Hey all, I'm having a slight problem with my Dell 8400, specs: P4 550,3.4ghz (HT),1gig ddr2,integrated sound,ati radeonx300se. very low volume, and 56K PCI Data Fax Modem( going on second replacement). I am using powered speakers connections are all correct. Integrated Audio is turned on in BIOS, all volume settings are as high as they can go. I've replaced the hardware,drivers,done a system restore,used a different PCI slot, checked settings in Device Mgr. no exclamation marks on anything. Any help with the volume would be appreciated. I do have a Creative Soundblaster card from an old puter but the jumper connections don't fit anything on the new board. Since it (puter) is still under warranty, a new sound card is probably a last resort. any and all help would be appreciated. andrew

Guess I'll ask a few obvious ?'s just to make sure.

• Do the speakers have a volume control dial? Are you certain the speakers work correctly? Even if they're new, they could be defective.
• Does it make a difference if the audio cable is plugged into the headphone jack or the line-out? (The line-out is not amplified whereas the headphone jack is; line-out is the one to use when connecting to external speakers).
• Are the speakers connected to the audio card and not the modem? (I've helped 2 people who had this problem).

Well, I fixed the problem. Since the Integrated Audio is 5.1 Surround Sound I bought surround sound speakers and guess what my volume is normal. tks for the help.