Dell Inspiron 1420 Headphone and Mic Port Problem

Hey guys to sum up real quick here's my problem that I hope some of you could help me with, I have a Dell Inspiron 1420

- A few months ago I bought this cool Logitech Headset and it worked real well. The next day I'm not sure whether I took out the jacks too fast or what but I believe my middle/2nd headphone port (the 1420 has 2 headphone ports) and my mic port/line in has short fused and does not work anymore.

- I've used other headphones and mics and they just don't not recognize, nor amplify sound to other devices, and other mics do not record sound into the PC. So I know this is an issue with my 1420 notebook. Again, it's the middle/2nd headphone port and the mic port.

- There was a rare instance one time where the headphone port in the middle (the broken one) did work after the problem occurred, just once. But that included adjusting the placement of the jack and such hassles. Another weird thing is that my computer would recognize the headset in the mic port too, but still wouldn't record or notice sound coming from it. This was just one time and has never happened again. The computer still to today doesn't recognize anything or even works in the middle headphone port and mic port.

I called Dell, they said I could renew my accidental warranty for 4 years at $100 dollars, and then send in my laptop for repair without any charge (except probably shipping but whatever). I called Geek Squad and they said it could take 3-4 weeks to repair plus idk what else the lady said, I just remember it's something that was complicated, long, and tedious. There is local computer repair shop 2 miles down near my high school, my friend's mom went there before to fix one of their old PCs and highly recommends them.

My questions are:

- What should I basically do, and is this easy to repair? I don't know if I should renew my warranty with Dell and send it in, I would hate having to ship it somewhere and not get it back for a few weeks (especially since that would resort to me using my really old and laggy desktop Vaio). Or should I take it in to Geek Squad or the local computer repair shop?

- And if they do repair it, will it mess up my sound cards or drivers or ANYTHING that would mess up/confuse my computer or it's settings?

If you could please answer in full detail after taking that all into your response..

Thanks for your time.

 

If you do decide to extend your warranty through Dell, they pay for shipping when you send your laptop in to them. They'll send you an empty box with foam packing, and a return shipping label via FedEx. Their turnaround for mail-in repairs is pretty good; they promise 5-8 business days. I would trust Dell's own technicians more than Geek Squad. I don't know anything about your local computer shop, so I can't recommend in favor of or against it.

If you send it to Dell, their job is to repair it, not mess up your sound card or drivers and make it worse. If, for some reason, you do lose your drivers, you can always re-download them from support.dell.com

Hope ya find this helpful.

 

Thanks a lot for the quick reply man. I'll probably take your advice. Though I still do not know why my headphone and mic ports short circuited and blew out. Could it have been from me pulling the jacks out too fast?

 

It's really hard to tell. The physical strain of yanking the cords out too quickly may have broken them, or it could simply be a loose wire to begin with somewhere inside.

 

One last thing, do you think I should also consider getting this USB Audio device (with headphone/mic port):

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...audio&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218037433764

or no because it would replace my sound card? Would this work with Skype?

 

If you get your onboard sound repaired/replaced, then I see no reason why you would need that. The 1420 has headphone and mic ports, and they are fully compatible with Skype.