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My Mac Has No Sound .. Ideas?

D

Danielskid

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 26, 2013
7
0
Hi all, Im new here and kinda new to the Mac world. Im very good with PC's but never really had the chance to mess with a Mac.

I have a 2008 MacBook Air and the sound doesnt work. When you volume up or down it just shows the icon with a line through it. Like the 'Prohibited sign'. Someone asked me if it worked with headphones. No, still no sound. Someone on here suggested that I wiggle the head phone jack inside the Mac, that maybe something was hung/stuck and that didnt work either.

I bought a CD/DVD external drive for it and freshly reformatted it. I did it for other reasons besides the sound not working, but in hopes that it would somehow fix my problem. Everything works perfectly except the sound and now Idk where to turn.

Since its a 2008 Mac, I dont know if it would be worth getting it fixed. I was told that it costs $300 just for Apple to look at it, then once they determine the problem you pay for parts and labor. So if that is the case, then it doesnt seem smart to spend $400-550 when its not even worth that in perfect condition.

Is there any other things I could try?
What piece of equipment needs replaced?
Could I do it myself?

Was contemplating selling it, just because I never use it. I was gonna use it solely for music, but the volume not working kinda foils that plan.

Please help!

Thanks!

33a9jzb.jpg
 
Open System Preferences>Sound>Input, are there any output devices there.

Example below in screenshot.
 

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I post this just to show you the air has a separate sound board, if later on we come to the conclusion that the soundboard or Audio cable is broken you could look here how to fix this.

MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Audio Board Replacement

The above is for the Audio board, below is the repair page for the whole machine:

MacBook Air 13" Models A1237 and A1304 Installation Guides

But, don't know if this board also provides audio out to the headphone jacks, you can look and see for yourself.

XobqhO1uVGHWbqnS.medium
 
justperry said:
Open System Preferences>Sound>Input, are there any output devices there.

Example below in screenshot.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the fast reply. Im at work and the Mac is at home. I will look when I get home tomorrow evening.

Ill let you know ASAP. Thanks again!
 
Problem. Im on the Mac now and I click < System Preferences > and nothing opens up. It goes from < Safari > to < System Preferences > up at the top left, but no windows or anything open. So I click on View then click on Sound but nothing opens. When I go back to View, Sound is ' check marked '. Im pretty sure Im the administrator or what ever, so idk whats up??



:::::EDIT::::::

I need to do a software update - Front Row Update Version 2.1.7 (13.8MB) Mac OS X Update Combined 10.5.8 (768MB)
 
Last edited:
I have tried installing the updates 3x's now and it always pauses/stops at some point during the update. I went to bed and when I woke up it hadnt moved at all. It stops at different points of the update I noticed. Maybe I have a bigger problem than my sound not working...?
 
Try this

Sometime ago I had the exact same problem (no sound) in my 2009 MBP. It drove me crazy for well over a week. In my case it turned out that the headphone port was jammed. All it took to solve the problem was to insert the headphone jack a couple of times and the MBP was "noisy" again.
I'm not saying this will solve it for you but may be worth a try
 
XoFu said:
Sometime ago I had the exact same problem (no sound) in my 2009 MBP. It drove me crazy for well over a week. In my case it turned out that the headphone port was jammed. All it took to solve the problem was to insert the headphone jack a couple of times and the MBP was "noisy" again.
I'm not saying this will solve it for you but may be worth a try
Click to expand...
I tried this and still nothing :(

Did you just plug it in and out or did you wiggle it around?
 
Danielskid said:
I tried this and still nothing :(

Did you just plug it in and out or did you wiggle it around?
Click to expand...

Seems you have OS problems since System Preferences is not opening.

Yu could try to install a clean OS on an external medium, even a USB stick will do, minimum 8 GB.
Then boot from it, if you have sound there you know your OS is affected.
 
Consultant said:
It costs NOTHING for Apple to look at it.
Click to expand...
The only place I know of where there is a Apple store is in my local mall. I havent tried to contact them yet, but my friend (who i got the Mac from) said it cost money for them to look at it. Then parts and labor would be more on top of that. I just dont wanna spend $300ish dollars to fix it when its barely worth that.

Seems you have OS problems since System Preferences is not opening.

Yu could try to install a clean OS on an external medium, even a USB stick will do, minimum 8 GB.
Then boot from it, if you have sound there you know your OS is affected
Click to expand...
Thanks. I will try this next.


I brought my Mac to work and was going to try and download/install a update using their super fast internet, but it pauses at about 20% every time. I dont understand. Im definitely thinking I have OS problems. Is there really any other reason as to why it would download the update?
 
Danielskid said:
The only place I know of where there is a Apple store is in my local mall. I havent tried to contact them yet, but my friend (who i got the Mac from) said it cost money for them to look at it. Then parts and labor would be more on top of that. I just dont wanna spend $300ish dollars to fix it when its barely worth that.
Click to expand...

I do believe they will at least diagnose it for free. If it's a simple problem you've overlooked they will most likely fix it for free as well.
 
:::::::UPDATE:::::::::

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

Ok I tried resetting the NVRAM and PRAM by restarting the Mac and holding Command-Option-P-R.

It didnt work. This is what I did step by step and what happened.

I powered on the Mac while holding the buttons said above.
Nothing happened other than a white screen then a black screen.
White screen on for 20 secs > Black screen for 20secs > White screen for 20 secs > Black screen for 20 secs.

I did that for about 3 minutes all while holding down the keys ( was I ever suppose to let up on them? ) and it just keep alternating screens every 20 secs or so.

I eventually let off the keys and the Mac started up like usual.

I dont know what screen was SUPPOSE to come up, but I dont think anything happened.
 
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