Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

No Built-in Audio

S

Shikari

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 26, 2009
11
0
Hi there,

My Black Macbook's (2.16GHz Core 2 Duo) in-built audio has suddenly stopped working. There is no 'Dong' at the startup. In the system profiler under the 'Audio (Built In)' tab it says that there is 'No Built-In Audio'. I can't change the volume or anything and in system prefs under sound is says no output devices are found. Has my soundcard fried? Is there anyway of replacing it fairly cheaply? My macbook is out of warenty unfortuantly! Is the only other option buying a cheap USB soundcard ? If so does anyone know of any slimline ones that would work?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
 
If it's on the logic board, it won't be worth it (or if it's just the LB at fault). Check out http://www.welovemacs.com for the part. It's possible that it could be part of another board (like the DC IN) board, or could be it's own. Either would be far better than it being part of the LB (which off the top of my head I believe it is).
 
Thanks for the reply !

Is there anyway i can tell what is broken without sending it off to Apple?
Thanks!
 
Ehhhhhhhh..... the only way to be 100% is with another working part to test it with, really.

It looks like all the ports for the MB are on the board itself:

lovemacs_2064_368165349

(looks like it's around $500, potentially without the CPU's on it)

However, the first thing you can do is a fresh install of your OS, to rule out any potential software problems. After that, you could use an external replacement. Like a USB/FireWire sound card that can have audio in/out ports on them. That would ultimately be the cheapest and easiest method. (hopefully the USB ports aren't out too).
 
Ahh man! The motherboards are so expensive! I guess i'll just restore the OS to see if anythings wrong, do i have to back up all my data when doing this?
 
Shikari said:
Ahh man! The motherboards are so expensive! I guess i'll just restore the OS to see if anythings wrong, do i have to back up all my data when doing this?
Click to expand...

You should always have your data backed up. But you can also use 'Archive and Install'.
 
If the audio isn't playing at startup, it isn't a software problem and it is without a doubt a logic board (partial) failure.
If you need reassurance, just call AppleCare.
 
geoffreak said:
If the audio isn't playing at startup, it isn't a software problem and it is without a doubt a logic board (partial) failure.
If you need reassurance, just call AppleCare.
Click to expand...

This is what i was thinking!! Ahhh I guess i'll just call AppleCare. Is there anyway to get a quote online by the way?
 
If your computer is out of warranty, you would be best off buying a replacement logic board off eBay or just buying a new machine. A logic board can be worth more than a similarly spec'ed used machine.
 
geoffreak said:
If your computer is out of warranty, you would be best off buying a replacement logic board off eBay or just buying a new machine. A logic board can be worth more than a similarly spec'ed used machine.
Click to expand...

Ahh that actually sucks so much! :(
I was looking at a USB stick audio like this though ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330336301294&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:GB:1123 Would that work?

If not how much do you think i could sell it on ebay for? Everything else works fine and all in good condition ;)
 
I would highly advise against buying any kind of USB audio system unless you are 100% sure it will work with Macs. Some of these devices aren't plug and play and require special drivers to be written for Mac OSX.

You could likely get around 70% of the value that a working similarly spec'ed computer would go for. If you are going to upgrade, just get a newer model instead of replacing it with the same model.
 
If you are looking for a simple USB soundcard the Griffin iMic works great, 100% plug and play, no software needed. I have the old version and it's actually better than what's in my macbook.
 
I actually had this problem with my iMac G5. Turns out the cause was, of all things, bad plist files. Deleting these 2 files and restarting cured it.

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist

Where the initial / means the root of your boot drive.
 
Thanks for the reply but i cant find those files in the Preferences folder ! Any help?
 
Before you got reinstalling and stuff i had a wee problem with my old macbook they other day that sounds exactly the same.

Now i assume at some point you use external speakers or a headset, well take a look in the sound out port and see if a red light is on if it is it means the digital audio switch is stuck and fiddling with a headphone jack will usually re lock it back off.
 
Shikari said:
Thanks for the reply but i cant find those files in the Preferences folder ! Any help?
Click to expand...

They may be hidden in Finder so try running the following commands in Terminal (and type in the admin password when required):
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist

If you don't get any errors, the deletion worked and you can restart your computer.
 
geoffreak said:
They may be hidden in Finder so try running the following commands in Terminal (and type in the admin password when required):
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist

If you don't get any errors, the deletion worked and you can restart your computer.
Click to expand...

copying and pasting those into Terminnal says "No such file or directory" ? Am i doing something wrong?

And to babyjennifer, i have tried that but there is no red light in the headphone port :(
 
Oh, there also is Apple's flat rate repair. If they are still doing it (have been forever, haven't checked since a year ago), then that might be a good route to go. It's not worth it if your machine is physically damaged (i.e., water damage, drop damage, cracks, dents), but they will replace anything wrong with the machine for a flat rate. Off the top of my head, it would be roughly ~$275. Even if it's a $900 logic board and hard drive and optical drive, they will fix it for whatever their flat rate is for that machine. The warranty on the fix only lasts for 90 days, however.

Might be a good idea if you want your board replaced or plan on selling it, but I still think an external option would be easiest.
 
madog said:
Oh, there also is Apple's flat rate repair. If they are still doing it (have been forever, haven't checked since a year ago), then that might be a good route to go. It's not worth it if your machine is physically damaged (i.e., water damage, drop damage, cracks, dents), but they will replace anything wrong with the machine for a flat rate. Off the top of my head, it would be roughly ~$275. Even if it's a $900 logic board and hard drive and optical drive, they will fix it for whatever their flat rate is for that machine. The warranty on the fix only lasts for 90 days, however.

Might be a good idea if you want your board replaced or plan on selling it, but I still think an external option would be easiest.
Click to expand...

Ahhh i dont think they do that anymore! Well not in England anyway :( Thanks for that though! :D
Any other ideas anyone?
 
I'm stumped. I ran the Apple Hardware test using the Mac OS X Install disc and after a long hour test it found no hardware problems! Feeling happy that it would be a software problem i just re-installed OS X to still find the same problem! I don't know what to do anymore... anyone want to buy my laptop?! :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back