Pauline -

You should be able to go to the Dell website and log in, enter your computer serial number, and get a printout of exactly what components were on your computer. At least US Dell service works that way. If your "Dell" is from elsewhere, it may differ of course.

It is NOT necessarily a simple process, so I can understand if you'd rather use alternatives.

Altec-Lansing is a "big name" in speakers, and you should be able to find their website to find at least "something that looks like" your speakers. Manufacturers change models and shapes frequently, and often only show the latest models, but it's possibly worth trying.

You need to look at the speakers you have, and how they are connected, not at first to see what works, but to find outwhat you have.

With the 4-channel plus woofer setup, the computer often has several "sound channel jacks" - holes where you can insert a plug to connect a speaker. Most external speakers also require you to plug in a "power unit" that goes in an AC power socket, with a lead that plugs into one or more of the speakers.

1. Simple stereo: The simplest common external speakers consist of two "boxes." A leadwire from one box plugs into the (usually green) jack on the computer. The other box is connected by a wire to the one that plugs into the computer. The sound goes to the first speaker, and then the second stereo channel goes to the other speaker through a wire that runs between the two speaker boxes.

1a. Passive speakers: A really cheap external speaker pair can rely on power from the computer, without any additional amplification. I have not seen any computer maker in the US offering this kind as original equipment for several years.

1b. Speakers with built in amplification: You will have a small, nearly always black, power unit that plugs into an AC power socket, with an output wire that plugs into one of the speaker boxes.

2. Surround sound: This adds two more speakers, usually a "pair" of boxes that look much like the two boxes for the stereo setup. Computers in the US, in the era when you bought your computer, have a separate jack, either pink or blue and I don't remember which it is., for the "surround sound channels."

A "surround channels" plug goes in the jack and the wire goes to one of the speakers. A wire between the two speaker boxes sends the other channel to the other box. Usually, a second separate power unit plugs into an AC socket with a wire to one of the two speaker boxes. Surround channel speakers are available with 4 separate speaker boxes, rather than just two, for "Seven Channel Surround Sound Ultra Audio." Only teenagers order them, generally.

3. When you add the "subwoofer" it may be a single speaker box, or it may be another pair, connected to the third (blue or pink?) jack on your computer. Usually the subwoofer will have its own (a third) power unit.

4. An earlier setup used a single output jack on the computer, with all of the speakers wired together. Often the "stereo pair" plugged directly into the computer, and the others plugged into one of the stereo speaker boxes. In a few systems, a "control panel" plugs into the computer and all of the various speakes plug in the control panel box. With this system, the computer produces only a left channel signal and a right channel signal. Filter circuits in the speaker boxes separate out portions of those two "channels" to send appropriate frequencies to the "surround speakers" and to the subwoofer. Speakers of this kind are most generally used to "emulate surround sound" with older computers that don't have the multi-channel jacks built in. I have not seen a "main-line" computer maker in the US offering this kind of setup as original equipment since about 2000 or 2001, so I doubt that your system has only one speaker jack(?).

Any external device, such as your speakers, that requires a power unit, almost certainly contains "electronics" that can be zapped by a power surge on the AC mains, via a phone line or cable line, or just by a nearby NMP (nuclear magnetic pulse - if someone's been testing in your area.) Static discharges rarely can do it.

ALL YOU REALLY NEED for listening to music while you work at your computer is a simple stereo pair of speakers. The rest of it is more fad than function for a typical workspace. In order really to benefit from "surround channels" and extra bass, you need to setup "acoustically designed" listening spaces.

You can check out your power units for your speaker system with anything that detects the presence of low voltage DC. Assuming that your speaker system uses power units, you should start at the AC socket, and work your way to the speakers.

1. Plug a lamp or other AC device into the socket where the power unit was, and make sure that there is power to the socket.

2. Plug the power unit into the socket, and see if DC power is present at the output plug.

2a. You can do this if you have another device that uses the same DC voltage and has a matching socket.

2b. A voltmeter (VOM) set for low voltage DC is an ideal test device.

2c. You can use paper clips and a light bulb to see if you can make the bulb glow. Note that many power units are 12V DC, so a flashlight bulb (3V) will glow very briefly before it burns out, so use an automotive (12V?) bulb if one's handy.

3. IF your computer has multiple outputs for stereo and surround sound, plugging any speaker pair into the wrong jack shouldn't hurt the speakers or the computer. Any pair of speakers that has its own plug can be plugged into any of the jacks to see if a.) the jack produces an output and/or b.) that speaker pair produces some sound.

3a. You should be able to use a single "flashlight" battery (1.5V) to determine whether a speaker or speaker pair produces some sound. Place the battery on the tip of the signal line plug and tap a paper clip between the other pole of the battery and one of the other contacts on the plug and see if little "burps" come out of the speaker. With powered speakers, they will have to be plugged into their power unit to get a response.

If the power unit(s) for the speakers were on unprotected AC outlets, it is possible that a transient (thunderstorm type, probably not NMP) may have zapped the amplifier/filter electronics in one or more of the speaker pairs. It is also possible that a transient coming in through the speaker power line may have zapped the output devices on the sound card in your computer. Since you can get good sound with your headphones, that output jack at least may be considered "known good," and you should be able to plug any stereo speaker pair that you're likely to find "for computers" into that jack.

Note: A few computer systems with separate headphone jack are wired to disconnect the speakers if there's a plug in the headphone jack. You're problem could be that the speaker circuits aren't reconnected when you take the headphone jack out of the socket?????.

If you had an older computer that had any kind of external speakers try the old ones. If not, ask friends if any of them have a "spare." Failing that, look for the cheapest things you can find; and you'll probably find them adequate - or you'll know how much better it will take to satisfy you.

And put the power units on a surge protector. ANYTHING that connects to your computer should have surge protection.

John