Audio chime at startup, none after that

Question

When I start my Macbook Pro (mid 2009 15") I get the familiar audio chime.  However, when it finishes startup and I get to my desktop, I have no audio, and the audio icon up top is grayed out.  The audio output jack works fine.  I can use speakers and headphones.  I've tried the solution of wiggling around a headphone plug in the jack, as well as doing the same with a toothpick.  I've also reset the PRAM.  For some reason, the problem persists.  When I open sound settings in preferences, the only device listed is "Digital Out" and there is a message under it saying "The Selected Device has No Output Controls."
Is there anyone who has had a similar issue and has a solution? I've tried everything I can think of.  Thanks.
Eric

Answer 1

Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing drive
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
     Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
                 if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.