sound

Infopackets Reader Fred W. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your article on how to play games in 5.1 surround sound . I own the Asus Xonar DX (same as you) and when I first set it up, I could play games in 5.1 surround sound using my optical ... (toslink) cable. I knew this was true because my Harmon Kardon 144 receiver would say 'Dolby Digital' along with each speaker box activated on the display. This meant the receiver was receiving a true 5.1 signal. Recently, Windows 10 updated and now the only sound signal I get on my receiver is Dolby Pro Logic, which is a 2 channel signal up-converted to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently built a new computer with the Ryzen 2700x CPU (8 cores, 16 threads) and it's screaming fast. I also purchased an EVGA Nvidia 2080 video card to play games. Everything works great, however ... the games are not playing in 5.1 surround sound. I have researched this issue online and can't seem to find a straightforward answer. Can you please tell me how can I play my games in 5.1 surround sound? " My response: I have dealt with this before and there are two main approaches to resolving this issue. How to Fix: Can't Play Games in 5.1 Audio ... (view more)

Microsoft has fixed a problem with the latest major Windows 10 update that left some computers silent. It's blamed Intel for an incompatible audio driver. A driver is software that helps a hardware device (such as a soundcard) work with an operating ... system, such as Windows. Sometimes drivers need to be updated to keep working with a new or updated edition of Windows. In the past, users often had to download drivers from hardware manufacturers, which usually meant using a search engine to find the appropriate page with a download link. These days, however, the Windows Update process often ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am using a Windows 10 PC. This past weekend, my grandchild made some changes to my PC and now every time there is sound, the screen flashes. I have searched and searched how to fix this but I am ... cannot seem to find a solution. Can you tell me how I can make windows 10 stop flashing on sound? " My response: I have not heard of this issue before but suspected it may have something to do with the "Ease of Access" mechanism which has been built into Windows as far back as Windows XP. According to Microsoft, Ease of Access "helps make your PC ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader William C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm have a problem with my sound after the latest Windows Update in Windows 10 (version 15063.540). If I use System Restore to roll back the sysetm (which then uninstalls the update), my sound ... works perfectly fine. In my Device Manager I have: a 'High Definition Audio Device' with yellow exclamation point warning, and two 'Realtek High Definition Audio Device' with no warning. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the Realtek audio drivers to no avail - the sound will simply not work! My system is connected to a TV via HDMI cable. If I use ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tim G. writes: " Dear Dennis, Sometimes when I try and play a YouTube video, the sound doesn't work. If I try and 'Play Test Sound' on my sound device via Control Panel -> Sound, Windows says 'Windows failed to play test tone'. ... The only way I know how to fix the sound is to reboot the computer, but that means I need to reload my browser and tabs every time. Do you know how I can fix my sound without rebooting? " My Response: This problem happens to me too every once in a while, and I have a sneaking suspicion it might be related to Adobe ... (view more)