sound mute problem

Question

sound mute problem

I have a recurring problem with sound. It mutes automatically, and when I try to reset the sound it goes back to mute again. At the same time, the sound reset window is always displayed (don't know its real name, it is the translucent rectangle that appears in the middle of your screen to give you visual feedback when you are lowering or raising the sound level using the keyboard volume keys). The problem seems to be related to iTunes because it occurs when I try to update or recharge my ipod shuffle.

I tried deleting several plists from the system Library, but it didn't help. The problem went away when I deleted the com.apple.iTunes.plist in my user library, but only for about 5 minutes.

The problem is getting really annoying. Any ideas? Thanks.

Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) 867 MHz, 1GB SDRAM

Posted on Sep 12, 2006 4:21 AM

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Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

82,841 points

Sep 12, 2006 5:27 AM in response to Rob Eskildsen

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Are you using any other speakers than the built-in speakers?

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Answer 2

Sep 12, 2006 8:13 AM in response to a brody

Yes. I'm using a USB mic and headset.

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Answer 3

a brody

Level 10

82,841 points

Sep 12, 2006 8:21 AM in response to Rob Eskildsen

That might be the problem. The audio only supports one device at a time, and mutes others while additional devices are connected. Check your system preferences to make sure the correct device you want to use is selected under Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Sound.

Energy Saver may interfere with this, as many third party USB devices are not Energy Saver aware, and only rebooting fixes it when Energy Saver causes a problem.

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Answer 4

Sep 12, 2006 3:48 PM in response to a brody

Thanks for the suggestion.

It doesn't look like Energy Saver is the problem because once the problem starts, not even rebooting helps. The only thing that helps is to delete some plists, unplug all my USB devices (printer, wireless mouse, external hard drive, mic/headphone set) and then reboot. I have tried unplugging the USB mic/headphone set alone and rebooting, but that doesn't help.

The USB mic/headphone set might indeed be part of the problem, but what seems to set it off is trying to update or charge my ipod shuffle. I have had to restore factory settings on my ipod a couple of times since I upgraded to iTunes 6.0.5 because iTunes wouldn't recognize the ipod (the icon showed on the desktop, but iTunes couldn't see it). So I think there might be something going on with the new iTunes software too.

Annyway, thanks for your suggestion.

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