Speakers unplugged error

Hello,
I hope someone can help me. Awhile back, I lost sound on my computer. My realtek soundcard is showing working with no problems, but my speakers are showing unplugged. They are not unplugged, never were unplugged. I finally have decided that I can no longer live without sound on my computer. I need my sound! After searching around online, it kind of looks like at some point there was a Windows update (I'm using Vista), and that apparently has left me with this unplugged speaker error. I have tried reinstalling my sound card driver, unplugging the speakers and plugging back in, rebooting a bazillion times, and I still can't figure out how to get Windows Vista to recognise that my speakers are plugged in. Can anyone please, please help me! I'm at wit's end and completely frustrated with this problem. Thank you to anyone that can help out! :0)