PC sound only through 1 speaker?

[The Muffin Man]

hey guys, just bought a new home theater consisting of the following:

32" Philips LCD TV (Model Number:32pfl7532d)

Kenwood Home Theater Package, consisting of amp, sub and 5 speakers (Model Number: sat5120)

Samsung Upscaling DVD Player (Model Number: dvd1080p7)

i brought it all home and made the following connections:

DVD player connects to TV/Video via HDMI
DVD player connects to AMP/Audio via Optical

Xbox 360 connects to TV/Video via Composite
Xbox 360 connects to AMP/Audio via Standard left\right analogue rca's

TV connects to AMP/Audio via Coaxial

PC conects to AMP via the following method:

starts with a 3.5mm to 2 rca cable which plugs into the green audio in input on my PC, the cable didnt come in a long enough length so i had to buy a 2 rca to 2 rca adaptor and then a 2 rca to 2 rca cable which then connects to my amp via standard left\right audio.

The problem im having is that when i play music through my PC im only getting sound out of one speaker, all the other units come though on all 5 speakers perfectly.

The AMP has 1 coaxial input being used by my TV and 1 optical being used by my DVD Player, it has about 8 red\white rca inputs though and im using my 360 though one of them with no problems.

Ive tried using different rca channels/inputs and it doesnt work in any of them, ive also tried my 360 in the other rca inputs which worked fine, this leads me to believe its not a problem with the amp but rather a connection problem from my PC, when i go into my sound settings on my PC and do a sound test of my speakers i still only get sound through one speaker, this also tells me its not a problem with the application im using to try and listen to music.

In case it matters, my motherboard is an Abit IP35 (Basic model, not pro).

Any suggestions? is there another way i can connect the pc? it has optical IN but i cant use it as im already using the optical on my AMP for my dvd player.

It also has the following coloured 3.5mm inputs:

Grey/White
Black
Orange
Pink
Blue

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

cheers,
Rhys

 

[MDS]

Look at the 3.5 mm plug. If there is only 1 stripe then it is a mono plug and that is your problem.

If it is a stereo mini plug then perhaps you don't have it fully inserted into the line out jack of the sound card.

 

[The Muffin Man]

Look at the 3.5 mm plug. If there is only 1 stripe then it is a mono plug and that is your problem.

If it is a stereo mini plug then perhaps you don't have it fully inserted into the line out jack of the sound card.

nope it has 2 stripes, although im getting somewhere! when i got your reply i unplugged the cable from my pc's green input on the back and plugged it into the other green input on the top, when i did this a window came up saying a device had been plugged in and to selelect what type of device it was, i chose front speaker out and low and behold i had sound out of all speakers!

But having the cable go to the top of the pc is more then a nuisance! as it barely reaches and is in the way, why do i only get this popup when i plug the cable into the top green input and not the back input?

Ive tried plugging it back into the rear input but the window doesnt pop up and i only egt sound out of 1 speaker again, ARGH!

is there a way to seperately bring up this menu/popup from my PC?

cheers,
Rhys

 

[MDS]

i unplugged the cable from my pc's green input on the back and plugged it into the other green input on the top, when i did this a window came up saying a device had been plugged in and to selelect what type of device it was, i chose front speaker out and low and behold i had sound out of all speakers!

It sounds like that input has jack sensing and is assignable to different functions. The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz I had was like that and you could assign the 'VersaJack' to be analog in, analog out, or digital out.

Without looking for a picture of the motherboard, I don't really understand top vs back. If the motherboard has connectors at both the front and back, usually the outputs are on the back and the inputs are on the front (so you could use them with a case with front panel inputs).

It kind of sounds like you were using the line-in, which is also green, and not the line-out/front speaker out.

 

[The Muffin Man]

yeah i was connecting from the back of the pc tower, i then plugged into the top of the tower and it started working, its just annoying because if i could plug it into the back it would look much less messy, because the cable would be hidden, and it would save me having to buy a $15 extension cable. . .

 

[TLS Guy]

Rear output jack

It sounds to me as if there is something wrong with the wiring to the rear output jack or the wiring to it.
I suspect the rear jack is part of the mother board or sound card. Do you know if this is true? If so the stress of plugging and unplugging often breaks the fragile electroplated connections on the board.
I would inspect the board and check the continuity of the circuit to the output plug. You can then find the break usually, and a spot of solder over the hair line break does the job. Sometimes a wire jumper has to be soldered in.
Also what happens if you plug powered computer speakers into the output jack that is giving you trouble? Do you just get sound from one speaker then?