So if you have some speakers sitting around your house, blow off the dust and lets get them setup. As a quick FYI, I realize that you may not have my exact speaker system but connecting speakers to any computer is just a general task. They only thing that might change is wiring color and the amount of options that your system provides.

Setting up speaker placement

If you have a surround sound system with more then just 2 speakers it would be wise to lay them out ahead of time. You may find that you have to move certain things so that the wire coming from the speakers can connect to your system.

Connecting wires to your speakers

The above 2 images are the back of the amplifier that is connected to my speaker’s subwoofer. The top image is where the surround sound speakers connect to the amplifier itself. The bottom image is where the wiring connects from the amplifier to the computer. The green, black and orange ports are what we are concerned with in the bottom image.

My speakers came with the appropriate wires and this is what they look like halfway plugged into the amplifier. This is only to show you the color coordination! When setting up your speakers make sure you push the plugs all the way into the ports.

Connecting the speakers to your computer

If you look at the back of the computer case you may see something similar to the above 2 images. The image on the left is known as the I/O panel and is where you connect your mouse, printer, keyboard and other devices to your computer. The image on the right is located directly below the I/O panel and is showing you the sound card that is installed in the computer.

Notice the pink, green, blue, orange, black and gray circles in each image? These are connections for audio devices such as speakers, microphones, head phones and so on. Most computers newer then 3 years old will contain the 6 different colors. If your computer is older it may only contain 3 ports for audio and they could be one solid color or different colors.

If you enlarge the picture by clicking on it you may be able to notice icons located next to each colored circle. They are hard to distinguish in the picture but they are different and there is a good chance that your computer has icons next to each audio port as well. Typically the pink audio port is designated for a microphone while the other colored ports are designated for speakers and other devices.

All that I had to do to connect the speakers to my computer was plug the wires coming out of my amplifier in the corresponding colored audio ports on the back of my computer. As stated earlier I have not plugged in the wires all the way in order to show you the color matching. Make sure you plug the wires in all the way when connecting your speakers to your computer.

If you do not have a sound card to connect your speakers to your computer as in the above image you should be able to connect them into the audio ports on the I/O panel as I suggested earlier. Your speaker system may only contain one wire as well to connect to your computer. Should you only have one wire to connect to your computer you can try 2 things.

The first is just starting up a CD or movie on your computer and leave the sound on but low and try plugging the cord into each of the 3 ports. The second method is to consult your owner’s manual if one came with your computer. You can generally find a small booklet explaining what the ports are on the I/O panel and where speakers should be connected.

]]> http://computerlearningguides.com/how-to-connect-speakers-to-your-computer/feed 0 http://computerlearningguides.com/how-to-connect-computer-to-tv http://computerlearningguides.com/how-to-connect-computer-to-tv#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:32:12 +0000 Jarret http://computerlearningguides.com/?p=139 When it comes to really enjoying your computer and getting the most out of it there is nothing better then using your TV as your monitor. While they do provide 30 inch monitors for computers, I am willing to be that the average computer user’s TV is far bigger than their current monitor.

DVI, VGA and S-Video Connections

It is actually quite easy to connect your computer to your TV! In order to turn your TV into a monitor for your computer you will need a video card, a cable and your TV. There are a few ways to actually connect your computer to your TV; either by using a VGA, DVI or S-Video cable. Most TV’s less than 2 years old probably have a DVI connection on them as DVI provides superior video quality. These TV’s will also most likely provide a VGA connection as well. TV’s older than 2 years may very well provide a S-Video connection depending upon how old it actually is. You can generally bet that any TV newer than 5 years old will have at least a S-Video connection.

Subsequently you will also need the proper cable in order for this to work. In fact you already have that cable most likely since your computer is using one of those right now. Computers over 3 years old are probably using a VGA connection while new computers provide either a DVI or S-Video connection.

From left to right: DVI, S-Video, VGA

What Does My Computer Use?

The newer your computer the more likely it is to use or at least have DVI or S-Video connections. Computer monitors either use DVI so VGA inputs so look at the back of your computer and search for one of those. Use the above images to determine which connection your computer is using.

What Does My TV Use?

The same steps apply to using your TV. The newer the TV the more likely it is to have a DVI connection while older TVs tend to have S-Video available. Newer TV’s usually have everything labeled in the back so things shouldn’t be too hard to find.

Connecting your Computer To Your TV

Once you have figured out which uses which you can proceed on. Assuming that everything matches up you can begin to set things up. Turn off the power to your TV and the power to your computer. Connect the cable between your computer and your TV making sure that you do not force them. The cables will only connect one way and forcing them could break off a fragile pin rendering either the cable or the hardware inside your TV/computer useless.

After you have connected the cable turn on both your PC and TV. Hopefully everything should go smoothly, your TV should adjust automatically as well as your computer and you won’t have a problem. From here on you can just use your computer like your normally would but instead it will be on your TV!