If one speaker is missing, will that affect how the others work, please?

Test with an surround sound media ie. Blu-ray or DVD)_. Disconnect the front and all other speakers that are working to see if sound from the missing speakers are heard. If this doesn't work then start by tracing and checking all the wires from the receiver to the speakers for bad/shorted/open connections.

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Most computer speakers are (SHIELDED) and this protects electronics from the magnets in the speakers! So you should be safe if your surround sound system is made for a computer system! ( if not two feet is a safe distance)
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Yes, you can connect all the other speakers and not have a center speaker. It will not damage the amplifier. But be aware, that many of the surround functions will not sound good without the center speaker. In just about every surround mode the center speaker gets more audio to it than any other speaker. It would sound better if you took one of the rear speakers and used it for a center speaker and have one rear speaker output no connected. The rear speakers get the least amount of sound going to them in all surround modes.

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Thanks,
Dave

To troubleshoot a speaker system where sound is not issuing from all speakers, please do the following:

1. Verify that all cables are plugged in correctly. Make sure the rear and/or center/sub audio cable is plugged in to the correct port. On most surround sound cards, the rear audio port is black, the front audio port is green, and the center/sub audio port is orange. If you do not have a surround sound card, make sure you obtain the proper adapter (discussed in the next paragraph) or use surround sound emulation if your speaker system offers it. If you are not sure if you have a surround sound card, please check with the manufacturer of your sound card for details.
2. Make sure your sound card supports the same amount of channels as your speaker system contains. For 4.1 systems, it should have a front and rear speaker jack on the card. For 5.1 systems, the card should have a front, rear, and center/sub, output. The card should be properly installed and configured. Please contact your sound card manufacturer for details. If you do not have a surround sound capable sound card, you can use the source selector switch or the M3D button on the controller unit (if available). You can also use an adapter to split the signal for the front and rear speakers. This type of adapter is a 3.5mm male to 2-3.5mm female jacks. You can purchase this adapter at your local electronic store. Please refer to your manual if you do not know if your speaker system can emulate surround sound.
3. Try connecting the speakers to a portable sound device such as a walkman or portable CD player. Plug the speakers into the headphone jack, but make sure the volume is lowered so the speakers are not over powered. You can do this for both the front, rear, center/sub speakers to verify that they work. If the speaker system works on the walkman, then you are experiencing a configuration issue with your sound card. Please contact your sound card manufacturer.
4. Check the system Volume Control located in the System tray. Make sure that the volumes are at a reasonable level and are not checked for Muting.

Try these articles as well:

Manual

Setting up the Z5500 with PC, Mac, Xbox, Playstation, DVD Player, etc.

Hope that helps! Should you have any further questions, please feel free to post them here.

P.S. - If you find that the solution/answer I provided led you to, or resulted in a fix, please close the ticket with a FixYa! rating. I would be very grateful for your show of appreciation.

Thank you for using FIXYA!

Cheers!
IrishDruid

To troubleshoot a speaker system where sound is not issuing from all speakers, please do the following:

1. Verify that all cables are plugged in correctly. Make sure the rear and/or center/sub audio cable is plugged in to the correct port. On most surround sound cards, the rear audio port is black, the front audio port is green, and the center/sub audio port is orange. If you do not have a surround sound card, make sure you obtain the proper adapter (discussed in the next paragraph) or use surround sound emulation if your speaker system offers it. If you are not sure if you have a surround sound card, please check with the manufacturer of your sound card for details.
2. Make sure your sound card supports the same amount of channels as your speaker system contains. For 4.1 systems, it should have a front and rear speaker jack on the card. For 5.1 systems, the card should have a front, rear, and center/sub, output. The card should be properly installed and configured. Please contact your sound card manufacturer for details. If you do not have a surround sound capable sound card, you can use the source selector switch or the M3D button on the controller unit (if available). You can also use an adapter to split the signal for the front and rear speakers. This type of adapter is a 3.5mm male to 2-3.5mm female jacks. You can purchase this adapter at your local electronic store. Please refer to your manual if you do not know if your speaker system can emulate surround sound.
3. Try connecting the speakers to a portable sound device such as a walkman or portable CD player. Plug the speakers into the headphone jack, but make sure the volume is lowered so the speakers are not over powered. You can do this for both the front, rear, center/sub speakers to verify that they work. If the speaker system works on the walkman, then you are experiencing a configuration issue with your sound card. Please contact your sound card manufacturer.
4. Check the system Volume Control located in the System tray. Make sure that the volumes are at a reasonable level and are not checked for Muting.

Try these articles as well:

Manual

Setting up the Z5500 with PC, Mac, Xbox, Playstation, DVD Player, etc.

Hope that helps! Should you have any further questions, please feel free to post them here.

P.S. - If you find that the solution/answer I provided led you to, or resulted in a fix, please close the ticket with a FixYa! rating. I would be very grateful for your show of appreciation.

Thank you for using FIXYA!

Cheers!
IrishDruid

To troubleshoot a speaker system where sound is not issuing from all speakers, please do the following:

1. Verify that all cables are plugged in correctly. Make sure the rear and/or center/sub audio cable is plugged in to the correct port. On most surround sound cards, the rear audio port is black, the front audio port is green, and the center/sub audio port is orange. If you do not have a surround sound card, make sure you obtain the proper adapter (discussed in the next paragraph) or use surround sound emulation if your speaker system offers it. If you are not sure if you have a surround sound card, please check with the manufacturer of your sound card for details.
2. Make sure your sound card supports the same amount of channels as your speaker system contains. For 4.1 systems, it should have a front and rear speaker jack on the card. For 5.1 systems, the card should have a front, rear, and center/sub, output. The card should be properly installed and configured. Please contact your sound card manufacturer for details. If you do not have a surround sound capable sound card, you can use the source selector switch or the M3D button on the controller unit (if available). You can also use an adapter to split the signal for the front and rear speakers. This type of adapter is a 3.5mm male to 2-3.5mm female jacks. You can purchase this adapter at your local electronic store. Please refer to your manual if you do not know if your speaker system can emulate surround sound.
3. Try connecting the speakers to a portable sound device such as a walkman or portable CD player. Plug the speakers into the headphone jack, but make sure the volume is lowered so the speakers are not over powered. You can do this for both the front, rear, center/sub speakers to verify that they work. If the speaker system works on the walkman, then you are experiencing a configuration issue with your sound card. Please contact your sound card manufacturer.
4. Check the system Volume Control located in the System tray. Make sure that the volumes are at a reasonable level and are not checked for Muting.

Try these articles as well:

Manual

Setting up the Z5500 with PC, Mac, Xbox, Playstation, DVD Player, etc.

Hope that helps! Should you have any further questions, please feel free to post them here.

P.S. - If you find that the solution/answer I provided led you to, or resulted in a fix, please close the ticket with a FixYa! rating. I would be very grateful for your show of appreciation.

Thank you for using FIXYA!

Cheers!
IrishDruid

go to tv menu> sound settings> enable surround.

Hello sweetnikki1,

The Altec Lansing AVS500 are 4.1 channel speakers, meaning 4 speakers (front, rear and 2 satellites) and a subwoofer.

1. Make sure the rear and/or center/sub audio cable is plugged in to the correct port. On most surround sound cards, the rear audio port is black, the front audio port is green, and the satellite cords are similarly color coded. The output from the sub to the front right satellite is a heavy-duty cable that immediately stands out from the rest. This cable is thicker because the right front speaker has most of the system controls on it: power, volume, and surround volume. If you do not have a surround sound card, make sure you obtain the proper adapter or use surround sound emulation if your speaker system offers it. If you are not sure if you have a surround sound card, please check with the manufacturer of your sound card for details.

2. Make sure your sound card supports the same amount of channels as your speaker system contains. For 4.1 systems, it should have a front and rear speaker jack on the card. The card should be properly installed and configured. Please contact your sound card manufacturer for details. If you do not have a surround sound capable sound card, on the left side are the sub level control, the AC jack, satellite outs, and a sound mode switch. With this switch you decide between Gaming and Stereo. In Stereo mode, the normal stereo signal is sent to both the fronts and the rears. In Gaming mode, the speakers use the four-channel signal from your soundcard. Hence if you just hav the regular sound card, do not connect the satellite speakers and use Stereo mode.

3. You can also use an adapter to split the signal for the front and rear speakers. This type of adapter is a 3.5mm male to 2-3.5mm female jacks. You can purchase this adapter at your local electronic store. Please refer to your manual if you do not know if your speaker system can emulate surround sound.

Hope this helps..

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to post them here. Please do not assign a rating until you feel your problem is resolved. I will try my best to help you further, if need be.

If you are satisfied with my solution or have no other questions, please close the problem by assigning a FixYa! rating for my solution. I would be very grateful for your show of appreciation.

Thank you for using FIXYA!

Cheers!
IrishDruid

DOES THE SURROUND SYSTEM HAVE A SPDIF AUDIO INPUT? THERE'S ONE ON THE TV IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TWO COAXIAL INPUTS.