Disable the speakers in Windows Vista
Previous tutorials explained how you can set the default speakers, how to configure speakers' settings, and how to configure your system's speakers. This tutorial will show you how to disable your speakers altogether: it is possible to disable speakers, like any other device, audio or otherwise. This means that your speakers can remain physically plugged into the computer, but you disable them on the "software side of things" - in other words, Windows Vista will no longer send sound output to disabled speakers, whether they are turned on or turned off, and whether they are even connected to your PC or not.
Access your speakers' properties
To access Vista's Sound properties in the Control Panel to customize your speakers' settings and options, click on the Start button, and click Control Panel in the Start Menu. In the Control Panel main window that opened, type speaker in the Control Panel's search box (top right corner of the window).
Windows Vista will open all settings related to speakers (and containing "speaker" in their description). In the results displayed, locate the "Sound" section and click on "Manage audio devices", right below Adjust system volume. Vista will open the Sound properties of your system, and preselects the Playback tab.
If you are using Vista's Classic Start Menu, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sound. This will directly open the Sound dialog, without having to go through the Control Panel.
Disable a set of speakers
In the Sound dialog that opened, make sure that the Playback tab is selected (it is by default). This tab contains a listing of all the speakers detected by Vista: by default, disabled speakers are not listed. (If you want to show disabled speakers in the list, right-click anywhere inside the listing, and choose "Show Disabled Devices" from the menu.)
Select the speakers you would like to disable, and right-click on the corresponding speaker icon: from the context menu, click on Disable. Unless you have elected to show disabled speakers (and devices), the speakers you just disabled will disappear. (See above to show disabled speakers.)
From now on, Windows Vista will not (be able to) use the speakers you disabled: if those were your default speakers, your system will not output any sound, excepted limited "Beeps" using the internal speaker, which most PC's have factory-installed for emergency notifications.
Re-enable your speakers
The next tutorial shows you how to enable your speakers in Windows Vista.
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