Dell XPS M1330 speaker issues

Question

My Dell XPS M1330 speakers are not working ever since I installed Windows 7. I am also running Ubuntu and the speakers work fine there. The headphone jack works under both OSes. Which driver I should upgrade to sort out this issue?

Answer 1

You've already made it through most of the troubleshooting. The speakers work under Ubuntu so you know it is not a hardware issue; both the speakers and soundcard are fine. The speakers worked under whatever previous Windows installation you had. It seems to be something related to Windows 7.

1. This might seem trivial, but the first thing I'd do in Windows is click the Volume Control on the task bar. Open that and make sure nothing is muted and the volumes are up.
2. Since the headphone jack works, it may not be a driver issue at all. Still it's an easy thing to make sure of. Go to Dell's support site and download the most recent driver for your soundcard. Install and reboot.
3. Look in Device Manager to make sure all components are working without error.
4. If the driver setup installed brand-specific software or Control Panel items, make sure nothing is muted or misconfigured there.

Answer 2

I found the solution for the problem. I upgraded to latest SigmaTel driver. Please see my blog post.