Pauline, your speakers require power to work. The power source for the speakers is an electric cable from the speakers to the wall plug...yours probably goes by way of a circuit protector unit of some kind rather than directly to the wall. If your Altec Lansing speakers are at all like mine, the power cable goes from the sub-woofer (the big square box) and plugs in with a regular 3-prong plug. Mine doesn't have a converter, which is a big (3x4 inch), usually black, box at the end of the cable where it plugs into the wall or power bar. If that cable is missing - or not plugged in - than your speakers don't have any power going to them and cannot function.