Lenovo x230, Windows 8 and 8.1: Sound Cutting Out

locafoca

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Description of problem: at some point when playing audio, sound will cut out. The levels will still be moving on the mixer, but no sound will come through the speakers or sound jack. It seems that soon after I've closed all sound-producing applications, sound returns. [DEL]I am 50-75% sure that this is strictly a sound jack issue, as I don't remember being able to reproduce the issue without the sound jack being active when the audio drops out.[/DEL] Frequently, bumping my headphones' cord seems to cause the problem, but other times, the problem seems to happen on a click, a loud sound, or seemingly nothing at all.

[DEL]I am unsure of how to reliably reproduce the problem, so it is difficult to diagnose whether or not the problem can be reproduced when the sound jack is not active. This isn't common use for me...[/DEL]

Origin: Appeared mid-October, around the same time I had upgraded to the newest drivers (where the old ones were from earlier than May 2013). All were downloaded through the Lenovo website and/or Lenovo's System Update utility, with the exception of the Intel graphics drivers, which were downloaded through the Intel website. At this point, I was running Windows 8, not Windows 8.1. I installed Windows 8.1 recently, and the problem remains.

What I've tried: disabling drivers, reinstalling drivers, disabling sound effects, disabling audio application overrides...

What I haven't tried: rolling back drivers (being honest, I have a bit of trouble believing that this is strictly a driver issue at this point.)

It's probably worth mentioning the possibility of liquid damage, as a beverage was spilled onto the lower right side of the laptop, near to the headphone jack about a week or two before I first noticed the problem. However, the fact that this problem can most (all?) of the time be fixed by closing all applications and fiddling with the mixer within seconds leads me to doubt that this is a hardware issue...

Machine specifications: Lenovo x230 currently running Windows 8.1.

If you need any files or information, let me know. I have no idea how to proceed... thank you very much in advance for your help.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo x230
    CPU
    i5-3210m
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Browser
    Firefox
Update: The problem has been reproduced without the headphone jack being active.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo x230
    CPU
    i5-3210m
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Browser
    Firefox
EDIT: Nevermind. Problem remains.

I do have two entries for "High Definition Audio Device."
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo x230
    CPU
    i5-3210m
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Browser
    Firefox
I do have two entries for "High Definition Audio Device."

I figured out which "High Definition Audio Device" was active, and "uninstall"ed the other one.

It's only been ~20 minutes, but I haven't run into any problems yet.

IIRC, I've tried this before, but two "High Definition Audio Devices" appeared again on restart, and problems remained. What could be causing two of them to load?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo x230
    CPU
    i5-3210m
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Browser
    Firefox
Have done fresh installs of windows 8.1, 8, and 7. Same problems, with and without third-party drivers. Even with linux installs.

It's almost certainly faulty hardware or firmware. :cry:

EDIT: I'm not alone, and it seems I'm actually late to the party...
Re: Win7 x230 2306CTO audio issues - Page 4 - Lenovo Community
In any case, my issue does not seem to be windows-specific, so I'll stop posting about the issue here. Thanks for taking a look at this thread.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo x230
    CPU
    i5-3210m
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Browser
    Firefox
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