Question : Problem: Switching between internal speakers and external sound card on laptop

Hi,

I have just purchased a Dell XPS M1530. For use with my 5.1 speakers I also bought an external Sound Blaster card. The external card, along with my other paraphernalia, is connected to the laptop through a Kensington USB hub. The laptop runs Vista Ultimate.

My issue is this: I seem to be unable to switch between the internal speakers and the external sound card without rebooting the PC. I cannot seem to find anywhere I can switch between the two. Maybe this is as it should be, I just have trouble believing that in this USB age it is not possible to hot switch between the two?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Answer : Problem: Switching between internal speakers and external sound card on laptop

It is possible, if you right click your volume control icon in the task bar, click Playback devices, right click the device in the list you want to use and select "Set as Default device" - if you then unplug the device it will revert back to the previous default, plug it back in and it will again become the default device.

thats the way I go with switching my output between HDMI to my Samsung TV and USB to my Logitech Z10 speakers. You will probably find you will need to restart the application thats actually providing the sound whenever you change the sound device.

Not great, and sometimes Vista does have to be rebooted ( intermittent fault ) sometimes when I want to switch my second screen from my Samsung Synchmaster monitor to my Samsung TV, I have to reboot - more often than not, I dont have to reboot. just another vista bug realy.