Audio stops working but works after a reboot

Until recently, I was using having no problems with my PC running Windows 7 x64. I use it for office work, watching movies and long hours of gaming. Last week I ran into the sound issue of this thread. Two things changed prior to the arrival of the random sound bug:

1. I formatted my harddrive and made a clean install, installing the newest drivers in the process. Of course I also applied all the windows patches, etc.
2. I purchased a new headset to replace my increasingly failing USB headset.

So, instead of using a USB headset, I now used the onboard Realtek soundcard. During gaming (World of Warcraft) and simultaneous VoIP (Mumble), the sound would spontaneously disappear but the microphone would still function. The sound stops became increasingly frequent. Every time, the still plugged in USB headset still had sound.

I tried another clean install of W7, but the problem persisted. None of the solutions mentioned in this thread helped me, apart from the rebooting.

I've been searching high and low for a solution for this. The only attempt at an explanation I've found is that the soundchip stops working when it gets too hot - except then why would it remain off if left to cool off for a time (I haven't tested if the sound comes back after an idle period).

As far as I can tell, the bug only applies to the onboard sound card. My concern right now: If I go and buy a soundcard, will I encounter the same bug?

My audio stops working after Windows 7 has been running for a while;

Ideas:

• the audio will work again after a re-boot but again, it will stop working after Windows has been running for a while. Re-bootig always fixes the problem but only for a few hours and then the audio is gone. audio problem

Remember - This is a public forum so never post private information such as email or phone numbers!

OK I solved this by installing an updated chip-set driver DIRECTLY FROM MANUFACTURERS WEB PAGE.

To do this:

Right Click My Computer

Click Device Manager

Expand Sound, video and game controllers

Note the manufacturer (in my case it was AMD)

Go to the Manufacturers Web Site and download the most current chip set driver

I know this worked perfectly because the sound came back on mid install.

GL and Jesus Bless.

This has been happening to my PC too. It started over a year ago, but was fixed after I reinstalled Windows 7 Professional 64-bit last year (for a different reason). The problem appeared again a couple months ago. Sound stops working after some time (30 mins - a few hours) but works after a reboot. It is almost definitely not a sound driver or hardware issue. It is a problem with Windows 7. If sound never works, then the first thing I would suspect is the sound driver, but since most of us seem to have our sound drivers up to date and audio works at bootup, then that isn't the reason for the audio problem. When audio isn't working for me and I shut down or reboot the PC, as Windows is shutting down, I hear a low volume static pop (with my headphones) as if Windows has halted or stopped the offending program or service that is hanging the audio. This leads me to believe that the audio would actually work again if I could stop Windows from shutting down. I just tried the following method to reinstate the audio without restarting and it has so far worked for me. Go to Device Manager, expand "Sound, video and game controllers", right click "High Definition Audio Device" and select Disable. Then right click on it to Enable it again. I opened an mp3 in Winamp and the audio returned. (I wasn't using Winamp before when the audio stopped. I noticed the audio stopped when trying to start a game). I happend to pause the song and just left it like that for maybe 20 mins. I unpaused it and the audio was gone again. Performing the previous steps to reinstate it did not work at first, so I also Disabled the "AMD High Defintion Audio Device" also located (for me) in "Sound, video and game controllers" and Enabled it again and the sound returned. (See update at the bottom of this message).

I have also noticed that sometimes when doing this method, Windows will ask if you would like to restart the computer for the changes to take effect. The changes will still take effect if you answer no to rebooting. I realize this may not work for some people but it is worth a try. I also realize this is not a solution to the root cause of the problem and MS needs to fix this. I highly doubt they will though. I have not noticed pausing or muting audio to consistently reproduce this failure before today, but maybe that can be one of the things that cause this issue. After reading most of the posts in this thread, I believe that there are a number of different applications that can cause this audio issue. But, I believe that Windows 7 is the reason behind it. Like another person posted previously, searching Google shows this to be a fairly common problem. The superb Windows XP and the craptastic Vista do not have this problem.

I am pretty sure MS knows this is a Windows 7 issue, but apparently either doesn't know how to fix it and/or is unwilling to admit it is their problem. Tech support just tries to help us with basic things. They aren't the ones actually making patches to the OS. Plus, it just seems as though MS tech support would try to blame the sound driver to pass the buck onto somebody else. Their next step is to stall by asking people to post statistical and diagnostic reports of their PC's. Over time, they hope people will just learn to live with this annoyance. This thread started Oct 28,2009 and the last comment by MS was made March 3, 2010, yet people have been posting somewhat continuously into 2012. I have not seen anything regarding a solution to this problem from MS besides the first reply or updating sound drivers. That is very poor support, both from Tech and from the software engineers responsible for bugs in the OS.

 

Update 7/1/2012

I just repeated the audio problem again. I left a song paused in Winamp for another 20 - 30 mins and the audio was gone again. I would also like to add a clarification to the method I previously posted. To get the audio back, I had to first close Winamp and then Disable and Enable the "High Definition Audio Device". Leaving Winamp open while disabling and enabling the "High Definition Audio Device" did not work. (Update: So basically, close down any program that is trying to play audio first, then disable and enable the audio device in Device Manager.)

I created a Device Manager shortcut on the desktop, as I will be needing to use this "fix" a few times a week.

I also tried the method posted by IvanMarshall back on May 24, 2011:

{{{{"There is actually a very easy way to fix this problem ..

You need to restart the "Windows Audio" service, and all comes back fine.

I made a one-liner shortcut on my desktop (with powershell) to do this.

%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -Command "Restart-Service AudioSrv"

}}}}

That method did not work for me. I got an error message and didn't spend the time to debug it since the disabling and enabling the audio device method works for me.

I've battled this issue for months! Restarting usually resolved the problem but it's not always easy to do during the work day. I've got a Dell E5500 with a dock and I've tried using different sound ports on the dock and laptop, updated drivers, tried new drivers, reinstalled drivers...nothing worked.

I just tried the following method to reinstate the audio without restarting and it has so far worked for me. Go to Device Manager, expand "Sound, video and game controllers", right click "High Definition Audio Device" and select Disable. Then right click on it to Enable it again.

This is a workaround instead of a fix but it's the easiest way I've found to get sound back!  Thanks, MDS_007 for this idea!