i5 iMac: Weird sound issue

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Any time I boot up my i5, I don't have any audio. Putting the machine to sleep then immediately awakening it fixes the issue. Has anyone else had this happen? I've searched the forums and google but could only find threads about boot camp sound issues.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

No one else has this happening?

 

[johbost]

I'm having the same problem - however, putting it into sleep and then waking it up doesn't resolve my issue :/

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

I'm having the same problem - however, putting it into sleep and then waking it up doesn't resolve my issue :/

Glad to know someone else is experiencing this, though I'm sorry yours is worse. Can you do anything to "fix" it?

 

[johbost]

So far I haven't been able to come up with a solution. I noticed today that my sound preferences pane says "Headphones" when there are no headphones plugged in, so mine may be hardware related (a broken jack or something). It may be a different problem altogether.

EDIT:
Alright so, I stumbled on a thread referencing kernel panics occurring when peripherals other than a mouse or keyboard were plugged in (http://discussions.info.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2321981&tstart=120). So I figured I'd try the advice there. I unplugged my external hard drive while booting up, and now my sound works. This is an annoying solution, and hopefully not a permanent one, but I suggest trying it if you have anything plugged in to your iMac while booting up.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

After just living with it for a while, I finally bothered to snoop around my machine today and, lo-and-behold...I found the problem. I have a MagicJack plugged in to my iMac and for some reason on startup the USB device is being set as the Input/Output device for sound (rather than the internal mic /speakers). Changing them "fixes" the problem...until the next startup.

No idea why it's doing this and I couldn't find a record online of it happening to anyone else, but I'm just glad I know how to get the sound to work properly again, especially since today the "trick" of putting the iMac to sleep then reawakening it failed to restore the sound.

 

[chrislaw]

anything new on this issue? I have the same problem. I have a magic jack and when i restart i have no sound. If i plug in headphones and then start a movie or something then i have sound once i unplug the headphones... very odd.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Nope. MagicJack still takes over when I reboot, but I downloaded SoundSource and use that to quickly switch everything back to the default audio settings so I can hear the built-in speakers again.

It would be nice if MagicJack updated their software to fix this (if, indeed, it is a problem with the MJ, as it appears to be), but I'm not going to hold my breath for $19.95 a year. Decent phone service for that pittance makes this sort of minor annoyance completely worthwhile, to me.

 

[chrislaw]

Nope. MagicJack still takes over when I reboot, but I downloaded SoundSource and use that to quickly switch everything back to the default audio settings so I can hear the built-in speakers again.

It would be nice if MagicJack updated their software to fix this (if, indeed, it is a problem with the MJ, as it appears to be), but I'm not going to hold my breath for $19.95 a year. Decent phone service for that pittance makes this sort of minor annoyance completely worthwhile, to me.

yes, i agree. still very annoying though!

thanks

 

[Btom]

Did you at any point try to call the Apple Support people?

Tom B.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Did you at any point try to call the Apple Support people?

Tom B.

Nope. I'm outside the 90-day phone support window; still haven't decided on whether or not to buy the extended Apple Care (never have on any of my other Macs, so probably won't on this one), but this minor issue certainly isn't enough to justify the cost.

 

[Btom]

Nope. I'm outside the 90-day phone support window; still haven't decided on whether or not to buy the extended Apple Care (never have on any of my other Macs, so probably won't on this one), but this minor issue certainly isn't enough to justify the cost.

I'd seriously consider that (the Apple Care). This is a first year model and as such may have a larger than usually number of bugs. And I'd call the Apple anyway, 90 days or not, their customer service is supposed to be second to none...

Tom B.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

I'd seriously consider that (the Apple Care). This is a first year model and as such may have a larger than usually number of bugs. And I'd call the Apple anyway, 90 days or not, their customer service is supposed to be second to none...

Tom B.

Thanks for the advice, but this isn't my first (or second, third or fifth) Apple product. I may get the extended plan, but as I still have six months before the complimentary one-year plan ends, I'm more than okay with playing wait-and-see.