've had this problem before. One day, I'm playing music and, the next, the
speakers no longer work. Yes, the computer is not muted and all the sound
controls are on high. Last time, I unplugged this laptop (note: laptops have
built-in speakers... and I have very little knowledge of the hardware
componants of this thing), letting it run off its own battery, and the sound
just suddenly started working again. Unfortunately, I'm having no such luck
this time.

Any ideas?

(By the way, last time this happened... if you listened closely, you could
hear the music playing... but, as I say, it was incredibly hard to hear...
almost like the master volume on the computer had been messed up)

 

[Richard in AZ]

Do you have a port where you can plug in headphones or external speakers?
If they work, you most likely have an internal wiring problem, but UNLESS you are skilled at getting
into a laptop case, I would let a good local repair shop fix any internal wiring problem.

 

[Guest]

Well, Richard... guess what? I plugged in some headphones (yes, they work...
I checked) and... nothing. I could not hear any music or system sounds.
Not sure what THAT means in terms of "internal wiring" but, yes, that's the
case anyway. Thank you for commenting on my question!

 

[Richard in AZ]

It most likely means that you have problems with either the sound card part of your motherboard or
you have software problems . I doubt that wiring to both outputs would be bad. Have you checked
for new sound card drivers from the chip manufacturer or your laptop manufacturer. A program
called Belarc Advisor (www.belarc.com) will tell you the sound system chip manufacturer.