Headphone jack doesn't show up in System Preferences

I have a late 2010 Mac Pro. The headphone jack used to work fine when I first got it in December of last year. The jack showed up in System Preferences and I was able to switch between my speakers and the headphones easily. I later got a USB headset and haven't used the headphone jack in a few months.

Today, my USB headset goes on the fritz and I try to connect headphones to the headphone jack. Unfortunately, they don't show up in System Preferences, so I can't select the headphone output. I reset the computer and it still doesn't show up.

I tried Sound Source, but it also doesn't show the headphone port.

Please advise.

diazj3 said:

The Headphone output shows up when you connect headphones to it. It replaces the Internal Speaker when it becomes active.

View attachment 276642 View attachment 276641

Try resetting PRAM and SMC if it still doesn't show.

Cheers

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It doesn't show up when I connect my headphones either.

What are PRAM and SMC?

Thanks for your help. On examining my headphone port more closely, I think it's a hardware problem--the headphone just goes into the jack and I don't feel any kind of resistance like I do in a working headphone jack.