You may have a single speaker, two satellite speakers, a subwoofer and two speakers, or a full surround system. Computer speaker setups are often less involved than a home theater, but full-surround systems can still have a lot of pieces. Most computers have speaker jacks on the motherboard connector panel, located on the back of the tower. If you are using a laptop, your only speaker port may be the headphone jack, or there may be ports located along the back of the laptop. The location will vary depending on the computer, so refer to your documentation if you are having difficulty locating the plugs. If you are using an older computer, you may need to install a sound card in order to connect speakers. This usually isn't required for anything built within the last ten years. Nearly all computer speaker ports are color coded. These colors will help you determine which plug goes where. Most speaker cables will be color coded to match these jacks.  Pink – Microphone Green – Front speakers or headphones Black – Rear speakers Silver – Side speakers Orange – Center/Subwoofer Make sure that you can identify the Right and Left channel cables. If you are setting up a full-surround system, place your surround speakers to the sides and behind your computer chair, angled towards the chair. If you are just setting up two speakers, placing them to the sides of your monitor angled towards you will result in good sound quality. Different speaker models will connect to each other in different ways. Sometimes, you will need to connect the satellite speakers to the subwoofer which then plugs into the computer, while other times each set of speakers gets plugged into the computer separately. Match the speaker cable plug colors to the matching colored jacks on your computer. You may have to twist the plugs if space is tight. Power on the speakers (if necessary) and then turn them all the way down using the physical volume control. Start a song or video on your computer and slowly raise the volume until you can hear at a comfortable level. Once you've confirmed that the speakers work, find a channel test online. This will help you ensure that your speakers are placed correctly.

Summary: Determine the speaker setup. Find the speaker connectors on your computer. Understand the color codes. Place your speakers. Connect the satellites and center channel to the subwoofer (if necessary). Plug the speakers into the appropriate jacks. Test the speakers.


You’re busy and your date is busy, so be sure to plan ahead. Offer a few different days to set up a date, this will show them that you're willing to plan around their schedule.  Simply asking “Are you free Wednesday or Thursday?” gives options, while still being direct. This will show your date that you respect their time, but can still handle making plans. Asking your date if they'd prefer to go out on a weeknight or weekend is also a great way to show that you're flexible and want to see them on a day that works best for their schedule. Once you've picked a day, offer a few vague suggestions for your date to choose from. This will show them that you care about their interests and that you're going out of your way to make this date perfect.  Ask your date "Would you rather have a relaxing night or get a little adventurous?" or "Would you rather we have an indoor or outdoor date?" Their answer will point you in the right direction for your planning. Don't be too specific when giving your date options. Keep some of your plans as an element of surprise. To plan the perfect date, you need to make sure that you solidify your plans. Whether you're going to a restaurant, going mini golfing, going sky-diving, or going to a concert, don't leave your date to chance. Call in advance to ensure that you get tickets, make reservations, etc. Some restaurants don't take reservations, and some activities won't require tickets. If this is the case, it's important that you come up with a backup plan for your date just in case your initial plans don't pan out. Sometimes, plans can fall through. One of you may be running late because of work, or maybe you got stuck in traffic. Whatever date you have planned, always have a simple backup plan just in case things go wrong. Even if your backup plan is your favorite local coffee shop, or hanging out at your favorite view of the city you live in, it's always good to have another idea in your back pocket. Make two dinner reservations at nearby restaurants – one at 6pm and one at 6:30, for example. If you happen to be running late for your first reservation, you'll have another reservation at a restaurant that's nearby. This will make a great impression on your date, as it will be obvious that you've thought this date through. Give your date an idea of what you'll be doing so that they can dress appropriately and be prepared. More adventurous dates may require some athletic clothing, fancier dates may require a dressier attire. Give your date at least a day in advance so that they don't feel rushed or unprepared.  For example, if you're planning on going hiking, give your date a heads up to wear sneakers and comfortable clothing. High heels and hiking aren't a good time. If you plan on going to an opera, tell your date to have fun getting dressed up for a romantic night on the town. If they're underdressed for something like the opera, they may feel uncomfortable, resulting in them not enjoying the date. If your date goes tremendously well, neither of you will want it to end. Pick a fun place to have drinks or coffee, just in case you'd like your date to continue. Ideally, you should choose a location near your date's home. This will show that you've considered their time and are not trying to pressure them to stay out longer than they'd like to.  Instead of picking an actual location, offering to take a walk or go for a scenic drive is a great option to spend more time with your date. Your date may offer for you to come back to their place – that's perfectly fine! However, it's important to let your date make that suggestion, otherwise you may come off a bit pushy.

Summary: Give your date options. Get a feel for your date's interests. Make reservations. Have a backup plan. Inform your date of your plans in advance. Choose a secondary location.


You can find this in the Device Toolbar, or in Device Preferences. If nothing is showing, you might need to enable it using the sound card's control panel as outlined below. Right-click inside the Recording tab and select Show disabled devices. Right-click again and check Show Disconnected Devices. If your sound card has a physical input such as mic or line in, connect the required cable as directed in the manual. Right-click the input device you want to use for recording and choose  Enable.   Right-click again over your chosen input device and select Set as Default Device. Right-click again over your input device, select Properties and then the Levels tab, and ensure the volume slider is turned up. Turn off any other sound effects as well, unless they are essential to the functionality of your sound card.  Right-click over Microphone and choose Properties then look for an Enhancements tab where you can Disable all sound effects.  On Windows 7, click the Communications tab. Under When Windows detects communications activity:, choose  Do nothing.  If you frequently make internet calls, right-click over the mic and choose  Set as Default Communication Device. Right-click your input device, select  Properties , then click the  Advanced  tab and verify that the  Default format  matches both the project rate (bottom left of the Audacity screen), and with the number of recording channels in the  Devices  tab of Audacity Preferences. Click  OK . In the Sound control panel, click the  Playback  tab, right-click over the speakers or headphones device for your sound card and set it as  Default Device  or  Default Communication Device. Right-click and click  Properties  then the  Advanced  tab, and set  Default Format  to match with the settings in Step 7 above.
Summary: Select your input source. Show hidden devices. Plug in any necessary cables. Enable your input device. Turn off all VoIP enhancements. Adjust sample rates. Set your default device. Match formats.