[SOLVED] Windows thinks i have no audio devices installed and doesnt detect sound card, how do i fix?

Jun 30, 2021
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PC Parts:
Motherboard: B450 Aorus Elite (first revision)
GPU: GTX 1060 3GB (Windforce)
CPU: Ryzen 5 1600AF
16GB of DDR4 RAM

Windows version is 21H1, OS Build 19043. 1052

Around 2 weeks ago i moved to my grandparents for the summer and after setting up my PC (without setting up the internet) i booted it up and Windows thought that was the perfect time to update, the update failed and the changes were reverted but ever since no Audio works at all, the sound icon in my task bar has a little red X in the corner, right-clicking shows "Speaker Setup (UNKNOWN)" and Windows thinks no audio devices are installed, if i try and dxdiag it doesn't detect any sound card

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling drivers through the windows troubleshooter, and manually, multiple times, i've tried restarting the audio services, tried replugging in the audio cable into my motherboard, updating Windows (twice) and without luck. The problem persists


However one interesting detail is when i try to plug in something like headphones, mic, speakers or even a line in, the Realtek Audio Console properly detects that i plugged something in, what port it was plugged in and asks me what i plugged in (headphones or speakers if i plug it in green, mic if i plug in the pink one) and i can change their volume but as soon as i switch tabs the volumes reset back to 0, and Windows still doesn't think there are any output or input devices installed (not even digital ones for Nvidia or Stereo Mixer) when Realtek detects them just fine.
 
Solution
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

It's highly possible that the OS might broken the drivers or itself in the process of updating. You will need to check and see what BIOS version you're on at the time of writing. If you have any pending, please gradually work your way to the latest version. Following that, you might want to try uninstall and reinstall your audio drivers. When reinstalling use the latest sourced from Gigabyte's support site for the motherboard, then manually install the drivers in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

If that still doesn't revive your audio, you will need to fabricate the bootable USB installer for Windows 10 using Windows Media Creation Tools and reinstall the OS(from...

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

It's highly possible that the OS might broken the drivers or itself in the process of updating. You will need to check and see what BIOS version you're on at the time of writing. If you have any pending, please gradually work your way to the latest version. Following that, you might want to try uninstall and reinstall your audio drivers. When reinstalling use the latest sourced from Gigabyte's support site for the motherboard, then manually install the drivers in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

If that still doesn't revive your audio, you will need to fabricate the bootable USB installer for Windows 10 using Windows Media Creation Tools and reinstall the OS(from scratch, not a reset) and then install all relevant platform/motherboard drivers manually in an elevated command.
 
Solution

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
The starting point is to click the small speaker icon usually found in the lower right screen corner.

Doing so will open a menu list of 5 choices that all lead to various windows, tabs, and properties settings.

Work through all of the windows, tabs, and properties to first make note of the current configurations.

Do not make any immediate changes. Just note anything that is not correct or otherwise not as expected.

Research (Google) to see what else may be learned.

Then try changing or correcting any errors or mi-configurations but change only one thing at a time., Keep notes of what you do. Especially if you need to go back and undo something.