In a previous post I wrote about my experiences with installing Windows 7 on my Computers and I mentioned that the speakers on my Lenovo T61p do not work with Windows 7. While that was true and little annoying, I usually mute the speakers and use a headset anyways, there is a simple solution to this :-).
I was reading posts in newsgroups and forums about how to install the SoundMax drivers on the laptop so the speakers work again. There is a ton of information out there what version in what order you have to install….. I tried a few of the mentioned techniques, but they did not result in success. I also used the icon on the taskbar, the control panel, and the hardware and device manager to get the speakers going with no success either. The hardware manager was telling me that all sound devices work just fine…..
This week I came across a blog post from Doncho Angelov and he has a simple, yet successful way to solve the problem. It seems that after installation the sound is muted and this does not show in any of the controls on your desktop. But if you use the built in buttons on the keyboard you can un-mute the laptop. THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT IS TO USE THE BUTTONS ON THE KEYBOARD!!!!!!!
Simple, but successful. I then went and got the Lenovo Interface drivers and the OSD software and now everything works. The taskbar speaker symbol shows muted when the speaker is muted and I can use the taskbar icon to change the volume as well as muting and un-muting the sound…..
I guess one of the reasons, why I never tried the volume buttons on the keyboard is the fact that most of the time I use a docking station and have the lid of the laptop closed….. Oh, well….
Hope this helps…… It did the trick for me…..
did you consider downloading system update from lenovo.. it identifies all hardware and installs the latest drivers/bios...
and it works under Win 7 as well :)
just my 2 cent
yes, you are having a point. But the drivers we are talking about are not considered important updates, rather optional and therefore I got bogged down looking for audio drivers and updates to them, but not the Lenovo OSD drivers and the Lenovo interfaces.
The fact that bothered me was that there was no indication that the Lonvo driver hooks into the system leaves the audio hanging with the result above.....
WOW Thank you soo much for solving this mistery for me! I went through the same steps as you did with install/unstall of various drivers in order to get it to work. I would have never imagined that my problem all this time was a "mute button". Thanks again!
Michael.
You mentioned pressing the mute silver button on the laptop keyboard AND installing the Lenovo Interface drivers and the OSD software. I found the Lenovo Interface driver install, but I'm not finding the OSD software. Where can I find that and what does OSD stand for? My guess was operating system drivers??? Thx, Jen :-)
Thanks man, now it works. I just waisted like 8h on this, it's a bit irritating that the solution was so simple...
Thank you! I did the same thing, installed Windows 7 on Z60m, was told to use the XP audio drivers. NOTHING seemed indicate anything wrong. Then I tried the volume buttons on the keyboard after reading this, and it works! How crazy is that?? Thanks again!
Awesome -- this was the issue for me too. Hadn't even noticed the buttons before -- and this is a machine that I've owned for a couple of years.
dude..YOU ROCK !! This worked for me and saved me from dying for the want of music while I work on my laptop !!
This Worked Great!!!!!! It was killing me for weeks...I actually swapped hard drives with another laptop! Thanks for the help!
Nope...this doesnt work all the time!!!...dint work on my lappy...just download the latest updates (including the latest audio drivers for windows 7)...that should solve the problem:):)