PC choosing Headset vs Speakers?

[agatsu]

I'm not sure if what I want is possible. but I'll lay out what is happening and maybe someone with more pc experience than I has a solution.

I have speakers on my pc and I also have a headset I use for both GW and listening to music.
The headset has a USB plug. Whichever program I am running will only go into the headset IF the headset is plugged into the pc when the program is started. However, if the headset is always left plugged in then the pc sends everything to the headset. Therefore I unplug the headset when I wish to use the speakers.

This has not really been an issue but, If I am in the middle of a GW mission for example and someone says let's all get on TS I wont be able to unless I'm already using the headset. I would have to leave and restart GW.

I wonder if this is caused by the usb plug. I do not remember having this issue when I was using a regular set of headphones that plugged into the actual headphone plug on the pc.

Is there a way that I can get the pc to choose the headset with GW already running?Maybe somewhere in the system settings?
Does anyone have a solution?
I have played around with system settings several times but nothing is changing .

Thanks

[Radicc Tyranntt]

I set my team speak to only use my usb headset as its sound device. So if I plug in my headset with guildwars already running teamspeak sends everything to my headset and guildwars music/sounds still play through the speakers. Thats the way I like it though. Its easier to tell what people are saying.

I'm not sure if you can make it stop sending the sound to your speakers and to your headset instead while the game is running. Since your headset is usb the computer sees it as a different sound device independent of your sound card. I'm too busy to look into it at the moment, but perhaps Towel has some free time to snoop settings.

[agatsu]

Thanks for the input ;D

I have a feeling that its something that can't be changed, I just need to be on the headset when I expect there is a chance Ill go on TS.

Its not really a big deal, I wouldnt want anyone to waste time looking into it. I was just wondering if my "non-techiness" was making me overlook a simple solution.

[Pass The Towel]

radicc said:

but perhaps Towel has some free time to snoop settings.

I may not have a "job", but I do have to "work" as well as live on the forum you know! In fact, I'm working right now, so don't have access to anything to check this out. I also don't have a USB headset, so can't I don't have much useful advice Agatsu I think Zalis uses the setup Raddic describes.

Passing the buck...

[Zalis]

I have a similar issue, Agatsu.

If I were playing GW through my headset and yanked out the USB plug, the game would freak out. I haven't tried plugging it in w/ the game running, but don't really want to.

The way I get sound from my speakers and use my headset for only TS is this... Plug in your usb headset. The sound will automatically switch over to using just the 'set. Go into your windows control panel and then sound settings. Hit the 'audio' tab on the top of the menu that pops up. The 'Sound Playback' setting is probably set to your usb device... change it to your other option. (which should be your sound card... SB Audigy Audio[BC00] in my case) I keep the 'Sound Recording' option set to my headset.

Along with that, make sure TS is specifically set to use your headset. So long as it's plugged in, you should now get sound through your speakers and still have TS functionality through the headset alone.

[agatsu]

Thanks Zalis

I have not tried changing the settings within TS .
I had hoped to be able to hear both GW and TS through the headset by just plugging the headset in while GW is already running. but I dont think that's going to happen.

Ill continue to try different things.

[Dana Hawkeye]

You dont really need GW blasting through your headset.

Mine is set up the same as Zalis's and Radics's. GW sound/Any sound through the speakers and TS only through the headphones. It works reall fine that way.

I have my sound at a volume that can be heard even though I am wearing the headset without it also being to loud to disturb other members of the household.

My headset is a USB Logitech which is plugged permanently into my desktop hub.

[Pass The Towel]

For the people without USB headsets, it is harder to separate Teamspeak sound from the rest of the system. When you have a USB headset you basically have two "sound devices" and can just tell TS to use the headphones for output instead of your sound card. But when your headset plugs into your sound card, there is only one "sound device" - your sound card - so there is no way to tell TS to output to the headphones.

The only way I could think of would be if the sound card itself had a way to separate output, and I don't think mine does.

[Cerryl Nyrim]

Mine has a headphone and a mic jack on it, so it either everything thru the speakers and just use the headset for the mic or everthing on the headet, all sound and the mic. But I can't complain about a free headset, even if it's only a one earpiece style 'set. If I got one with two earpieces, then I wouldn't be able to hear my wife at all. *Googles "new headset"*

[Zalis]

Having all sound through the headphones is fine if they sound good and you don't want to be noisy. So it's nice to have options.

You just have a problem when people are quiet in TS, and have to turn down GW's sound in-game to accomodate.