Could use help with Realtek HD Audio drivers - front panel output won't un-dim

[clemon79]

So this is weird...I'm troubleshooting some other issues I have been having with my cab (which I will probably end up posting about somewhere else eventually) and I discovered that my rear exciters are down, the ones that plug into the front panel of my PC. Pop open the Realtek Audio Manager, and lo and behold, that input is showing up dimmed, as if nothing is plugged into it.

 

Here's what I've done to troubleshoot:

 

Uninstalled / reinstalled driver from Device Manager

Went through speaker configuration again in Control Panel

Switched from HD to AC97 in BIOS and back again

Deactivated altogether in BIOS and back again

Plugged external device into cable to make sure amp and speakers were working. They work.

Unplugged / replugged HDAudio header from motherboard. No change.

 

Hoping someone else has run across this issue with the Realtek drivers and knows how to kick them back into gear. Thanks!

[clemon79]

I figured this out: turns out when I transfered my PC guts to a new, better open-frame case, the front-panel interface wasn't HD Audio, and when I did that switch to AC97 I never gave it a chance and tested it. Turns out if I'd left it there I'd have found that the rear exciters would have started working.  So I'm back in business on THIS issue, anyhow.