Audio is Muted - iTunes Won't Play

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Dave_E_P Author

Level 1

30 points

Audio is Muted - iTunes Won't Play

*This is a software problem - not hardware*

I have a problem where the audio is muted and I can't un-mute it. I've had a look around but can't find a solution.

Here is a summary:

* The audio is muted and grayed for all outputs

* If I hover the mouse over the volume control on the top bar you get the spinning wheel

* If I boot back in to Snow Leopared (I have a dual boot system) it all works fine - so clearly there is no hardware problem

* I tried to reinstall from a Time Machine backup and it WORKED again - but then Time Machine erased that backup so I can't do it again, and now (after a few hours) it's muted again (following a Premiere Pro crash).

Is there anything inserted in the audio chain by Premiere Pro (or other app) that could have got stuck and be broken?

Any way to clear the adudio chain?

Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jul 13, 2012 2:31 AM

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Answer 1

Dave_E_P Author

Level 1

30 points

Jul 13, 2012 2:33 AM in response to Dave_E_P

Oh, and yes I've tried the reseting of SMC etc, but that doesn't work, and I doubt that's the problem since booting in to Snow Leopard works fine.

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Answer 2

Jul 13, 2012 2:40 AM in response to Dave_E_P

try to see/remove the thrid parts devices... in Applications>>Utilities>>Audio MIDI Setup.app

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Answer 3

Dave_E_P Author

Level 1

30 points

Jul 15, 2012 3:31 AM in response to rafaespada

Thanks - but that hasn't helped. The Built-In Line Output master volume is still grayed and I can't get any sounds.

iTunes is still stuck at 00:00 and won't play anything.

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Answer 4

Aug 31, 2012 8:05 PM in response to Dave_E_P

I have this EXACT problem and it does follow the crash of Premier Pro. Dang this *****.

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Answer 5

Aug 31, 2012 8:09 PM in response to Dave_E_P

One thing that does provide a temporary solution is to reinstall OS X Lion which is super easy but takes about 2 hours. You won't loose any data and you don't need disks. Reboot your computer and hold down command R to initiate the reinstall.

This is just a temporary solution and I'm still searching for the permanent solution. Did you ever figure anything out on this?

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Answer 6

Dave_E_P Author

Level 1

30 points

Aug 31, 2012 11:05 PM in response to evanhughjenkins

I found a solution that works for me and takes SECONDS.

Make a copy of the following TWO files....

com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist

com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist

When ever the problem occurs, replace the corrupted files with the saved files (you may need to reboot) and everything works again.

You can also try just deleting those files if your system is totally corrupt and it should recreate them - but once you have a working system, make a copy of them and keep them handy.

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Answer 7

Sep 1, 2012 6:31 AM in response to Dave_E_P

Thank you so much. Very much appreciated. I'm excited about trying this. I'll let you know next time it crashes how I made out. I have those files copied onto my desktop as a backup.

For all the NOOBS you can get those two files in Macintosh HD --> Library --> Preferences --> Audio

Thanks Dave_E_P

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