Thinkpads Forum

I have a T60 (2623-D6U) with an Advanced Dock. Here is my problem:

1. On board audio (the T60 speakers) works fine. However, when you plug external speakers into the headphone jack, it shuts down the onboard speakers, but nothing comes out of the external speakers.

2. Same thing happens when it is docked - on board sound is shut down when there are external speakers connected to the headphone jack on the dock, but nothing comes out of the external speakers, either; if the plug is removed from the dock, sound comes from the onboard speakers.

I have drilled down through every menu I can think of looking at audio settings, uninstalled/reinstalled the audio drivers and SoundMax, and updated everything else. The external speakers are powered up, the volume is up, and it is plugged into the right jack.

Please tell me what I am missing.

I suppose you have tried plugging in your external speakers to another portable device, such as an IPOD, Walkman, or the like. Do they work fine? If the onboard speakers are working fine as you say, and the external speakers and cable are working fine, then I believe your problem is with the headphone jack itself. By chance have you tried any headphones in the jack?

GomJabbar wrote:I suppose you have tried plugging in your external speakers to another portable device, such as an IPOD, Walkman, or the like. Do they work fine? If the onboard speakers are working fine as you say, and the external speakers and cable are working fine, then I believe your problem is with the headphone jack itself. By chance have you tried any headphones in the jack?

Well, that solved the problem. I plugged some headphones into the jack on the dock, and they worked. That led me to check the speaker connections by hand (instead of visually). I found the wire from the jack on the dock to the subwoofer was loose, but not enough to be pulled out of the socket. Fixed that, and things work fine. Subwoofer does not work, I suspect I would need an external soundcard for that.

Glad to hear it.

I would think the subwoofer would work if it is powered. Does your subwoofer have it's own volume control (many do)? You shouldn't need an external sound card just for the subwoofer.

GomJabbar wrote:Glad to hear it.

I would think the subwoofer would work if it is powered. Does your subwoofer have it's own volume control (many do)? You shouldn't need an external sound card just for the subwoofer.

Yes, it does have it's own volume control. It is a Logitech Z-4i. I played an MP3 when I got it to work, only sound was from the top two speakers. I will have to play with it some more when I get home, see if I can get it to work.