[SOLVED] During Windows 10 Session Microphone and Internal Speakers Stopped Working

[AlphaBots]

Hello everyone,

I encountered this issue this past week and am at my whits end trying to solve it.

I was in the middle of working on my MSI GS63 Stealth using Windows 10 (version 1903 - KB4537572). I decided to take a quick break and check out a video I'd marked on YouTube a few days earlier. When I accessed the video however, no sound came out of my internal speakers despite the YouTube slider and the system slider both being at maximum. It is worth noting the speakers were being detected by the system.

Immediately I right-clicked on the sound icon to begin troubleshooting. The process stated "audio enhancements" may have been causing the problem and deactivating these for my speakers would solve the issue. Doing so did indeed fix the problem (though the sound is now worse than before) after a Windows restart.

One thing that caught my eye was that the internal speakers listed an error during my Windows 10 session about "Device not migrated", which I have never seen before.

Over time, the reduced audio quality began to irk me as I began to notice a small amount of audible static stuttering if I moved the sound level somewhat rapidly. This was further compounded today when I tried to record a video voice over and found my internal microphone was also strangely inoperable but still detected. Both my speakers and microphone are designated as Realtek(R) Audio for reference, and I suspect this is a key part to the issue.

Trying to modify audio enhancements has not worked for the microphone.

Here are my attempted remedies:

• Accessing the Device Manager and updating all drivers from the online search option did not solve the problem.
• Turning back on audio enhancements returns the previous mute state for the internal speakers.
• I attempted to update every possible driver manually for my computer, but still have not found success. This includes Nvidia, Intel, and anything associated with sound as listed in the Device Manager window. I attempted to update my Realtek audio drivers, but navigating the company's website is about as enjoyable as a colonoscopy and eventually I gave up in the interest of time. I also refuse to use a "driver manager software" for safety considerations unless a non-self promoted and reputable one exists.
• I've floated the idea of reverting to a previous windows instance, but I'm in the middle of a massive project and would prefer not having to revert my system to a previous instance if possible.
• Uninstalling both the microphone/speaker hardware from Device Manager and restarting the computer does not solve the problem.
• Windows Updates have not solved the issue either.

All I want is to have my computer be able to play quality sound and have a functioning internal microphone once more. Especially in the COVID world we find ourselves in, this has gone from an inconvenience to a major issue. I'd appreciate if anyone has any tips or guidance to produce a remedy. I thought this would be a relatively simple fix, but so far I'm mistaken.

I can provide any information I neglected here as needed.

Thanks in advance!
Alpha

 

[Ralston18]

There are some things you can do:

1) Look in Reliability History for error codes and warnings. May even be an informational event.

2) Run built-in Windows 10 troubleshooters. The troubleshooters may find and fix something.

3) Try running "sfc /scannow" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

FYI:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Do you have other known work microphones and speakers to swap in?

Idea being to eliminate some hardware problem with the existing audio components.

 

[AlphaBots]

There are some things you can do:

1) Look in Reliability History for error codes and warnings. May even be an informational event.

2) Run built-in Windows 10 troubleshooters. The troubleshooters may find and fix something.

3) Try running "sfc /scannow" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

FYI:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Do you have other known work microphones and speakers to swap in?

Idea being to eliminate some hardware problem with the existing audio components.

Hi Ralston,

Thanks for the help! I tried steps 2 and 3 before posting to no avail, though sfc /scannow did fix some corrupted files.

As for looking at reliability history, I found a huge number of "Critical Errors" for the executable AUDIODG.exe crashing (37 in two days). Searching my computer I could find no such executable, and as of now I haven't been able to make my system throw the error again. I would attach a screenshot here but I can't find an upload option... Probably for security reasons?

After posting this topic I connected an external microphone to my computer and had no issues getting this hardware to work. This tells me the issue likely lies within Windows or my computer's code.

As fate would have it, a Windows Update occurred over the weekend. After updating and unchecking my "Audio Enhancements" once more my internal microphone has started to work once again (go figure).

So as of now my computer is in an operational state but I'm still mystified as to what happened here. Anyone have any other thoughts? Is there a key combination that can stealthily be pressed which can mess up audio settings?

Thanks again,
Alpha

 

[Ralston18]

What happened?

My classification is "Gremlins".

To be a bit more serious, very likely some software bug that was quietly fixed.

Or perhaps, to be fair, just a corrupted file that the next update overwrote thus fixing the problem.

For the most part, as far as I honestly know, most key combinations are simply "shortcuts" to some feature or function from which you can make deliberate, intentional configuration changes.

Exception being maybe gaming: I.e., you hit some key combination (intentionally or accidentally) and "nuke em all" . Including yourself. If intentional okay. If not intentional then you go back to Level -X. Tough luck for you.

I can touch type but my accuracy is not as it used to be. So if I hit the wrong key(s) and my computer goes haywire - not good.

As far as I know most software developers would prefer that "typos" are not instant crashes, etc..

Just image some utility with a keyboard combination that equates to "wipe my hard drive".

Those are called viruses....

 

[AlphaBots]

What happened?

My classification is "Gremlins".

To be a bit more serious, very likely some software bug that was quietly fixed.

Or perhaps, to be fair, just a corrupted file that the next update overwrote thus fixing the problem.

For the most part, as far as I honestly know, most key combinations are simply "shortcuts" to some feature or function from which you can make deliberate, intentional configuration changes.

Exception being maybe gaming: I.e., you hit some key combination (intentionally or accidentally) and "nuke em all" . Including yourself. If intentional okay. If not intentional then you go back to Level -X. Tough luck for you.

I can touch type but my accuracy is not as it used to be. So if I hit the wrong key(s) and my computer goes haywire - not good.

As far as I know most software developers would prefer that "typos" are not instant crashes, etc..

Just image some utility with a keyboard combination that equates to "wipe my hard drive".

Those are called viruses....

That's the best guess I have also. It's possible I hit a critical set of key combinations while working, so the possibilities might be endless.

Though as you put so eloquently, I hope there isn't one for "wipe my hard drive."

Thanks again for the help.