Very low sound from speakers, None from headphones on Toshiba NB305 netbook

Have been using the laptop for about a year. NB305 has very poor speakers out of the box. But the volume was audible for all practical purposes. I used the headphones when listening to songs or watching movies. A couple of days back when I started my netbook and proceeded to play some songs I found that though the volume was turned up in the Volume Control, I could hear no sound.

On holding my ear close to the netbook speaker, I can hear a feeble but clear sound. When nothing is being played I can hear "static"(with my ear near the speaker). I get no sound from the headphone jack and I have tried multiple working headphones. On plugging the headphone in, I am prompted to select whether it's an headphhone or a line in. But there is no sound from the headphones.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the device drivers. I installed the latest drivers from Realtek's website. I enabled Loudness Equalization from the Realtek HD audio manager control panel applet. I enabled the equalizer and manually maxed everything, but the speaker volume remains feeble and the headphones get no love. I have to try external speakers though.

Model: Toshiba NB305 Netbook
OS: Windows 7 Starter
Sound: Realtek
Driver installed 6.00.0001.6410 dated 7/7//2011
Problem: Low sound from netbook speakers and none from headphones, was normal previously.

Update:

I have been using a bluetooth headset through which the audio works fine. I have used external speakers, connected through the headphone jack, without success.

Link to nb300 service: manual http://tim.id.au/laptops/toshiba/nb300.pdf According to the service manual, the solution is to replace the motherboard. Since the netbook is out of warranty, can anyone suggest a cheaper workaround? Bluetooth seems to be the way to go for now, but the constant recharging of bluetooth headsets gets to me.

abel

Posted 2011-07-17T12:16:02.857

Reputation: 689

2Sounds like (excuse the pun) the sound card is dead, or there's a loose connection somewhere. If you can hear a faint audio but loud(er) static, that usually implies the sound is getting through via some or other electromagnetic field, but only by luck. – None – 2011-07-18T03:09:09.957

@Randolph Sound getting through by some electromagnetic field... interesting. Will open the netbook up and check for loose connections though. – abel – 2011-07-18T12:13:07.173

+1 Randolph, Have you tried use devices ( speakers or headphones ) or just the aux jack? – Luke Russell – 2012-05-03T17:27:30.313

Answers

Sounds like a defective sound card. I had a similar issue with an ASUS laptop on Windows 7 too (low sound volume sent out by the soundcard).

I just got myself a cheap USB soundcard like this one or this one (this is the model I bought - image below):
enter image description here

I also get better quality sound with it when used with my headphones and external speakers, than my laptop's default sound card .

galacticninja

Posted 2011-07-17T12:16:02.857

Reputation: 5 348

This is what I finally did. – abel – 2012-06-30T18:34:40.667

Sounds like a dead sound card... Sorry :(

jackweirdy

Posted 2011-07-17T12:16:02.857

Reputation: 754

And the bluetooth method works because sound card processing is not required by it? I went through the nb300 sevice manual, which also says the same. Since the soundcard is onboard, it will require a board replacement. Link to manual http://tim.id.au/laptops/toshiba/nb300.pdf

– abel – 2012-04-29T16:54:24.790

Pretty much, you could try ebay for a motherboard of the same series as your current one, as that should fit inside the case – jackweirdy – 2012-04-29T17:50:55.767

I used a Creative PC Card for a similar situation a few years ago. The driver has (had?) the option to play the output of the card through the laptop's speakers. It's worth checking the documentation to confirm requirements (or buying from Walmart for their return policy).

GaTechThomas

Posted 2011-07-17T12:16:02.857

Reputation: 1 734