Troubleshooting audio problems

[Jim Bretti]

This post has some troubleshooting tips for dealing with problems related to audio. This includes problems such as not being able to hear any sound, as well as errors from the Sapi speech interface that point to problems with the audio on your system.

If you're having any type of audio problem try following these steps:

First, make sure your PC will play other audio files by playing some of the samples at http://www.nextup.com/nvsamples.html. If you have any problems listening to these sound files, there is a problem with your computer's audio system. You can continue with the following steps to troubleshoot.

To begin troubleshooting, start off with some simple things that are sometimes overlooked:
(1). If you're using external speakers, make sure the speakers are properly connected and the volume is turned up.
(2). Try setting the volume slider in the TextAloud main window to its maximum value. That is, move the volume slider all the way to the right.
(3). Try rebooting. Sometimes a reboot will clear things up.
(4). If you have a soundcard with multiple outputs, such as a sound card that supports surround sound, your speakers may be plugged into the wrong output. Often programs like media player and other things that make sound will output sounds to all outputs, but if you are plugged into an output for rear speakers, TTS programs using Microsoft Speech may only output sounds to the front speakers.

If none of these simple checks help, the next thing to look at is some audio settings in TextAloud and Windows

(5). Check to see if you are able to preview voices from the Windows speech control panel. See viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6076 for instructions on displaying the control panel.

(6). Check the windows mixer
For XP - Double click the speaker icon on the system tray area of the start bar near the clock, or by going in windows to Start->All Programs->Accessories->Entertainment->Volume Control. Make sure that all volumes are turned up and that non of them have Mute checked.

For Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 - Click the speaker icon in the system tray, and click "Mixer". You should see a separate volume slider for each audio application on your system, including TextAloud. Make sure the TextAloud volume slider is turned up, and that audio is not muted. Click the speaker icon beneath the slider to mute / unmute audio. Also, the mixer display should normally show "Speakers" as the device (on the far left). If the device is anything other than Speakers, you should be able to right click speaker icon in the tray, click "Playback Devices", and select "Speakers" as the playback device.

(7). From the TextAloud Tools menu, click Advanced Options -> Audio Device Selection. Try selecting different devices from this dialog as your TextAloud audio device. If this doesn't help, you should reset the device to the default setting (Wave Mapper).

(8). In Windows, you may be able to configure your sound card for stereo, 4-channel / 6-channel surround sound. It is worth trying to experiment with these settings to see if they make a difference.

(9). Run Windows Update, and make sure all important / recommended updates are applied. If there are any optional updates that you have not installed, check through the optional updates for anything that may be related to your audio system, and apply these updates.

(10). At this point it is worth checking for the lastest drivers for your audio hardware.

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