No sound coming from laptop speakers

Question

Recently, my laptop's speakers have stopped producing any sounds.

Its a very weird problem.

1) The internal/built in speakers used to work fine, but now no sound comes out.

2) If I put in the ear phones that came with my mobile phone, no sound can be heard in them (used to work previously)

3) If I use an external headphone, then sounds can be heard, but with a lot of static and very hard to understand.

What could be the problem?

I'm using Windows XP.

Answer 1

This really does sound like a hardware problem. Before you go to the trouble and expense of opening it up however, I suggest you try one or more of the following:

1. System Restore to a time when the speakers worked.
2. Linux live CD
3. Reinstall the drivers - should be available on the manufacturer's website.

If the problem remains, there's nothing for it but to open the case. It may be nothing more serious than a card or cable needing reseating.