So yesterday I upgraded my Windows 7 machine to Windows 10 through a bootable USB (format and reinstall, drivers were left alone for some reason though). I'm finding that I'm having a hell of a time getting an audio signal to send through my front and back jack panels at the same time. Back on Windows 7 all you had to do was launch Realtek HD Audio Manager and check off 'Disable front panel jack detection' and you were good to go. That doesn't seem to be working with 10. I know Realtek is working fine because I can change other settings, but that one won't work.
I think I've got the problem worked down to Windows setting default audio devices. In my playback devices I have two devices that are working: Speakers (Realtek HD Audio) and a second device called Realtek HD Audio Second Output. Now, the second output is my headphones in the front panel and the speakers are my speakers in the back panel. Windows wants to set one as the default playback device. When I change the default device playback swaps between the two panels just fine.
So really, I think my question boils down to: How do I stop Windows 10 from selecting a default playback device?
Best Answer
Nevermind, fixed it myself but I figured I'd leave my fix for anyone having this problem in the future. I'm not entirely sure why this worked, but I unplugged both the front and back jack panels while Realtek Manager was open. I plugged the back in and it asked what I plugged in, set it to speakers. I plugged the front in and set it to headphones. Then I went into the gear in the top right of Realtek Manager and checked off "Mute the rear output device, when a front headphone plugged in". That kinda seems like the opposite of what you'd want to do, right? For whatever reason, that worked for me.