# New sound card - No sound?



## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

So I accidently broke my onboard MB sound so I got a new sound card (4 Channel C-Media 5.1 Surround PCI Audio Sound Card NEW | eBay), that one. I installed new drivers, all seemed well, went to device manager, all is working, but just no sound coming out of the headphones, anybody have any idea what it is?


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## ReviverSoft (Nov 30, 2009)

Which Windows OS are you using?

You might want to consider going into the Windows Control Panel, looking for the "Sound" utility and setting your new sound card as the *default* playback device.

_It might still be set to your motherboard's onboard chipset, which explains why you aren't getting any audio output._


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

I have windows 7, is the sound card meant to be listed in the playback options? I don't see it, only Speakers, headphones, Digital Audio and AMD HDMI output


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

When I went into dxdiag, this was said under 'Sound 3".

The file cmudax3.sys is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer.

Has this got anything to do with it? I also want to use the sound on my headphones, not speakers


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

WHQL signed drivers won't matter...it's just "preferred".

Where are you connecting the headphones? If you connecting them into the new sound card ports it should be working. If you are trying to use the front panel ports, those will only work if you have them connected to the new sound card. If you didn't move the cabling, then they are still connected to faulty onboard chipset.


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Dogg said:


> WHQL signed drivers won't matter...it's just "preferred".
> 
> Where are you connecting the headphones? If you connecting them into the new sound card ports it should be working. If you are trying to use the front panel ports, those will only work if you have them connected to the new sound card. If you didn't move the cabling, then they are still connected to faulty onboard chipset.


Yeh I just put the sound card in the PCI slot, and have my headphones directly connected to them, no sound, I've also tried with multiple headphones, when I connect the green cable to the pink slot it makes a little electric sound, wouldn't that mean it should be working? (When I put it in the green slot)


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

They are color coded. Green is audio output (front left/right) Pink is mic input.

In the audio setup, the new audio chipset has to be selected as the default audio source.


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Dogg said:


> They are color coded. Green is audio output (front left/right) Pink is mic input.
> 
> In the audio setup, the new audio chipset has to be selected as the default audio source.


My sound card has a green slot and blue, and also has 2 silver ones. The chipset thing isn;t even shown in the playback settings.


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

When I go into the playback options, the cmedia driver is there, but only speakers? Is there a way I can get headphones too?


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Bump, anyone have any clues?


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

bump. anyone?


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

A sound card only has a single output (for stereo audio). So whichever port is working for the speakers, is also where the headphones would connect.

Unless you are talking about a desktop PC case. Then you typically have a front panel port for headphones. But connecting headphones to the front panel port will disable the rear (speaker) output.

EDIT: and the card you linked to above, has pink/blue/green/orange ports


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Yeah, I've tried plugging them in on all the ports and still no sound.
C-Media Electronics, Inc.
8738 is the right driver, right?


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
Is that what it's meant to be?


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

bump, anyone know?


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Benzzro said:


> Yeah, I've tried plugging them in on all the ports and still no sound.
> C-Media Electronics, Inc.
> 8738 is the right driver, right?


I don't know. The eBay link doesn't have chipset information. Look at the card itself for any model information.


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

What is the status in Device Manager? If the wrong drivers are installed, it will most likely have a yellow !


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

And you can relax with the bumps. Let the topic sit 24 hours before bumping.

We all volunteer our free time to help here and this site is not manned 24x7.


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Sorry for bumping, on the card it reads CMI8738 PCI-SX.

There's also a 4 pin slot thing stuck on the sound card, is that meant to connect to something?


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

You can find a driver here (it looks like you will have to make an account):

cr.am browsing:

The internal connectors are for connecting your CD.

http://download.geniusnet.com/manual/Others/SMValue41&51-Eng.pdf


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

So do I have to plug something into that 4 pin slot?

I also have a CD that the card came with but its so small and when I put it in it freezes after like 20s


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

Sound information is processed digitally now so you don't really need to connect that analog cable from your CD/DVD to your sound card anymore.

If you can't install the drivers via the CD that came with the sound card then download them from the manufacturer's website.


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Argh, downloaded and installed the drivers, selected the driver in the playback options as default but still doesn't work..So frustrating


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

Disable your motherboard's onboard sound in the BIOS (it's under Advanced Peripherals).

Make sure that the sound card is listed in your playback devices (right-click the speaker icon and select playback devices).


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Did all that, went into playback options and saw cmedia pci device, selected it, still no sound


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Again, what's the status in Device Manager?

Also, as it has never worked, it's entirely possible the card is faulty. I'm not saying that it is faulty, but it's a possibility.

Also, as noted previously, audio output (stereo audio) will only be on the green connector.

Basic audio setup here: Windows 7 Setup Instructions


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

No errors in device manager, and yeah I've connected it to the green port and still no sound


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

So...It's probably a faulty sound card?


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## ReviverSoft (Nov 30, 2009)

^ Well, the only way to confirm that would be to check the sound card on another system.

In general, all you are required to do is: install the card, check the BIOS to see if it is detected, boot up, install the driver for the card, set the card(driver) as the default playback device....and it should start working right away!

Alternatively, you could just return this card and maybe get something from these brands: Creative / ASUS / HT | Omega / M-Audio


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

I broke my onboard sound by accidentally ripping out my headphones and sound stopped working, could that affect the sound card working? Cause I only got Macs it the house I can't test it to see if its the card


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

If you did somehow damage the rear speaker port, the front panel mic jack (if you have one) should still work, or vice versa.

What are you using to test the sound? If you are using the same headphones perhaps they are the damaged component, not your sound module or card.


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## Benzzro (Aug 17, 2011)

Nah I'm using new headphones, which I've tested on another PC and worked.


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Your options are limited. The card needs to be verified that it works. 

On a side note, that audio chipset is ancient. I didn't even know the A3D chipset/support was still being used. It was one of the first "surround" chipsets and a big competitor of Creative.


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## nybigapple (Nov 15, 2011)

The screenshot shows you've selected the right output device. Is the sound registering on the computer and just not playing on your headphones? What I mean is in that if you go back to playback devices (the screenshot you posted) and play music does the volume meter next to "Speakers c-media audio device" reflect it? It should be going up and down.

This might also be dumb, but have you tried to configure the sound card and check its properties?


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