[PewterScreaminMach]

I recently built a desktop, Nvidia SLI 680i, Q6600, 2GB, 8800GT, XP Pro, 500GB, 600 watt PS, blah blah blah.

I'm using the built-in sound with the Realtek drivers supplied with the motherboard package and the sound has worked perfectly since I built the computer at the end of January.

The other day, I started it up, did some work, then started playing a song in iTunes, but sound only came out of the left speaker. I tried a few different programs and even sound from vids in IE 7, but with the same result. I tested the speakers on another computer and they work fine. I also reloaded the drivers that came with the motherboard, but nothing changed. There were no changes made to any hardware on the computer between when it was working and when it wasn't, and there were no real software changes made that I know of.

The interesting part of it is that if I open up the sound card controller software (Realtek) while playing a song in iTunes, the song only comes out the left speaker, BUT if I then turn on the software's built-in reverb, the reverb comes out of both speakers, but the song itself only comes out of the left speaker.

I am pretty good with computers and audio software/hardware as I'm a musician, but I'm no tech, so any help on this would be appreciated. I've done a lot of troubleshooting and have not been able to solve the problem. Being a musician, this is starting to become a big deal and I can't find an email address for Realtek to contact their support center, either.

Joe

[Dave Hybrid]

Have you tried re-installing the drivers and/or using an updated version from Realtek?

[PewterScreaminMach]

Originally Posted by Dave Hybrid Have you tried re-installing the drivers and/or using an updated version from Realtek?

I have reinstalled the drivers and they also appear to be the most updated versions from Realtek.

[philthomas]

Try unistalling them, then reboot and install them again.

Also have you tried different speakers or headphones in the soundcard socket.

[PewterScreaminMach]

Originally Posted by philthomas Try unistalling them, then reboot and install them again. Also have you tried different speakers or headphones in the soundcard socket.

1. I will try uninstalling, rebooting, then installing again, but how do I go about uninstalling drivers? I have never done so before.

2. I tried headphones in that jack and got the same result. It is a single 1/8" stereo jack on the back of the motherboard, just so you know.

[mrdaveyk]

have you gone into the control panel and configured the speakers?

[PewterScreaminMach]

Originally Posted by mrdaveyk have you gone into the control panel and configured the speakers?

Yes, I've attempted to configure the speaker and audio settings in Windows, Realtek, and in the various programs I've attempted to listen to audio with (iTunes, IE, etc, etc).

[philthomas]

To uninstall, go to Device Manager/Sound video and game controllers, highlight the Realtek Audio controller, right click and select uninstall.

[computer lover786]

Yes i agree uninstall and enter the control panel go on game controllers right click the icon and uninstall it.
You are right philthomas.Great work!

[PewterScreaminMach]

Just so you guys know, I eventually just ran a Windows System Restore back to about a few weeks earlier (to a time I knew was before the issue started) and the sound works perfectly now, so it was definitely a software/driver issue. It's been running fine now for a couple weeks.