Help with Asus MB M4A785-M system

Mother board: Asus M4a785-m. AMD 2 socket.
CPU AMD Athlon II X4 630 processor 2.6 Ghz
4 Gigs Ram
Windows 7, 64 bit
Western Digital 500G hard drive.

Latest flash bios.
Latest mother board sound.
HD Audio Deck Version 7.9.00.32
Codec VT1708S
Direct X 11


Mother board sound system.

Coolermaster CM storm with front USB ports, head set port, mic port, and external SATA port.

Problem: I run speakers from the back panel.
I use head set Mic only, from the front panel.

Bios set for on board HD audio.

Front panel plug has 2 plugs - HD audio and ACS 97. HD Audio plugged in to mother board at the proper connection point

Using the HD audio program, I can get the front mic to work ONLY when the head set part is used. I don't want that, as it cuts off the speakers in the back.

For years, using XP and until recently, I have been able to use speakers plugged into the back and a mic in the front.
No more. And I have no idea why..

Recently the machine started randomly shutting itself off. So I cleared the Cmos, replaced the battery and reflashed the bios with the best update available - from 2010.

Can anyone tell me how to fix this, or set it up so that I can use the front mic hook up again with the rear speakers?

Thanks.

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