Headphone jacks, opening dell laptop

Hello,
External Dell speakers and headphones stopped working on my vostro 1500. Headphones still work if you apply sideways pressure to jack, so I think the problem is the little metal tabs on the jack port have gotten pushed back. So if I open the computer I should be able to push them back into place. Is that advisable, easy? The ear buds still work. The speakers do not work on other machines, but could that be a compatibility problem?
Thanks
Donfromconn