[SOLVED] "A Conexant audio device could not be found. The application will now exit" ?

[J-Po]

Hello,

I bought a brand new Lenovo Yoga Thinkpad L13 running Windows 10 a few months ago and yesterday I started getting an annoying pop up that says "A Conexant audio device could not be found. The application will now exit." I close the pop up and it comes back immediately.

The pop up seems to appear after I wake my computer up from sleep and I've also noticed that although my volume still works, it now seems lower than normal (I have to put it all the way up to top volume to hear properly, when I didn't have to do that before yesterday).

I found something online dated a year ago that said Windows 10 version 2004 (which is what I have) has issues with certain Conexant audio drivers, but it didn't offer any solutions and I'm not a big techie and I have no idea how to fix this issue.

Can anyone please help?

Thank you!
Jenny

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Check Lenovo web support for an updated audio driver for your Thinkpad model?

 

[Cj-tech]

This Lenovo program automatically checks for the latest drivers for your device: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/do...-7-32-bit-64-bit-desktop-notebook-workstation

I’ve used it on my own Lenovo devices to update bios and drivers. It’s also worth mentioning to check for Windows updates.

 

[J-Po]

Thank you both - that did the trick!

 

[Cj-tech]

Thank you both - that did the trick!

No problem, I'm glad we could offer assistance!

 

[J-Po]

Oh - shoot. I spoke too soon!

I went to the Lenovo site and updated my drivers and I initiated available Windows 10 updates, and yet I'm still getting the pop-up. Any more ideas?

 

[Cj-tech]

Oh - shoot. I spoke too soon!

I went to the Lenovo site and updated my drivers and I initiated available Windows 10 updates, and yet I'm still getting the pop-up. Any more ideas?

Hi again! Whenever you get a chance, could you share a photo of the pop-up? You can try doing this as well:

1. Go to Lenovo's PC support page: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/
2. Enter your Laptop serial number in the box and click search/press enter (to find it, press the Windows key + R, type cmd.exe, and press enter. Next type/paste the following command into the prompt: wmic bios get serialnumber -- the part underneath "Serial Number" is what you want)
3. On the webpage, select "Drivers & Software"
4. Next click "Manual Update"
5. Click on "Audio" then expand the dropdown menu for the driver listed there (if there are multiple drivers, select the newest one)
6. On the dropdown menu, click the Download icon for the driver (not the read me file)
7. After it downloads, run the .exe file and follow the prompts to install it.4

Edit: It would also probably be good to reboot your computer after installing drivers.

 

[J-Po]

Hi again! Whenever you get a chance, could you share a photo of the pop-up? You can try doing this as well:

1. Go to Lenovo's PC support page: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/
2. Enter your Laptop serial number in the box and click search/press enter (to find it, press the Windows key + R, type cmd.exe, and press enter. Next type/paste the following command into the prompt: wmic bios get serialnumber -- the part underneath "Serial Number" is what you want)
3. On the webpage, select "Drivers & Software"
4. Next click "Manual Update"
5. Click on "Audio" then expand the dropdown menu for the driver listed there (if there are multiple drivers, select the newest one)
6. On the dropdown menu, click the Download icon for the driver (not the read me file)
7. After it downloads, run the .exe file and follow the prompts to install it.4

Edit: It would also probably be good to reboot your computer after installing drivers.

Hi again! Whenever you get a chance, could you share a photo of the pop-up? You can try doing this as well:

1. Go to Lenovo's PC support page: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/
2. Enter your Laptop serial number in the box and click search/press enter (to find it, press the Windows key + R, type cmd.exe, and press enter. Next type/paste the following command into the prompt: wmic bios get serialnumber -- the part underneath "Serial Number" is what you want)
3. On the webpage, select "Drivers & Software"
4. Next click "Manual Update"
5. Click on "Audio" then expand the dropdown menu for the driver listed there (if there are multiple drivers, select the newest one)
6. On the dropdown menu, click the Download icon for the driver (not the read me file)
7. After it downloads, run the .exe file and follow the prompts to install it.4

Edit: It would also probably be good to reboot your computer after installing drivers.

Hi Cj-tech,

Thank for the very clear instructions!

Here is the pop up:

I followed your instructions. There were 3 downloads listed under "Audio" and I downloaded the top one, then ran a scan for “Automatic updates” and was told I should download the second one, so I did that too.

Yet I’m still getting the pop up and when I look under “Audio” all 3 of the drivers are still listed there as if needing an update. Today I ran a scan under “Automatic” driver update and was told I need this update, so I did that:

Now according to the “Automatic driver update” page, I don’t need any more updates, but those 3 driver updates are STILL listed under “Manual driver update” > “Audio.” Shouldn’t they disappear after I’ve downloaded them and done the updates?

 

[Cj-tech]

Hi Cj-tech,

Thank for the very clear instructions!

Here is the pop up:

No problem, thanks for providing that screenshot.

I followed your instructions. There were 3 downloads listed under "Audio" and I downloaded the top one, then ran a scan for “Automatic updates” and was told I should download the second one, so I did that too.

It looks like you have the right drivers installed.

Yet I’m still getting the pop up and when I look under “Audio” all 3 of the drivers are still listed there as if needing an update. Today I ran a scan under “Automatic” driver update and was told I need this update, so I did that:

Now according to the “Automatic driver update” page, I don’t need any more updates, but those 3 driver updates are STILL listed under “Manual driver update” > “Audio.” Shouldn’t they disappear after I’ve downloaded them and done the updates?

I do not know if they should disappear after you have installed them. They may remain there so you can install older updates if you ever have the need to do so.... It seems to me that the old drivers or software may have been removed and the popup is saying that it can't find the software. Have you tried clicking the popup if it's clickable?

You can try running the sound troubleshooter by typing "fix sound" into the search box and selecting it from the list of options.

At one point, I had a similar issue after uninstalling the NVIDIA GeForce Experience program on my laptop. It constantly displayed pop-ups at startup until I reinstalled the program. If you uninstalled anything recently that may be related to the audio issue, you can try to reinstall it.

One method that could work is to re-install Windows 10 which will keep your files and programs but remove unnecessary files (like the one that causes the pop-up). On the official download page, scroll down to and click the button that says "Download Tool Now." Follow the prompts and choose to "Upgrade this PC Now." Make sure to select the option to keep all your files and data in one of the later prompts. This will take a few hours, if you need to use your computer, don't do this right now. If you do decide to try this, make sure to leave the computer plugged in and do not power it down during the process. Also, in the case that something goes wrong (i.e. your files aren't saved, which is rare), it is always good to have your files saved somewhere else -- especially important files.

If nothing in this post works, I do not think I will be able to assist you any further. Best of luck!

 

[Dougalugs]

Hello @J-Po , did you finally solve your issue with the last instructions from @Cj-tech as I am experiencing the same issue on my new L13 Yoga. Hoping I don't need to reinstall windows to fix it tho.

 

[J-Po]

Hello @J-Po , did you finally solve your issue with the last instructions from @Cj-tech as I am experiencing the same issue on my new L13 Yoga. Hoping I don't need to reinstall windows to fix it tho.

Hi there,

Oh shoot! I forgot to come back and mark this as 'solved,' but yes my issue was fixed! To be honest, I don't completely remember what finally did it, but I have a vague memory that I just repeated all of the steps that @Cj-tech recommended a couple of times and then the pop ups stopped (without me having to reinstall windows).

Best of luck to you!

 

[J-Po]

I'm coming back to this old post to report the steps that helped me fix this issue in case it will help someone else.

Type: ‘Services’ in Windows search box (may or may not have to choose ‘run as administrator’)

Find the two programs below (CxAudioSvc & CxUtilSvc)

Open each one by either double clicking or Right clicking, then open properties

From Properties, click on ‘stop’ from running (can also right click and select ‘stop’)

Change startup type for each one from ‘automatic’ to ‘disabled’