Surround sound from laptop - struggling!

[mattjax05]

Right, all set up for hdmi from laptop to surround amp. The film on the laptop plays and the audio output is 5.1. When it hits my amp though only 2 channels are being received. Therefore I guess one of two things:

HDMI on my laptop converts all sound to 2.0 - (could this be the case?)

My soundcard 'IDT Audio Control' doesn't support surround sound - (how can I check this? Also I always assumed using a digital out i.e. HDMI the soundcard is bypassed anyway?)

Help would be appreciated.

 

[grdunn123]

It may be that you need to connect an optical cable to your receiver too.

 

[mattjax05]

grdunn123:It may be that you need to connect an optical cable to your receiver too.

No optical connection from my laptop (it's not hidden in the headphone jack!)