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Dell Inspiron 16 5620 issue with internal speakers - Maxx Audio Pro and Cirrus
Brand new laptop May 2023. No sound. Called Dell and the tech said something wasn't installed that was necessary and tried many different things and finally was able to get sound. Further issues with the laptop crashing. I should have returned it at that point but it straightened itself out. Just mentioning here VERY HIGH CPU usage.
Fast forward to mid September. Walked away from laptop for an hour (at home). Came back and the cursor would not move and everything was frozen. Tried a hard reboot and the laptop would no longer power up. Called Dell support and final outcome was the motherboard needed to be replaced. Was supposed to occur within a 48 hr window and kept getting service pushed out until date was given of 10/2. Called Dell about being unsatisfied and magically, the next day, the technician showed up. Interesting he was also miffed as to how I was given a date of 10/2.
Apologies for length but wanted to give all the specifics. Motherboard installed, laptop is up and running. But, once again NO SOUND. Called Dell support yesterday and was on the phone with tech for well over an hour reinstalling drivers, updating BIOS. Still no resolve. Now they want me to send the laptop back so they can reset to factory settings and to test the speakers.
Here are my questions.
1. When I received the laptop it was at factory settings at that point with NO SOUND. So how will resetting it to factory settings fix this?
2. How will replacing the speakers fix this if the original tech I worked with on 6/11 was able to finally get the internal speakers to work. It's obviously not the speakers.
To add, if I use earbuds I hear sound fine.
I have searched relentlessly and I am seeing issues with the Dell laptops and a conflict when Realtek was replaced with Cirrus because of an incompatibility issue. Is anyone else here aware of this and why would Dell not know this?
I am waiting for the box and label to send back the laptop for them to do a "factory reset and maybe replace the internal speakers". My confidence is very low this is going to work.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Lisa
lisamd
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October 4th, 2023 09:59
@Saltgrass this is solved. I just found the chat that occurred. I had spoken with both Dell and Microsoft on 6/11. Dell sent me this laptop with no audio driver and it took the tech some time to find one that would work with this laptop but he did it. So within the next few days I'm going to contact MS and have them find the driver that was used and reinstall it. It took him some time to find what was needed. If you do a search here you'll find I'm not the only person who has had driver issues on this laptop. There is a compatibility issue.
Saltgrass
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October 8th, 2023 15:17
From what I see, that system, unless your service tag shows something different, has a Realtek audio module. So, I am at a loss to explain the Cirrus Logic situation. Unless perhaps it is for the external port or some other component.
All I can suggest is you remove any trace of an audio device on the system. You would need to download the 3 drivers Dell shows for that device and have them available. Then go offline to remove all the devices.
When you use the device manager, set it to show hidden devices. Ones that are greyed out are not currently attached. You can then remove all the sound devices, while checking the box to remove all drivers. You have some special microphones, so you might leave those alone.
Once that is done, and still offline, maybe reboot and install just the Realtek driver first. It will normally install the Waves utility but it may take a little time. Your system may be one that does not work in this fashion, so you would need to install the Waves utility.
Once that is done, go back online. See what is or isn't working and check the Windows update for any drivers being offered.
Internal speakers can fail. If that is the problem, they should be replaceable by home service, if you have that option.
Edit: And one more thing. If you have multiple install files (.inf) for those devices, you may need to remove a device more than once in order to remove earlier versions of that driver.
(edited)
Saltgrass
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September 24th, 2023 10:21
First, what does Cirrus have to do with your sound? I see an audio driver for that but the specs. seem to show Realtek audio.
Yes, it should have worked originally.
Could you provide any attachments regarding your audio configuration in Windows? Use the snipping tool and paste them directly into a response.
Waves MaxxAudio Pro is responsible for popping up the dialogue regarding if something was plugged into the sound port. Maybe, for some reason, it is stuck with the external port. Have you seen that pop-up?
I will assume, unless you know otherwise, that the external audio port was on the motherboard and thus replaced. If it were to be on a daughter board, it may be involved. I also suppose that replacing the motherboard would probably not replace the internal speakers.
(edited)
lisamd
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September 24th, 2023 13:48
@Saltgrass First, thank you or responding. I am sure in my frustration I am wording things incorrectly.
Here is my audio configuration, a snip o MaxxPro when I plug in my earbuds, and also a snip from device manager for all sound related items. When I worked with the Dell tech we went through all the troubleshooting steps. Checked for updates, uninstalled and reinstalled drivers, updated BIOS, he did EVERYTHING until he finally said that the next thing was to reset to factory and to also check the internal speakers. The missing link here is that I remember on 6/11 when I called the first time I remember the tech saying something about there being something missing. But, he was able to correct the situation and it was by installing something, I just can't remember what nor did he note it in my history with Dell tech service. I really appreciate your help with this.
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lisamd
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September 24th, 2023 14:17
@Saltgrass strange, not sure if you saw my first reply but here is some additional interesting info. I think this should give you more. I bought 2 laptops at the same time, the other laptop is working fine and I just went to check the device manager. In the other laptop which is the exact same except for the memory under the audio inputs and outputs the 2- does not appear. Rather it shows
Speakers (Cirrus Logic High Definition Audio) Everything else is the same.
Just for the heck of it I ran the troubleshooter again too. Take a look at the result. It says there is a problem with the driver and asked to update and I agreed. The returned results was "we are sorry we couldn't solve your problem"
Also, because you mentioned Realtek I went to my add or remove programs and i see there's a Realtek Audio Driver that shows as installed 6/11.
lisamd
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September 24th, 2023 14:37
@Saltgrass one more reply here. I plugged in external speakers and that works. Here is the screenshot of that. I realize this is no different than plugging in my earbuds but I am trying to find any way I can to not have to pull everything off this laptop before sending it back for a factory reset when I know it's not a problem with the internal speakers. If it was they would have never gotten them to work on 6/11. Lisa over and out and will wait for your reply. Thank you :)
lisamd
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September 26th, 2023 10:34
@Saltgrass at the end of the day I have decided to not return the laptop to Dell. Spoke with them last night. When I set up the laptop it was at factory settings and there was no sound. Resetting it will not help. The tech on 6/21 was able to get the speakers working once he found either a. what was missing or b. found the correct driver. The speakers are not the issue. So stripping my laptop down after what it took to get it all set up is not the answer.
This appears to be a compatibility issue along with a possibility of something not properly installed into the laptop itself. Through due diligence, and perhaps driver updates it will eventually get corrected. I have opted to purchase a pair of external speakers and plug them in. I already tested and this gives me sound.
I supplied all the info I can and it appears through other posts that you're an expert when it comes to sound issues. When you have time I truly appreciate your thoughts. I'll be continuing to search and troubleshoot on my end.
Lisa
Saltgrass
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October 4th, 2023 13:57
@lisamd Glad you got it working. For others, could you share the exact version of drivers now installed for your sound device?
lisamd
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October 6th, 2023 18:16
@Saltgrass I don't know how to mark this as unsolved but I went back and read the MS chat and it was not that tech who found the driver. It was the Dell tech I spoke with on that day. I have now spoken with two more Dell techs and they are still unable to find what I need in order for the speakers to work. So at present moment this is unsolved but I'm ok because I can use external speakers as a workaround.
lisamd
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October 9th, 2023 10:52
@Saltgrass much appreciation. Sent this off to the Dell support person I was last working with as he was interested if there was a solution found. This will be tried next.