# Both of my computer's sound inputs (separate cards) suddenly don't work

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/both-of-my-computers-sound-inputs-separate-cards-suddenly-dont-work/308769>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 18, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/both-of-my-computers-sound-inputs-separate-cards-suddenly-dont-work/308769 "2005-06-18T01:01:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/both-of-my-computers-sound-inputs-separate-cards-suddenly-dont-work/308769/1 "2005-06-18T01:01:42Z")

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I have two sound inputs; one is on a SB Audigy and the other is on the motherboard. They both worked fine for a long time, and then the other day after plugging in my microphone, suddenly neither works. I tried multiple mics, so that’s not it. Any possible explanations?

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**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/both-of-my-computers-sound-inputs-separate-cards-suddenly-dont-work/308769/2 "2005-06-18T01:07:55Z")

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Sorry, I made a mistake. Actually, it’s just the SB Audigy that doesn’t work. Still, any possible explanations for it suddenly dying? Any settings I should check? I thought I looked at everything, but maybe I missed something.

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**Author:** ![pace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pace)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/both-of-my-computers-sound-inputs-separate-cards-suddenly-dont-work/308769/3 "2005-06-18T03:51:08Z")

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Hi Cagey Drifter,

A few things to check:

1. Is your onboard sound card disabled? Usually most onboard soundcards are bypassed if you have another one plugged into a PCI slot but this is where I would look first. Look in your BIOS setup and see what it says. Sometimes, if the onboard is not disabled, the one in the PCI slot doesn’t work.

2. Are you connecting your mic into the right port on the right card?

3. Check the drivers for the Audigy. Check also if there are any errors reported under System → Properties.

p.s. Check also your volume control. 🙂