Motherboard wont detect HD Audio input after installing new GPU (?!)

[Redgoulding]

Hello TH! We meet again after a few years (and thank-you for all the solutions you have provided to others that have in turn helped me since then!)

I have a strange conundrum in which I feel I have tried everything: After purchasing and installing a new 1060 GPU and setting up the video drivers without issue I have lost all sound from speakers/earphones plugged into any front or back jack.

UPDATE: Since writing I have noticed the ATX power connector is not being detected!? Refitting that does not work. Hardware issue? Badtimes?

For reference, here are my Device Manager and Sound settings. This tale takes place in Windows 10 on a Z77 Extreme 4 mobo.

At this point I tried...

- Selecting between Realtek and 'S240HL (High Definition Audio Device)' in playback devices.

- Setting speakers to default device (however, it's greyed out)

- Reinstalling the Realtek drivers with the latest provided by my motherboards manufacturers website.

- Disabling and then after that removing Nvidia HMDI audio drivers (I use external speakers plugged into the lime jack at the back/earphones in the front so I want onboard audio rather than HMDI audio)

- In the BIOS, changing the "Onboard HD Audio" setting to ENABLED (default auto), this tends to fix the problem for people who lose audio when installing an Nvidia GPU. Also attempting both enabled and disabled for the "Onboard HDMI HD AUDIO" setting.

...to no avail.

So here I check the BIOS again and see this: (1), (2). So I tried refitting the HD audio cable but still no recognition.

At this point I updated the BIOS from its 2012 version to the most recent version and reinstalling Realtek drivers. No luck. I also can't seem to open the Realtek audio manager program, it doesn't appear in the tray nor does the .exe open anything.

-----

So any ideas folks as to why my mobo suddenly wont recognise the onboard HD audio? I'm reluctant to purchase a pci-e sound card since A. £££ and B. the front jacks will still not work with that setup.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Lutfij]

1| Can you please list your specs like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS: Windows 10.

2| How old is your PSU?

3| Have you tried running repair install to rid the OS of any inherent corruption?

 

[Redgoulding]

Thanks for the reply!

1.
CPU: I5-3750k
Motherboard: Z77 Extreme 4
Ram: Corsair Vengeance 2x4 GB
SSD/HDD: Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB (SSD) / WDC WD5000AAKX-00ERMA0 500GB (HHD)
GPU: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
PSU: ModXStream Pro 500W Modular Power Supply
Chassis: Antec 300 Three Hundred Two Case
OS: Windows 10.

2. Old, near 10 years. I was playing vanilla WoW with this thing! Could be the problem? Unsure of why it would fail right as a new GPU is being installed.

3. I shall attempt a repair install now - though I installed the SSD with a clean Windows installation within the last month so corruption, minus any settings I may have played with wrongly, shouldn't be too great.

 

[Redgoulding]

No change after repair install.

 

[Redgoulding]

I have since tried a friends', known to be working, PSU and similarly the Z77's bios system browser shows no ATX nor HD audio cable connections as seen in this image. Does this indicate a faulty motherboard, perhaps damaged when swapping GPUs over? Or is there a software solution? Are these even the cause of the lack of audio?

 

[Dragos Manea]

You can try removing the videocard and working only on the integrated videocard. Be sure to use DDU to uninstall videodrivers.

 

[Redgoulding]

Thanks for replying Dragos, I followed your steps and am now operating solely on on-board graphics. However after checking the BIOS system browser again the mobo is now only detecting one of my two sticks of RAM (even after refitting them both to ensure no loose connections after installing the alternative PSU). Confirmed via dxdiag that only 4gb of RAM are being used. I'm thinking this is a motherboard death.