speaker properties

Hi, i want to input a device in line-in, and i used 'listen to this device' but that causes a 0,5sec lag. I've read that if you up the volume under Speaker Properties=> levels tab you don't have to use the 'listen' option and the lag goes away. However, when i check my options there is...

Ok so here is my problem, my sound hasn't been working for a few weeks now. If if try to play a test tone from the control panel i get a message that says "failed to play test tone." However when i first turn on my laptop it plays the startup sound so i know it isn't a hardware issue. Here are...