PC 5.1 speaker outputs all b0rked

[Rare White Ape]

Alright so here's an interesting problem.

Basically, my 5.1 output via HDMI from the PC to the home theater is sending sounds to the wrong speakers. I know it's not my wiring setup because all the other things wot I have connected to the amplifier send sound to their correct speakers, and the PC doesn't.

To illustrate, if I go to this window and click the test button, the graphical representation of sound coming from each speaker doesn't match the actual speaker that it comes from. If I play a game, sounds come from the wrong place relative to my viewpoint.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5833/22148009651_b05731427d_o.png

The left column below is the icon in that window, the right column is where the sound ends up:

L......>.....R
R......>....C
C......>....No sound
SUB..>....SL
SL....>....SR
SR....>....L

Has anyone heard of this before, and do they know of an easy fix before I start going nuts and pulling my hair out with driver updates and swapping cables and other weird shit? And yeah I checked Google to no avail.

[21Kid]

That's weird!?!

Are there settings for speaker size? If it thinks it's the wrong size it could mistake the C for a sub or something. I'm just grasping. I've never had that problem before. I'd probably try resetting the driver, personally. I don't see how it could be the wiring, but who knows.

[thesameguy]

Where is the HDMI physically located? On the video card, or somewhere else?

[Rare White Ape]

Well it's a laptop with switchable graphics cards, so who knows? The mobo I suspect.

@21Kid there's a setting for speaker size but I don't know how that would effect things. I do currently have the front L&R speaker set to large.

[21Kid]

I have mine all set to small fwiw, except the sub. That's not an option.
I have smaller bookshelf speakers.

Don't know if it would fix anything... as it has nothing to do with L/R/C/RL/RR/Sub location.

[Yw-slayer]

Try disabling or uninstalling the driver in Device Manager, then re-enabling or re-installing it? That applies to the receiver as well as to your graphics card. Ask your manufacturer for support? Try a different hdmi cable or wiggle it around at each end?

[Rare White Ape]

Last night I did the usual immediate troubleshooting things such as restarting the machine and clicking buttons. I think I restarted three times, just in case.

But now I've fixed my problem...

...by turning the laptop off last night after starting this thread, waiting some 18 hours, then turning it on again tonight.

Now it appears to work just fine and dandy. What the mother fucking what?

[Yw-slayer]

Maybe the receiver needed to be rebooted.

[21Kid]

Probably because you turned it off a little bit at a time...

[Rare White Ape]

I think you might be right, YW. My amp, a Denon, does do some funky things from time to time.

Not all at once, mind you. Just… a little bit at a time.

[Yw-slayer]

That way it saves you money and frustration!