Re: Headset Port Broken, looking to use Mic port for sound

Hey,

I have an Ispiron 640m laptop with Windows xp.

I'm pretty sure the headset port is broken, does anyone know of a way to get the Mic Port to output sound to headphones?

Is it possible to switch the ports usages?

I'm using a SigmaTel soundcard, I don't know the model.

I was looking through the forums and I found this:

http://dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_audio&message.id=29912

I gave it a try but it either it wasn't what I wanted or it didn't work because I can't hear anything through my mic port still.

Also I can't get any sound off my laptop speakers I'm pretty sure its because the audio is stuck on headphones, I've tried to push the headphones in and out a few times to trip it back to speakers but its a no go!

I know the speakers work because I could hear sound when I did the Dell Diagnostic thing.

I think you want a way to do this using software, not by taking apart the computer and trying to move jacks around, correct? Your jacks do have some software reconfiguration potential, but the Sigmatel driver you have does not allow for switching the headphone output to the mic jack. If it is possible, which I am not sure of, at the minimum you need to hack the inf files of the driver to get some added functionality in the driver. I will paste in instructions for the hack.

After that you will need to read Veazer's thread from the beginning to see what they discovered about switching the output jacks after the hack, because I do not remember the specifics and don't have the time right now to re-read the thread.

Jim 

 There is a very long thread at notebookforums.com called "Hacking SigmaTel Drivers for E1705/9400, i need knowledgable helpers", started by Veazer. Another poster working with him, falerus, found that he could unlock a number of controls and features in the SigmaTel audio driver by modifying a certain inf file in the R122161 audio driver. Building on falerus's ideas, eddiep, cais, and EagleGT modified inf files for other Dell laptops that also use the SigmaTel 92xx audio chip and R122161 driver.

E1405/640m:

1. Look at falerus's post (#290 on page 20 of the thread) for his link to the modified 92XXM2-1.ini file. You will need to register to get it, then download and unzip it. 

cais inf file for E1405 as modified by falerus

2. Uninstall your SigmaTel driver through Add/Remove programs and download the Dell R122161 SigmaTel driver for XP.  (The R122161 is the particular driver that was hacked. Windows Vista users should also use it.)

R122161 driver

3. Run the file. It will unpack the files to the location you specify and then start to install the driver. Cancel the InstallShield installation.

4. Go to the folder where the files were unpacked and browse to the "WDM" folder (C:\Dell\drivers\R122161\WDM).

5. Copy the modified 92XXM2-1.ini into that WDM folder, overwriting the existing one.

6. Go back up one folder to "R122161" (C:\Dell\drivers\R122161).

7. Double click and run Setup.exe. (You might want to turn off your antivirus program first.) The new installation puts a full featured SigmaTel audio control panel in the Windows Control Panel.

8. Restart

9. To enable Stereo Mix, go to Control Panel/Sounds, open the record tab, right click to display disabled devices then right click the Stereo Mix entry and enable it. 

Took me a couple days to get the right drivers and how to edit the registry but it was all in the thread!

Thanks a ton jimco works like a charm, have output now through my mic port

:smileyvery-happy:

After you invested all of that time I'm glad it worked. I didn't know if it would or not so thanks for the feedback.

Jim