headphones work but, built in speakers dont.

[JoeAsphalt]

hi, this is my first post here and I'm looking for some help. i have a semi new black mac book. just today i noticed that there was a red light on inside the head phone jack. i thought that was odd. so i tried to play some music through the built in speakers and nothing came through. when i tried to press the volume buttons, the meter was all the way up with a circle with a slash through it. i went to the sound settings and all that was there to select for out put was the headphones and when i unplugged the headphones, that option went away. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

[Walrus666]

hi, this is my first post here and I'm looking for some help. i have a semi new black mac book. just today i noticed that there was a red light on inside the head phone jack. i thought that was odd. so i tried to play some music through the built in speakers and nothing came through. when i tried to press the volume buttons, the meter was all the way up with a circle with a slash through it. i went to the sound settings and all that was there to select for out put was the headphones and when i unplugged the headphones, that option went away. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Have you tried resetting your PRAM and NVRAM?
Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM

This document explains how to reset the parameter random access memory (PRAM) and nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) on Macintosh computers.

Important: If your computer does not retain parameter RAM (PRAM) settings when it is turned off, this generally indicates that the battery needs to be changed. Refer to Macintosh Family: Batteries and Part Numbers.

Resetting PRAM and NVRAM

Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.

Resetting PMU on PowerBook or iBook computers

In some troubleshooting situations, if resetting PRAM does not resolve an issue, resetting the PMU may be the next appropriate step. For information on when this is appropriate and for instructions on how to reset the PMU in your PowerBook computer, see Resetting PowerBook and iBook Power Management Unit (PMU).

Additional Information

Resetting NVRAM in Open Firmware

If your computer is Open Firmware-based and you are unable to reset NVRAM as described above, you may alternatively reset the NVRAM and Open Firmware settings using the steps in the Solution section of Message “To continue booting, type 'mac-boot' and press return”.

Contents of PRAM

Some Macintosh computers may not have all the settings described below. For Mac OS X information, refer to Mac OS X: What's Stored in PRAM?

Status of AppleTalk
Serial Port Configuration and Port definition
Alarm clock setting
Application font
Serial printer location
Autokey rate
Autokey delay
Speaker volume
Attention (beep) sound
Double-click time
Caret blink time (insertion point rate)
Mouse scaling (mouse speed)
Startup disk
Menu blink count
Monitor depth
32-bit addressing
Virtual memory
RAM disk
Disk cache

 

[JoeAsphalt]

i just tried resetting my PRAM and NVRAM with the instructions you had posted and i still have the speaker problem.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

So, you can't hear sound from the headphone jack, or the speakers. Is that correct? How about system sounds? Have you ever heard a sound?

 

[Walrus666]

i just tried resetting my PRAM and NVRAM with the instructions you had posted and i still have the speaker problem.

How about giving this a shot-
I can't hear sound from my speakers
If you can't hear sound from one or more internal or external speakers, check the following:

If you're trying to listen through your computer's built-in speakers, unplug any headphones or external speakers. If you have headphones or external speakers plugged into your computer's headphone jack, your built-in speakers won't work. If you're using Apple Pro speakers, unplug any headphones.
If you're trying to listen through external speakers, make sure the speakers are plugged into your computer, and if necessary, into a power supply. Also make sure they are turned on.
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences and click Sound. Make sure the Mute checkbox is not selected, and that the "Output volume" slider is not all the way to the left.
If you're trying to listen through your computer's built-in speakers or Apple Pro speakers, make sure “Built-in Audio” is selected in the Output pane of Sound preferences. If you're trying to listen through external USB speakers, make sure the external speakers are selected in the Output pane.

If you're using your computer's digital output port (not available on all computers), make sure Digital Output is selected in the Output pane of Sound preferences. Also make sure your computer is connected to a digital-ready receiver using an optical digital cable, and that your receiver is set up for digital input (see the information that came with your receiver).
If you're trying to listen through external speakers, open System Profiler (in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder), and make sure you see your speakers listed.
Make sure any volume controls in the application you're using aren't turned all the way down.
Try playing a different audio file or CD, or try playing the file or CD on another computer or CD player to make sure there is nothing wrong with the audio you're trying to listen to.
If your external speakers still aren't working, check the information that came with your speakers.

 

[JoeAsphalt]

ok let me try and explainthis again, because this is a little confusing.

keep in mind that my computer was running as smooth as a baby's but before all of this. this just happend oe day out of the blue:

I can hear sound, all sounds my computer makes when i have my headphones plugged in. when i take the headphones out i get no sound. when i try to press the volume button on the keypad first i notice that a red light in the headphone jack come on, then the sound meter comes up with the sound showing all the way up with a circle with a line through it on top of the sound meter. now when i go to system pref. to check the output all that i can select in the window is the headphones, nothing else is there for me to select. this is a black mac book about 6 months old. once again any help at all would be appreciated. i'm hoping that you guys can figure out what is wrong before i have to call up mac nd pay an arm and a leg.

thank you for you time

 

[Walrus666]

ok let me try and explainthis again, because this is a little confusing.

keep in mind that my computer was running as smooth as a baby's but before all of this. this just happend oe day out of the blue:

I can hear sound, all sounds my computer makes when i have my headphones plugged in. when i take the headphones out i get no sound. when i try to press the volume button on the keypad first i notice that a red light in the headphone jack come on, then the sound meter comes up with the sound showing all the way up with a circle with a line through it on top of the sound meter. now when i go to system pref. to check the output all that i can select in the window is the headphones, nothing else is there for me to select. this is a black mac book about 6 months old. once again any help at all would be appreciated. i'm hoping that you guys can figure out what is wrong before i have to call up mac nd pay an arm and a leg.


thank you for you time

Hello, the next time that you go to "Sound" in System Preferences make sure that your headphones are disconnected. If your headphones are disconnected, you should see an option for your internal speakers.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Can you try this JoeAsphalt?

First, plug in a USB device (iPod, hard drive, etc. and then plug headphones into the headphone slot, then uplug them. See if this turns off the optical light you see in the headphone jack. Hopefully, you'll have sound again.

Or you could try this:

Frilly toothpicks - you like them, I do! My wifes Mac Book (white) did the same thing one day: red light out of audio jack and only the headphones would work.

So, took a frilly, umbrella toothpick and "tapped the metallic sensors inside - pulling the toothpick out after each gentle push. Finally, pushed the tooth pick fully in GENTLY for a few seconds and removed.

Red light flickered and vanished.

Got the above from here.

 

[JoeAsphalt]

Hello, the next time that you go to "Sound" in System Preferences make sure that your headphones are disconnected. If your headphones are disconnected, you should see an option for your internal speakers.

when i go to sound pref. all i see, even when the headphones arent plugged in, is digital out. i think i might try the tooth pick thing. hopefully that works

 

[Walrus666]

when i go to sound pref. all i see, even when the headphones arent plugged in, is digital out. i think i might try the tooth pick thing. hopefully that works

The toothpick thing should work. If you don't have a toothpick, try sticking your headphone plug in, wiggling and turning it a few times, taking it back out and repeating the process a few times or so.