[confusedincanada]

Hello trusty Geeks:

I bought a Compaq Presario second-hand that was new probably in 2002. It's serving me well enough if I tap a particular cable with my foot whenever the monitor's colour goes wonky, bright whites and normal colors suddenly being overtaken by a psychedelic pink bleed. (I've gone behind my computer to take a look at the cable connections, but this has not helped, whereas my foot does the trick.)

Here's my current problem: the computer came with four 3"x3.5" Labtec speakers, a Labtec transformer, and some other piece of equipment that escaped my possession some time ago: a box-like thing about 7"x9"x5". I don't know if the latter was somehow associated with the speakers or the possibility of having sound, but I'm certain that it wasn't inscribed with the Labtec name (in other words, it didn't seem like "a kit" to me when I got tired of dragging the box around every time I moved and up and chucked it).

I'm wondering if I can learn to connect the speakers so I can actually get sound. (I don't know why I ever kept them, only that I did.) It's not altogether evident where six or so plugs are supposed to go.

Now, I'd also want to check to see that no one has deleted any program or file that might be required for the speakers to operate. Honest to god, it seems to me that I one day said to myself: "I don't need THAT, I'm not going to want sound."

(If you think all this is bad, you see the rest of my life.)

Thanks,
Dianne

Edited by confusedincanada, 27 April 2005 - 04:45 PM.

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To be honest sounds like a dodgy cable for moniter, might need tightened or renewed.

speakers sound as if they need a amp so they can work.

As for the sound programs being deleted it should all be preloaded on your system(ie video drivers, sound drivers).

[Jye]

To be honest sounds like a dodgy cable for moniter, might need tightened or renewed.

speakers sound as if they need a amp so they can work.

As for the sound programs being deleted it should all be preloaded on your system(ie video drivers, sound drivers).

[confusedincanada]

Thanks, Jye.

Do you think an amp is what I threw out -- the box-like thing, 7x9x5? What's the price range for an amp, do you know?

And a sound driver -- are you saying that that is something that cannot be deleted? Is there a way to check on this?

Dianne

[audioboy]

the box you trashed was probably the subwoofer for the speakers...you would need that make that surround speaker system you have work.

do you know what kind of sound card you have? as in, it could be an integrated sound card, or it could be a seperate card in the PC. the connectors for the sound will likely be green, red, and blue.
one way to check is to go to control panel, sound and audio devices. click the audio tab, and tell us what is listed as the playback and recording devices.

as for your speakers, if there are in fact 4 small cubes, each with a wire that would feed to the sub/amp, your kinda hosed without the sub/amp.
speaker sets can be pretty cheap, especially if your not looking for high quality surround. you can go with really cheap desktop speakers, get a 2.1 system (2 satellites plus sub) for better sound and still be inexpensive, on up to THX certified 5.1 (or even 7.1) surround systems that will outperform your average home stereo!
let us know what you want to do with it, and we can offer some tips on what to get.

[peterm]

Normally the speakers conect one to the other then 1 to the computer
the box was probley a woofer

[confusedincanada]

Well. What a pity I threw out the sub/amp.

But maybe I didn't do anything to wreck the sound device! On the Audio tab, Sound MAX Digital Audio shows as the preferred device for both sound playback and recording; on the Devices tab, it says the driver for Sound MAX Integrated Digital Audio is enabled and active. (Am I right: if I did something to wipe out, er, MIDI, or something like that, it doesn't really matter? MIDI is a media player? In terms of media players, right now I've got Real Player, Quick Time Player, Windows Media Player, and Compaq DVD Player.)

On the back of the computer, I see two places marked with an icon of a musical note where you could plug something in: one blue, one lime green.

Okay, you guys are really great, and I'm sure you could help me evaluate what to do next. I need to come to terms with not only computer sound but my whole outdated music scene. (And maybe you could also give me a few words on DVD. I don't have a TV at the moment and have never had a VCR. Please trust: I'm not a Luddite. I'm just outdated -- [bleep] happens.)

I last had a nice Sony stereo (2 tape decks + 3/CD player) that I had to leave in North Cyprus when I got a job in Palestine. (Not that I ever came to terms with CD technology.) After returning to Canada, I bought a 2nd hand RCA ghetto blaster that began to eat tapes pronto, whereupon I picked up something even crummier -- you don't want to know about it. Having been on the road for the last decade, I haven't caught up with CD technology, let alone computer downloading, iPods, and all the rest. My question is actually quite simple: how do I get a grip on all this? What can I do to get on top of music again?

Important context: I'm presently unemployed, can't imagine any major investment for quite some time. That said, it might be best to invest in medium to high-end computer salvation and forget about (if it's possible) any other music hardware.

So, yeah, can I fix my computer at a pretty good price so I can watch movies and record and play music? Also, I don't mean to be stupid, but please answer this: if a computer can play the type of CDs that download programs (mine can do that), can it also play music CDs? You know, my brother, a serious musician with a home recording studio, killed himself last year, and I haven't been able to find out what's on the homemade CDs that he left. I wonder what's there.

Thanks, Dianne

[peterm]

1st off could you see where the speakers plugged in to one another?

[audioboy]

given your financial circumstances, I think your best bet would be to go with a semi decent 2.1 speaker system for the computer. altec-lansing makes some good sounding systems, as do many others. here is one example, at a low price-

http://www.compusa.c...4646&pfp=SEARCH

it might even be worth asking around people you know, someone may have some PC speakers they arent using.

whatever you get, you will plug the speakers into the green connector on the PC. it sounds like your sound card is active already, so nothing to worry about there.

the DVD drive will play music CD's using windows media player, real player, etc. your brother's CD's will play if they are actual music CD's (most likely). if they are session files for whatever software he was using in his home studio, you would need that program. this will likely not be an issue.

you can use the computer to watch DVD's with the DVD drive, listen to music, all of that stuff. in your case, it is a simple way to do most of the newer technology stuff without having to buy anything!

any other questions, ask away.

[confusedincanada]

Geez, Audioboy, you are stellar help.

Again, I'm sorry I'm so stupid about these things, but whaddya mean, a DVD driver to play CDs (maybe even my brother's). Do you mean that where you put the CDs into a computer (isn't that Drive A -- whatever, it's the uppermost place on the computer tower) ...that's where you'd put a DVD? My real question: (I cringe)...how do I know if I've got a DVD driver? Audioboy: I've never seen a DVD . . .

(I found a purchase receipt. My brother was using Cakewalk.)

Okay, if I don't have to buy another stereo, should I invest a little more than the US$30 that you recommended for the (example) Altec Lansing speaker sys? I could do that. It wouldn't be impossible to go to something around $100-150 if it all made sense. I'd have rented movie capabilty, right, and I could listen to news videos (I'm an absolute news junkie) and I could download and play music?

Can you talk to me about music downloading? I go somewhere and I pay or I don't pay, and I download digital music and I save it and it's mine?

I'm ten years out of it, friend . . . TEN YEARS

. . . I'm sorry about all this.

Dianne

[audioboy]

No worries!
the A: drive will be the floppy, the 3.5 inch plastic discs of old. the CD or DVD drive will likely be at the top of the PC. press the eject button, the tray opens up to accept a disc.
to know which you have, double click my computer. it will show the A drive (floppy), C drive (main system hard drive), any other hard drives (if installed), and the CD/DVD- it will tell you what it is. you may only have a CDROM (read only). that will play music CD's. if its a DVD drive, then you can watch DVD's on it as well as do anything a CD drive will do.
you may well have a CD recordable drive, in which case you can burn to blank CDR, for file backup, creating music CD's etc. let me know what it says you have.

just to confuse you, a DVD looks just like a CD, a 5 inch disc. one way to tell is in the clear center ring, it will be labeled what type of media it is.

of course you can go bigger speaker wise! go to a computer or electronics store, and listen to a few different systems. pick one that sounds good to you.
if you dont have a DVD drive, you can buy one and install it in the PC. they are fairly cheap these days too, $30-$60 US. if you shop online for anything, good prices can be found.

as for music downloading, I dont do it personally, but thats just me. I would recommend going the legal route, using Itunes or realplayer Rhapsody, things along those lines. read up on their user agreements for copying, etc. as they vary. some will only let you have it on the PC, some will allow 1 copy to a CD or MP3 player, etc. ad infinitum.
the filesharing networks, while free, are riddled with viruses, crappy sound quality files, dummy files placed by the record companies, etc. and there is the outside chance the record companies will pick on you for one of their superfun lawsuits.

news feeds, hmmm...do you have a TV? if not, you can get stuff online, but broadband connection is a must for that.

[audioboy]

another thought, if you access to any of your brothers studio equipment. he probably had some good quality speakers and amp, which could be connected to the computer. let me know if this applies, and I can give you info on that.

[confusedincanada]

ANGEL AUDIOBOY, I'll get to work on all this. Gimme a week . . . will you look for another post from me in about a week? Cheers.

[confusedincanada]

O Audioboy: burning to blank, maybe i'd like.

hells bells, what i've got is 3.5 Floppy (A:), Local Disk (C:), System Sav (D:), and Compact Disc (E:) and (F:). Does that clarify for now? Please confirm what you think this machine can do (DVDs okay? -- yes, I have a tray that accepts a disc.)

I have broadband.

[audioboy]

OK, the D drive will be a partition of the main hard drive, with an emergency backup of windows, etc. in case windows gets trashed. nothing for you to do with that, leave it alone.

do the E and F drives both say CD? one of them is likely a CDR drive. on the front of the drive itself, it would probably have an emblem that says compact disc recordable. or, go to my computer, select a CD drive, right click it, select properties. click the hardware tab, and do a search on the make/model number of the CD drives. this will tell you exactly what they are.
one thing to remember, a DVD drive will play CD's, but not the other way around.

post back to this thread whenever you like, I will get an email telling me you did so.

happy to help out!

Edited by audioboy, 28 April 2005 - 01:01 AM.