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Adventures in a Can - Preface

Some time back, see 7/7 entry, I installed a second CD-ROM drive in this computer. To provide ability to hear normal music from that drive, I connected it to a connector on the soundcard previously used by the modem (well, used is perhaps to stretch the meanig of the word a bit. It would have been used had we ever felt the need to use the modem for phone). Everything seemed to work perfectly nice. Then, three days back, I noticed music from that drive didn't sound as supposed to after all. Sound was a bit "locked in", restricted in some way, and some sounds couldn't be heard at all. Well, I thought, perhaps I hadn't festened the audio cable properly, that would be easy to fix. I decided I'd open up the computer and fix it the next day.

Adventures in a Can - Phase One

So I did. Thanks to Dell, I didn't even need a screwdriver, this computer is easier to get into than many drawers. Anyway, opened it was, and I examined its dusty inside. I noticed I had attached the cable the wrong way round, due to its shape, it can be attachedin two ways. That could be the problem I thought. I put it right, closed the computer, connected it and tested. The problem remained. About now, suddenly struck by a bolt of enlightenment, I took a look in the soundcard's manual. Suddenly the sound problems were explained: the connector on the soundcard only took mono input. No wonder some things seemed to be missing, one stereo channel was lost! Furthermore, there was another connector available which accepted stereo input, that ought to solve the problem. I had some vague memory that that connector was taken up by something, but I couldn't remember what. I decided to check inside again.

Adventures in a Can - Phase Two

There it was alright, the second stereo connector. Taken it was too, by the DVD decoder card. As we've never used the DVD playback capabilities, I decided to disconnect it and connect the CD-ROM instead. Then I had my second inspired moment, and took a look in the manual for the DVD-card. It revealed a very interesting fact: appearantly, the people at Dell had made a mistake, or at least ignored an option, when building the computer. The DVD-card should, or could at least, be connected between the soundcard and the DVD-ROM, the same way a Voodoo-card is connected between the graphics-card and the monitor. It wasn't now, and therefore it occupied a connector of its own when it and the DVD-ROM could have gotten along prefectly well sharing one. That simple change gave me another stereo connector to use for the second CD-ROM. Everything fixed in the best of ways, I closed the can again, connected everything, booted up and tested. No sound. Bad sign ... After some nervous moments, I realized what the problem was, and turned the speakers on again ...

Adventures in a Can - Afterword

First, one wonders why Dell connected things the way they did when they built the computer. There evidently was a better way, one the maker of the card had intended too. Secondly, I'd just like to say that sometimes it really pays to read the manual :-) ...

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