I'm running Windows 8.1 on an Inspiron 15. A few weeks ago, I decided to remove programs I rarely/never used, or that I didn't recognize. Unfortunately, I seem to have deleted my sound program!
I ran diagnostics for my laptop, downloaded the driver and installed it. Now my speakers work - hurray! However, when I plug my earphones w/microphone into the audio jack, the sound continues to be routed to my built-in speakers - and I get NOTHING through my earphones.
I didn't have this problem until I deleted whatever I deleted. I have since downloaded and installed the 8.1 update but there has been no change.