How to Hook Up Speakers to a Dell CPU
Hooking up speakers to a Dell computer is a very easy process. The only difficulties are the color coding of the speaker jack, finding the soundboard and downloading the correct software drivers.
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Instructions
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Connecting the Computer Speakers
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1
Locate the back of the computer. On the rear of the computer you will find all the sockets and connections for the various devices that are attached to your computer. The standard setup for most computers is a row of two to four colored sockets measuring 1/8 inch. These sockets will be colored blue, green, black and pink. The socket to plug in a pair of speakers will be colored lime green.
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2
Determine if you have an added sound card. If you have an added sound card in additional to the sound card that is internal to your computer, you will most likely want to use it. Added sound cards produce higher audio quality. Look on the rear of your computer to see if there are two sets of colored sockets. If there are, the row that is part of a metal slot next to other metal slots is the sound card. This is the one you want to use.
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3
Insert the speaker plug into the green speaker socket.
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4
Update sound card drivers and configuration. If the sound card came with the computer, it is probably already installed. If you purchased it, you need to install the drivers that came with the sound card. Follow the directions that came with the sound card. If you do not have any directions or drivers on a disk, you can download them from the website of the manufacturer of the sound card. Popular brands include Creative Sound Blaster, M-Audio and Diamond.
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5
Adjust the settings on your computer. The software that comes with the sound card should make the necessary adjustments to allow your speakers to work properly with your computer. If it does not, you need to manually adjust them. Click on "Start," then click on "Control Panel." Find "Sound and Audio Devices" and click on that. Under the tabs for "Audio" and "Voice," there is an option for a "Default Device." Select the added sound card as your default device on both the "Audio" and "Voice" tabs. Than click "OK."
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure you have downloaded the latest drivers for your sound card, especially if you have changed or updated your Windows operating system.
