No sound after Windows 10 up-date this week

[Allisonashley]

Windows 10 updated my Acer Switch 10 without asking my permission this week. Now I have no sound or microphone. I can see the green volume bars moving on the speakers but cannot hear anything. I cannot Skype with business connections as the microphone cannot hear me. I have gone to the Acer web-site and downloaded the Real Tek High Definition drivers and installed them and while I see the files in software, they are not coming through to the device manager. I have uninstalled the Windows generic audio device and rebooted the system several times but it keeps coming back up with the windows general device. I have tried to adjust the microphone to 24 from the 16 but cannot as selection is grayed out. I have spent hours on this tonight but just don't know what to do next. Any assistance would be appreciated as I don't know what to do next and I do need to sound for this little laptop.

 

[techgeek]

Can you provide a screenshot of your Device Manager? This would help us visualize what is happening there.

When you installed the drivers from Acer, did you get any sort of error message? Did it ask to reboot after they installed?

 

[Allisonashley]

There was no error message when I downloaded the drivers and I did reboot the system after they were installed.

Not sure how to put in a screen shot of the as when I click on the picture icon it asks for a URL which I cannot provide - it is a picture not a URL.

My apologies for not being able to figure out how to post the screenshot. If someone can provide a clue I will gladly do it.

Allison

 

[techgeek]

The easiest way I've found to do a screenshot is to get your screen ready with what you want, then hit the Print Scrn button on your keyboard. This will place the screenshot on the Windows Clipboard. Next open paint and you'll see the paste button, hit it and your screenshot will appear. Then do File > Save As pick a file name and save it as a JPEG. Then you need a image hosting site like Imageshack or Photobucket to upload the screenshot to. You'll have to sign up for a free account. Once you've uploaded your screenshot, you'll find a link to the image, this is the link you put in the URL of the image button. This will paste the screenshot in your post for us to see.

Just a word of caution, don't have anything in the screenshot that can compromise your identity or private... well anything. So no porn in the browser in the background, no banking docs or anything like that.

 

[Allisonashley]

The easiest way I've found to do a screenshot is to get your screen ready with what you want, then hit the Print Scrn button on your keyboard. This will place the screenshot on the Windows Clipboard. Next open paint and you'll see the paste button, hit it and your screenshot will appear. Then do File > Save As pick a file name and save it as a JPEG. Then you need a image hosting site like Imageshack or Photobucket to upload the screenshot to. You'll have to sign up for a free account. Once you've uploaded your screenshot, you'll find a link to the image, this is the link you put in the URL of the image button. This will paste the screenshot in your post for us to see.

Just a word of caution, don't have anything in the screenshot that can compromise your identity or private... well anything. So no porn in the browser in the background, no banking docs or anything like that.

 

[Allisonashley]

Thank you so much for the directions re screenshot. Let's try this and see what happens.


If it does not work, let me know and I'll see what other options the page shows.

Allison

 

[techgeek]

Hello Allison. The screenshot worked fine. I have a couple of questions:

1. Can you give me the exact model of Acer Switch you have? It should be Switch 10 or Switch 10 (E or V), and the Product # which should look like SWX-XXX.

2. Is this Windows 10 32 bit or 64 bit? I'm assuming 32 bit since that's the only drivers for Windows 10 that Acer supplies.

3. Can you take a screenshot of the Control Panel Sound application. If you are unsure of how to get to it, just type Sound into the Search and it should come up. I am interested to see what your default Playback device is.

There is a quick fix option (driver rollback or System Restore, or even uninstall the last set of updates), but we should know what's going on before we take this route, as Windows Update will likely reverse the process. Or it may have been just a coincidence that you sound stopped working after the update. So we need to make sure before just trying to fix it. It could be that all Windows did was mess with your default Playback and Record defaults and they just need to be set back to their original defaults.

Everything seems normal in your Device Manager that I can see. It uses the Intel SST Audio Device (this is the actual hardware), and the Realtek "drivers" are only CODECs from what I can understand. There are no exclamation marks, so everything is working fine according to the OS.

 

[Allisonashley]

Hello Allison. The screenshot worked fine. I have a couple of questions:

1. Can you give me the exact model of Acer Switch you have? It should be Switch 10 or Switch 10 (E or V), and the Product # which should look like SWX-XXX.

2. Is this Windows 10 32 bit or 64 bit? I'm assuming 32 bit since that's the only drivers for Windows 10 that Acer supplies.

3. Can you take a screenshot of the Control Panel Sound application. If you are unsure of how to get to it, just type Sound into the Search and it should come up. I am interested to see what your default Playback device is.

There is a quick fix option (driver rollback or System Restore, or even uninstall the last set of updates), but we should know what's going on before we take this route, as Windows Update will likely reverse the process. Or it may have been just a coincidence that you sound stopped working after the update. So we need to make sure before just trying to fix it. It could be that all Windows did was mess with your default Playback and Record defaults and they just need to be set back to their original defaults.

Everything seems normal in your Device Manager that I can see. It uses the Intel SST Audio Device (this is the actual hardware), and the Realtek "drivers" are only CODECs from what I can understand. There are no exclamation marks, so everything is working fine according to the OS.

 

[Allisonashley]

Hello Techgeek. Thank you for your response. I have posted a couple of screenshots - one with the Acer details and one with the Sound Playback screen. I tried the System Restore before I posted my question originally but because I have CCleaner it removed the "Old Window" set-up so I cannot use the option. Not even sure I can use a driver roll-back but wisdom from this site is always appreciated. My apologies for the delay in response - I have spent most of the day assisting with cathedral services so have not been able to access the internet at all. Thank you so much for your assistance. Allison

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[techgeek]

Ok. well it's definitely a 32bit OS. That much I suspected.

In your screenshot of the Sound CPL app, if you highlight the Intel SST Audio Device, does the Properties button become hightlighted. If so, can you go in there and in the General tab, make sure Device Usage is set to Use this Device (Enable), then look at the Levels tab and make sure the volume slider is turned up (it should be as it moves with the Windows volume slider. Make sure the little speaker right of the volume slider doesn't show muted (little red striked circle). Then under Advanced, there will be a Default Format and next to it a Test button. Give the test a try.

Let me know what you find.

 

[Allisonashley]

Hello Techgeek.
Thank you for your response. I did go through what you asked. The settings are all correct. Use this Device (Enable) is there, Levels are at 50% and the volume slider is in the middle as well and is not muted. However, when I click on the Test button under Advanced, no sound comes out. The green arrow changes colour briefly and then goes back to green, but that is it. I have attached a screenshot to give you an idea of what I am looking at under Advanced. Thank you for all your assistance in this. I do appreciate it.



Allison

 

[techgeek]

Also this is something I should have asked originally and I feel kind of stupid for not asking. There is probably a headphones jack on the tablet / screen bezel. Have you tried plugging earbuds or headphones in here to see if the sound works in them? It's possible that the speakers themselves are faulty and not the actual sound device.


Ok, lets have a look at that driver. Open up the Device Manager and highlight the Intel SST Audio Device and right-click it, select Properties. That should bring up a windows with four tabs (General, Driver, Details, Events), it's likely the General tab is going to say This device is working properly since there were no exclamation marks in the main Device Manager window. Lets start at the Driver tab. Can you take a screenshot of it? This will give us the details of the driver itself. This is also where you can Roll Back Driver.

Before rolling back (I know it's tempting to just try it first), could we get a couple screenshots? That way we know where we are before we change anything. After taking the screenshot here, lets have a look at the Events tab.

This is going to give us our crumb trail so to speak. All events to do with this hardware will be logged here. If your assumption about Windows Update breaking something (though it apparently doesn't know that it's broken) it should show us the last things that went on. It sorts it from oldest events at the top to latest events at the bottom of the list. If there are enough of them, you are likely going to have to use the scroll bar to see the bottom of this list. Hopefully you are going to see events around the time of the Windows Update that started all of this. At least that's my hope. Can you take a screenshot of this? I'm hoping you'll see a series of events here that show that the old driver was removed and a new one installed. Or at least something pointing to the fateful day you lost your audio.

At this point with all the screenshots made, go ahead and give the Roll Back Driver button on the Driver tab a push (assuming the button isn't greyed out. After doing this (a reboot may be needed), does the sound work?


I patiently await your answers.

 

[Allisonashley]

Also this is something I should have asked originally and I feel kind of stupid for not asking. There is probably a headphones jack on the tablet / screen bezel. Have you tried plugging earbuds or headphones in here to see if the sound works in them? It's possible that the speakers themselves are faulty and not the actual sound device.


Ok, lets have a look at that driver. Open up the Device Manager and highlight the Intel SST Audio Device and right-click it, select Properties. That should bring up a windows with four tabs (General, Driver, Details, Events), it's likely the General tab is going to say This device is working properly since there were no exclamation marks in the main Device Manager window. Lets start at the Driver tab. Can you take a screenshot of it? This will give us the details of the driver itself. This is also where you can Roll Back Driver.

Before rolling back (I know it's tempting to just try it first), could we get a couple screenshots? That way we know where we are before we change anything. After taking the screenshot here, lets have a look at the Events tab.

This is going to give us our crumb trail so to speak. All events to do with this hardware will be logged here. If your assumption about Windows Update breaking something (though it apparently doesn't know that it's broken) it should show us the last things that went on. It sorts it from oldest events at the top to latest events at the bottom of the list. If there are enough of them, you are likely going to have to use the scroll bar to see the bottom of this list. Hopefully you are going to see events around the time of the Windows Update that started all of this. At least that's my hope. Can you take a screenshot of this? I'm hoping you'll see a series of events here that show that the old driver was removed and a new one installed. Or at least something pointing to the fateful day you lost your audio.

At this point with all the screenshots made, go ahead and give the Roll Back Driver button on the Driver tab a push (assuming the button isn't greyed out. After doing this (a reboot may be needed), does the sound work?


I patiently await your answers.

 

[Allisonashley]

Also this is something I should have asked originally and I feel kind of stupid for not asking. There is probably a headphones jack on the tablet / screen bezel. Have you tried plugging earbuds or headphones in here to see if the sound works in them? It's possible that the speakers themselves are faulty and not the actual sound device.


Ok, lets have a look at that driver. Open up the Device Manager and highlight the Intel SST Audio Device and right-click it, select Properties. That should bring up a windows with four tabs (General, Driver, Details, Events), it's likely the General tab is going to say This device is working properly since there were no exclamation marks in the main Device Manager window. Lets start at the Driver tab. Can you take a screenshot of it? This will give us the details of the driver itself. This is also where you can Roll Back Driver.

Before rolling back (I know it's tempting to just try it first), could we get a couple screenshots? That way we know where we are before we change anything. After taking the screenshot here, lets have a look at the Events tab.

This is going to give us our crumb trail so to speak. All events to do with this hardware will be logged here. If your assumption about Windows Update breaking something (though it apparently doesn't know that it's broken) it should show us the last things that went on. It sorts it from oldest events at the top to latest events at the bottom of the list. If there are enough of them, you are likely going to have to use the scroll bar to see the bottom of this list. Hopefully you are going to see events around the time of the Windows Update that started all of this. At least that's my hope. Can you take a screenshot of this? I'm hoping you'll see a series of events here that show that the old driver was removed and a new one installed. Or at least something pointing to the fateful day you lost your audio.

At this point with all the screenshots made, go ahead and give the Roll Back Driver button on the Driver tab a push (assuming the button isn't greyed out. After doing this (a reboot may be needed), does the sound work?


I patiently await your answers.

 

[Allisonashley]

Dear Techgeek:
Thank you for your patience. I think we are working across several different time zones to start with and I also work during the day so it will take time to respond.

First comment is one that you may be familiar with: "Hueston, we have a problem!" The problem is that I have no headphones or earbuds! My spouse has a beautiful sound system so we listen to music each evening/day and when I use the sound on this little tablet laptop it is to Skype or listen to Spotify when we are travelling so we are both present. So I don't have a set of earphones. Sorry about that!

However, I have taken screenshots of what you have requested. There are many. I noted on the one that there is a comment that something needs to be added but I have not been able to find the resources. Hopefully this all makes sense.

Allison




Several screens re drivers installed and deleted






I did not roll back any drivers.

Hopefully this provides some answers to your questions. Again my apologies for not having earphones/earbuds. Not something we have ever needed.

Allison

 

[techgeek]

Was this device originally a different OS? If so when did you move to Windows 10? If yes, I'd take a guess and say April 20, 2016 as that what it looks like from the Event Viewer. Then it looks like many attempts were made following that. The most telling is the Information panel at the bottom of the Event Viewer:

Device ACPI\80860F28\1 requires further installation.

However it's really hard to tell for sure. Since it might have been a single event you had highlighted and it may have been fixed further down.

To proceed, I need the exact model number of Switch you have. I will direct you to a download, but I need to know which one you have.

 

[Allisonashley]

Was this device originally a different OS? If so when did you move to Windows 10? If yes, I'd take a guess and say April 20, 2016 as that what it looks like from the Event Viewer. Then it looks like many attempts were made following that. The most telling is the Information panel at the bottom of the Event Viewer:

Device ACPI\80860F28\1 requires further installation.

However it's really hard to tell for sure. Since it might have been a single event you had highlighted and it may have been fixed further down.

To proceed, I need the exact model number of Switch you have. I will direct you to a download, but I need to know which one you have.

 

[Allisonashley]

Good evening Techgeek.
Actually I originally updated to Windows 10 in July 2015 with no problems. It was last week when Microsoft then did an up-date of Windows 10 without asking permission. I booted my system and it said it was configuring Windows with updates and that left me without the tablet for about six hours while it went through all its configurations, etc.

When I noticed that I had no sound I tried the various suggestions to obtain sound which included deleting the driver and rebooting the system so it would reinstall the correct one.

This is the model number I took from the Acer site under my profile: SW5-012-13QX (Acer Aspire Switch 10). Hope that helps.

Allison

 

[techgeek]

Ok, here are the Intel Platform drivers for Windows 10. Let me know if these are the drivers you tried to install:

Intel Platform Drivers Installer

I think these are all the drivers for you notebook.

 

[Allisonashley]

Yes these are the drivers I tried to install. I just clicked on them and they are the same as the ones saved in my download folder.

Allison

 

[techgeek]

You selected this as the best solution, did this fix it for you? If not, I will unselect until we have sorted it out.

 

[Allisonashley]

Hello Techgeek. This was the best answer as it fixed the difficulty. It looks like my response from 30 April wherein I said that I had extracted the files, clicked on set-up and after a couple of reboots the sound was back, did not show up. Thank you so much for all your time and effort in working on this to solve the difficulty. I am so appreciative. Last question: what happens if Microsoft issues another Windows 10 up-date and installs it without asking and I lose sound again? Will I need to reinstall the drivers using this link again?

Allison

 

[techgeek]

Have a look at this link:

How to block unwanted Windows Updates in Windows 10

This link details how to block specific updates from being applied. It would be useful therefore to find out what updates you were delivered on the day that your notebook lost sound to determine which one did this.

The easiest way to find out what updates were applied that day is to search Check for Updates and open Check for Updates. Then click on the Advanced Options where you'll find a link to View your update history. From here you'll see all the updates and when they were installed. There is also a short description of the update. Most are pretty vague, so you may have to click Successfully installed on DD/MM/YYYY to get a little more information. Once you've sorted out which update caused your problem, note the KB number and use the link above to block that update from being install again.

This should work for that particular update. However there is no guarantee that additional updates won't come that usurp this update, in which case, first you can hope that it won't bork your notebook like this one did. Or secondly you will have re-install the drivers again.

 

[Allisonashley]

Thank you Techgeek for the link and suggestions. When I checked on the up-dates and more information the details given were that it was a cumulative Windows 10 up-date. When I looked at what it had installed there was nothing to do with the sound drivers - it appears to be security drivers. Weird. However, at least I have the downloaded drivers so it happens again I can hopefully repair it. Again my thanks for all your help. I greatly appreciate it. Allison

 

[techgeek]

No problem, glad I could help.