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As the title indicates, I have four speakers (and a subwoofer). The system comes with two plugs. One is green, and the other is black. I am thinking that I should plug one to the output, and the other to the female slot with the 'headphone' icon next to it. It however doesn't work, and thus only two of the four speakers works at any time.
How do I remedy this? Any idea? My sound card has three outputs: speakers, something that looks like headphones, and a mic input. *has no clue*
All of the multi-speaker sets that I have seen have each speaker plug into another speaker(and one into the computer). For example on the speaker set I have at home, it has a left and right speaker and a subwoofer. The subwoofer plugs into the computer, the right speaker plugs into the subwoofer and the left speaker plugs into the right speaker(or something like that).
Since you have 4 speakers plus subwoofer, my guess if you really need a sound card capable of surround sound output to be able to plug in all of them at the same time and use them to their full potential. Your sound card sounds like a standard stereo output only one, like mine :p
Weren't there any papers that came ith the sound system on how to connect it up?
On 4.1/5.1 compatible soundcards (integrated or not), the two plugs you use with the 4.1/5.1 sets are (surprise!) green and black. Green is the regular output you use when you have two speakers, and the black one is here for the extra speakers.
Some 4.1/5.1 systems can use the input plug as the extra, I think, and some systems can use only the green plug, the subwoofer doing the split between rear and front.
More than likely, this is detailed in your user's manual (soundcard or speakers).
More variables to add to the banter:
I actually have two sound cards 'installed' (ie: plugged in, but not necessarily detected). One is an integrated one that I think is a 'standard stereo output' one. The other is a sound blaster, with a black, green, red, blue and pink plug.
So, do I have to somehow disable my integrated sound card, and get windows to detect my SB card? If so, how to do the first step, and is the second one just a matter of finding the proper drivers (because winXP is not detecting it)?
If you can't disable it in the bios, then it's just a matter of finding the proper jumper setting (on the motherboard).
After that is done, XP will detect the PCI soundcard.
It's almost always in the BIOS.
Your sound card is a SB Live! Value, right? I guarantee, that will support 4 speakers.
It's a SB Live! 5.1 Digital, model SB0220 (Creative says that the model number should be CT____, yet I can't find such a digit combination; the card however says clearly "Model: SB0220"). I have disabled the built-in sound device, downloaded new drivers, and tried to install. I get a 'cannot find a SB card installed; install will quit' message.
I'm looking at the sound card; it is connected; it has those cables that go into the cdrom drives coming out of it. Everything seems hunky dorey (dory....something).
*shrug*
Could you take a screenshot of your device manager (with the sound devices expanded)?
Here. All sound is disabled in XP at this moment.
From what I can see, your XP still detects something, since joystick, midi and legacy (sound) devices are always linked to a soundcard.
Did you disable it from windows, or from the bios? (if from XP, try from the bios, if from the bios, try the jumpers on the motherboard)
It should be disabled in the bios. I even disabled the midi and game ports. There's still references to it in winXP. I can't 'uninstall' the devices, so could you tell me how to disable the sound device using the jumpers?
Look at your motherboard manual to see the jumper map, that way you can figure what jumper sets what.
Then, with your comp off, carefully move the jumper accordingly.
If after that your card still doesn't want to be detected, try it at a friend's. If it works there, I don't know what's wrong, try moving it to another pci slot, if it doesn't work at a friend's, then the sb is defective and needs to be replaced.