Audio tools - poking in the dark

So...
Today I'll write a little about the old Harman Kardon HS 2x0 DVD  I use as amplifier with two 65W Fisher  speakers. The thing works fine, only it took a while to figure what was the problem when I connected it to my PC.                                      

                                                                            

I use an (also old) DELL Optiplex 3020, which has the ALC 280 integrated into the motherboard, and like many audio chipsets, it has a jack detection system. The problem was that sometimes the sound reached the speakers, and sometimes it didn't. It was like the soundcard didn't see anything at the end of the audio cable (3,5mm to RCA). It worked very well with the other audio system I have on the same cable, but it didn't detect the Harman Kardon DVD. I blamed the audio drivers and started to change them. One after another - fail. Well, epic fail, since these drivers gave me sound, but guess what? Mono. The only drivers that worked were those from DELL official site (for Windows 8 and 10). I have another PC, which has also something that works with Realtek audio drivers. There I could see clearly that the soundcard kept detecting "something", over and over again. Sometimes an older PC helps you diagnose the problem.
That or a laptop with Linux (on mine, with Mangrave installed, the audio "card" worked without a problem)
Since I have some experience with the "marvelous" Microsoft software products (which are full of bugs), I decided to upgrade my Win 10 license to Win 11, hoping that is a software problem. What the hell, let's do a stupid thing, I had to familiarize with the new version of Windows anyway. Well... shit. Bad move. Nothing changed. I moved the RCA connectors to AUX2, COAX, and so on, and made the proper settings in DVD's software. No change.  I was thinking "piece of shit, I'm gonna take the sledgehammer and fuck you up, this way nobody else will wreck his/her nerves, hoping that you'll work, no one will loose time because of you". I have done it with other occasions (the latest was an old ASUS router). However, the problem is not the DVD, it's the dams audio personalized driver for my DELL who misfires.
Finally, after a few days of trying all sort of things, it hit me. This DVD uses a PC cable to get power. And it's not uncommon for a PC to "cough" if is connected to a bad power cable. Practically you can start the PC, the damn thing gets power, but it doesn't work properly. Shame on me, I used to have a good memory. So I changed the damn cable. Happy time.
And it worked until one day, when the problem resurfaced. I said to myself "I've tried everything I could think of, what now?" Sledgehammer? Let's try one more thing.

The only thing that  I haven't been done - was to disconnect the internal cable that linked the audio pins from the motherboard to the front audio jacks. Finally, it worked. I was poking in the dark, but it worked. Now I have to press "F1"every time I start the PC (because the motherboard senses the absence of the damn cable), but at least I can enjoy the DVD's quality sound. Is not a 100% certainty, but it works most of the time ( I had only one or two detection problems during a month).

So... if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, try these ideas. You might waste your time, but also you might gain some.