iMac not recognising Bose Companion 5 Speakers all of a sudden?!

Tao81

I have had Bose companion 5 speakers since i bought my iMac, back in 2009, plugged the speakers in via USB then and system recognised them within preferences for output within sound tab and have had absolutely no problems for past 2 years.

Yesterday all of a sudden speakers began to squeal very briefly, then started to intermittently 'drop out', so one minute I'd have sound via the Bose speakers then the next it would be via computer's internal speakers. Then suddenly a louder longer squeal was followed by my speakers not being recognised at all by the iMac.

Tried a few things:

Plugged the speakers via USB into my Macbook and they work fine - literally plug and play, as should be with the iMac.
Unplugged Bose - switched off at the mains, nothing.
Tried switching off, unplugging and changing the USB they were attached via, still nothing.
Tried a tip picked up on a forum to restart the computer holding down Option (ALT)>Cmd>p and R buttons, until i was supposed to hear a few chimes (no chimes heard and no difference made?!!)

Therefore, am stumped

Tao81

Oooohh! That's a long pause!
......Obviously not a simple problem to overcome? not having received a single reply?!

Sighs heavily......Forced to ring Apple when I get a chance then?!!

(Grateful to all those who took the time to read tho, Thanks )

gonzo127

does the USB port on the imac work with anything else - usb memory stick for example?

to me it sounds as if your usb port on the imac has died since the speakers work on your macbook so there is nothing wrong with them (the speakers) so its a imac problem

Tao81

gonzo127 wrote: »

does the USB port on the imac work with anything else - usb memory stick for example?

to me it sounds as if your usb port on the imac has died since the speakers work on your macbook so there is nothing wrong with them (the speakers) so its a imac problem

Yes, have checked, all USBs on back of iMac which work fine with other devices plugged. Also have tried Bose in different USB slots, nothing.
Also did a PRAM reset via the iMac (which I understand is used to resets the USBs), still no success.

Tao81

Resurrecting this thread as far from solving my problem, have now found that the same issue happens on all of my Macs and Windows PC!

Have tried plugging the usb connecting Bose speakers into a usb hub on their own and still no joy.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? A Google search would reveal that I am not alone with this issue, but don't seem to be able to find a solution?!!

Any suggestions?