Audio configuration or troubleshooting

I currently appear to have no sound anywhere on my Lenovo T500.
(I would like to be able to hear sounds from online, eg podcasts and streaming music; and also to play Mp3s on the machine.)

To be clear, when I first got it, at the beginning of the week, I was hearing system alerts. It has always been my own custom to mute them, and I did so on this system (Zorin button>Settings>Sound>Sound effects >On/Off), but at least that is an indicator that something was then working. I have been unable to reverse that in the last 24 hours, however.

May I list the possibilities as I see them at the moment, in my ignorance ?
a. I need an additional driver or bit of system software.
b. I need an MP3 plugin (The system has told me this, and I have authorised it to download and install, but from on-screen evidence, I am not clear whether this has happened.)
c. there is now some physical problem (wiring? connection?) which was not 'there' when I first got the T500. If this is the case, it's above my paygrade - I shall have to take the machine to someone.
d. I've inadvertently altered a setting somewhere.

I have prepared a full response to the system info 'Sticky', and have in the past 24 hours kept a detailed log of what I have tried. I will attach both of them, as odts.

I have used Ctrl Alt T to access the information in one of the uploads, but on the whole, I would prefer to work through the GUI where that is possible.

Many thanks for any assistance - including, perhaps, any links to 'How to's elsewhere.

Sincerely
Ian G
Wales UK

Hi

which Zorin OS version you run?
you refer to sound on/off so do you see this under settings/sound?


+++

Thank for your response.

I am still in Zorin OS 12.3 64-bit.

No, that is not what I see. I attach a dump of what I do see.
Ie I was set to headphones
and volume was @ 100%.

I have now reset to Digital Output, and ‘tested the speakers’. I don’t hear anything, though the icons flash. Should there be sound as part of the test ?

I’m also attaching a dump of the system spec window.
(Am I doing the insert right? Could you see the attachments of my previous post?)

Thanks

Ian G.

See my response here:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13981#p61294

I really appreciate your efforts to help. Thank you.
I have installed Alsa, and then restarted the T500 and gone to the terminal, and this is the result:
ian@ThinkPad-T500:~$ alsa
Usage: /sbin/alsa {unload|reload|force-unload|force-reload|suspend|resume}
ian@ThinkPad-T500:~$

I think I'm going to have to find a PC professional conversant with Linux to look at this for me. It's ironic, because apart from this, the T500 and Zorin are superb, all that I hoped for.
If I understand what turns out to be the problem/solution, I will come back here and record it.
Many thanks

Ian G.

Checkout Wolfman's post install guides Sound section:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9785&p=48475&hilit=Audio+issues#p48475

I took my machine to a local technician who fortunately is a Linux enthusiast, and he 'sorted' my problem very quickly and very cheaply.
Unfortunately, it has taken a couple of days to get more detailed feedback from him.
first, he replied
"the problem was the output device was not set correctly."
I asked for a little more detail, and said
"do you think this was due (a) to the necessary configuration not having taken place or (b) to me having inadvertently altered a setting ?"
His fuller answer was
"In your sound settings panel you can select the default audio device for playback. There are 2 options there where simply the wrong option was set.
I cannot answer the question of A or B "

Hope this record helps someone else in future.

Thanks for help received here.

Ian G
Wales UK

It would be good if you could upload a screenshot.