I have an HP Elitebook 8440w Mobile Workstation running Windows 7 Professional 64 bit and I've been having issues with the sound. Since it came with the IDT Audio program installed to begin with and is the program for the audio drivers, I never realized that it was (seemingly) causing the problem. I'm still not completely sure that that program is the real problem.
I went for a long time without speakers because that was the only problem I was having with the laptop and I couldn't go without the computer for the week it would have required to get it worked on through the IT department of my university. Finally, since it's summer and I have finished my degree, I took it in to see if they could figure out what was wrong. I had done everything I could think of, reinstalling drivers, etc. Nothing helped.
They didn't figure anything out at all. Instead they told me my Operating System was corrupted or some such BS and reinstalled Windows 7 Professional without even telling me first. This wiped all of my programs and caused several new problems. On top of this, they didn't reinstall any of the standard HP programs, diagnostic or otherwise. It's a really good thing I am not a complete computer novice or I would have been so lost. I have now spent several hours correcting my lack of software and am almost back to where I started.
This reinstallation of programs is what caused me to realize that it was this program causing the issues, or at least causing them to show up. I uninstalled it and now I can't use headphones, but at least the speakers are working. When the program was installed, it showed that the headphone jack was in use even when it wasn't, so I suspect that the real problem is that a switch in the port is messed up. However, I can't get it fixed anytime soon and I definitely won't be taking it back to the IT department. Some other idiot might also throw (my newly reinstalled) baby out with the bathwater.
Anyways, I was hoping someone might be able to recommend a different program/audio driver that I can manually switch from speakers to headphones with. Also, if you have any more insight into this problem, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!