Absolute Beginners Guide to Upgrading and Fixing Your PC

Upgrade #1: Connecting New Speakers

You'd think that installing a new set of speakers would be as simple as disconnecting your old speakers and then reconnecting your new ones. In the most basic sense, it is but the non-standard nature of PC speaker connections can complicate things.

Let's start with the easy steps first:

1. Open the Windows Control Panel, select Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices, and then Sounds and Audio Devices. When the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box opens, mute your PC's sound.

2. Disconnect your existing speakers from your PC.

3. If your existing speakers are powered, disconnect them from their power source.

4. Connect your new speakers to your PC, as directed in the speaker system's instruction manual.

5. If your new speakers are powered, connect them to a power source and turn them on.

6. Return to the Windows Sound utility and unmute your PC's sound

Simple enough. But exactly how you connect your speakers to your PC depends on the type of sound card and the type of speakers you have.

Computer systems that have motherboard-based audio, as well as some low-end sound cards, are incredibly simple in terms of their connections. In most instances, you're likely to encounter a single speaker out jack and that's all.

In this type of setup, you typically connect the primary or lead speaker to the speaker out jack, and then connect the secondary speaker to the lead speaker. Sometimes you connect the subwoofer to the speaker out jack, and then connect the other speakers to the subwoofer. Other times you connect a kind of Y adapter to the speaker out jack, and then connect the left and right speakers to this adapter. Consult your speaker instructions for more specifics then make sure the speakers are positioned for the best possible sound.

Higher-end sound cards will have separate output jacks for each channel or, in some cases, combo jacks for front left/right and rear left/right. How you connect your speakers to this type of card depends on the specific connectors you have on your speaker system. Again, it's best to consult your speaker instructions.

The challenge in working with high-end speakers and sound cards is matching the output jacks on the sound card with the corresponding connectors on your speaker system. The best advice I can give you is to read all your manuals thoroughly, and be prepared for a trip to your local Radio Shack for whatever additional adapters you might need.