spdif from win 7 laptop to rega dac. No sound.

Hello,

On my PC I can ether have the analog out as default OR the digital out ... to switch from one to the other, I open up the sound application in control panel and in the playback tab I have 2 options - "Speakers" or "Digital Output" since I use both I switch back and forth. Right click and select (SET AS DEFAULT) on the desired output. To further complicate things, when either output is selected I can control the output volume or mute the output entirely, so check those options as well.

Good luck ... every sound card driver is a bit different but if you poke around you should be able to find your settings. It's worth your while to be familiar with them.

Thanks! I had 'show disabled devices' deselected so I didn't see it as an option. What surprised me was that light shined through the cable even while spdif was disabled, but produced no sound. Is the light a transport medium for data or is light the data? I have no idea how that works.

The light was there, for it's the carrier, but the light pulses didn't carry anything but empty clock pulses while the device was disabled.
Looks like you problems are now solved, happy listening.