How to Troubleshoot Altec Lansing Computer Speakers

Over time, you may begin to notice decreased sound reproduction quality from Altec Lansing computer speakers. There can be many causes of decreased sound reproduction quality in computer speakers. Determining the cause of the trouble is an easy process. Depending on the nature of the problem, solving may be easy to moderately easy.

Things You'll Need

• Contact cleaner
• Dust wipes
• Cotton swab
• Wire ties
• Screwdriver

Instructions

Detecting Sound Problems

1. Detecting the sound problem requires an ear for detail. If the sound appears to be coming from one speaker and not the others, check the balance settings on both your computer volume control and your media player application such as Real Player, Winamp or Windows Media Player. If the balance settings are correct on your media player, check to ensure that the wires for both speakers are connected. Make the necessary connection changes. If your speakers still don't work properly, proceed to Step 2.

2. Sometimes the wires which connect from the speakers to the sound card on your computer can become tangled among the wires used to connect other devices to your computer. This can cause your PC speakers do deliver poor sound quality. Use a wire tie to group together the wires for your speakers separately from other wires to prevent tangling.

3. Sometimes dust can accumulate both on the inside and on the outside of your computer speakers. This can cause hissing or noise when you adjust the volume in your speakers. Use dust wipes to remove outer dust from your computer speakers. Use contact cleaner to remove dust from the inside of your speakers.

4. To clean dust from the inside of your speakers, first ensure the speaker power supply is unplugged. Use the appropriate screwdriver to dismantle the speakers. Spray a little contact cleaner on the circuit boards to remove dust and other buildup. Use a cotton swab sprayed with contact cleaner inside the headphone jack of your speakers, and around the volume knob to cleanse the headphone port from dust.

5. Allow the contact cleaner to dry for up to an hour before reassembling the computer speakers. After an hour, reassemble the speakers. Connect them to your computer. Verify working order of the speakers.

Tips & Warnings

• To avoid dust buildup on the inside and outside of your computer speakers, dust them at least once a week. Also, try to avoid smoking in front of your computer, as the residue from cigarette smoke can compromise the sound quality of your speakers.

• Be sure to unplug your speakers before you begin disassembling them to spray the contact cleaner.