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kjannot

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speaker/headphone jack stopped working

The speaker/headphone jack on my Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505 seems to have stopped working. The internal speakers continue to work, but anything plugged into the jack has the effect of muting everything. The external speakers I did have plugged into it still work when connected to another device, so that isn't the problem--and, plugging headphones into the jack has the same effect.

What can I do to fix this problem? This computer is no longer under warranty, by the way.
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theras2000
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We can assume the jack is dead so you have 3 options:
1. get a new motherboard, because the headphone jack would be attached, so you gotta replace the whole thing - expensive and tricky.
2. get USB speakers - cheap and easy.
3. get a USB sound card, which will have a headphone jack - cheap and may require some reconfigurations.
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kjannot

ASKER

I have usb headphones--would the usb adapter for those work with the speakers that I have?
Sorry I didn't see that before I posted.
No, if you want to use your old speakers, you need to plug them into a 3.5" jack, which USB speakers wouldn't have, but a usb sound card would.
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Oh, I see. I was hoping that with this pair of headphones I have--actually 3.5" mic/headphones with a usb adapter (Plantronics) -- the usb adapter would also work with the speakers. No?
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theras2000
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ASKER

Yay, it works! Thanks. I hadn't even thought of trying that.
Well you kind of found the answer yourself anyway ;>