Speakers -Troubleshooting

Specific Problems -

• No Power
1. Check the connection to the wall outlet. Most speakers and subwoofers have a light showing there is power when they are turned on.
2. Check to see if your subwoofer has a fuse, and if it does check the fuse to make sure it is ok.
• One or two of the speakers do not work
1. Check to make sure they are getting power
2. Check the connections from the back of the computer to the speakers. The speakers should connect to the line-out jack on the back of the computer.
• Crackling Sound
1. Check the cables and make sure they are firmly connected between line-out plug on the back of the computer and the speakers. If you have powered speakers and connect them to the "speaker out" connector you can get Crackling.
2. Also, check the volume control in Windows and make sure that it is not set more than half-way
• Radio Feedback
1. Move the speakers in a different location or rotate them to see if it helps. 
2. Buy cables that have better shielding.
• Static Noise

o    Make sure you are using the Line-out plug on the back of the computer.

                Popping Sounds

0.    Check All speaker cables for proper connections.

1.    Move the speaker wires away from other cables.

2.    Plug the speaker AC adapter into a different outlet

3.    Buy a pack of ferrite beads that attach to your speaker wires which filter out noise

• Popping with Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live and Windows 98.
  This problem happens when you are using a VIA motherboard with either Apollo VP3(VT82C597) or Apollo MVP3(VT82C598) system controller chipset with a VIA IDE Bus master driver version 2.1.33 update. To remove the popping/cracking sound, follow these steps:
1. Run SETUP.EXE of the VIA IDE Bus master driver version 2.1.33 again.
2. Select the Enable/Disable (Ultra) DMA option instead, and then press the NEXT button.
3. Unselect/uncheck the available devices, and then press the NEXT button. 
4. Reboot the system Please check http://www.viatech.com for updates on your motherboard.

• Short Bursts of sound while playing wave files with Sound Blaster Live
  This problem happens when you are using a VIA motherboard with the Apollo VP3(VT82C597) or Apollo MVP3(VT82C598) system controller chipset, it causes repeated buffer during a wave playback on Windows 98(Version 4.10.1998). To resolve this problem: 1. Run the VIA PCI IRQ Miniport driver version 1.3a setup program. This program can be obtained from the VIA website technical support at http://www.via.com.tw 2. Reboot the system Please check http://www.viatech.com for updates on your motherboard.
• The SB16 Emulation is causing and Interrupt (IRQ) conflict on my PC. How can I disable this device?
  
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 2. Double click the System icon, then click the Device Manager tab. 3. Click the plus sign (+) next to Creative Miscellaneous Devices, unless the device category is already expanded with a minus sign (-). 4. Click Creative SB Live! SB16 Emulation to highlight it, then click Properties. 5. Put a check-mark in box that says Disable This Device In This Hardware Profile. 6. Click OK, OK again, and then Close. Note that this will disable your sound device in MS-DOS mode.

Testing the Speakers -

• Test the speakers - Unplug the cable from the back of the computer, and insert the stereo plug into the headphone jack of a Walkman, Discman or FM radio and play music. If the speakers are ON and working and the cable is good, you should hear the music from the walkman on the speakers.

Reference:

http://www.techadvice.com/tech/S/speaker_ts.htm