Speaker icon has a Red X on it, "no audio output device is installed".

Anonymous

original title: No audio output device is installed.

I have done nothing different to my computer but noticed yesterday that the speaker icon in the system tray has a red and white "X" over it and says that "no audio output device is installed." I have Windows Vista. When I go to my control panel and click on "Sounds and Hardwar," and again click on "Sound," it tells me that "No audio devices are installed." Yesterday I went to --> All programs --> Accesories --> System Tools --> System Restore and I did a system restore that way. After my computer re-started, the audio problem was solved but somehow my anti-virus protection was no longer installed. I fixed this with the McAfee support online chat and the audio was also working all day yesterday. However, today, it again says that "no audio output device is installed," and I do not want to restore my system again and have to deal with the anti-virus software going haywire again. Is there another way to fix this? Please help me. I have looked this up on other support sites and have found the answers too technical for me to understand. I have a one-year-old Toshiba Satellite M205 with an Intel Centrino processer and Vista with Service Pack 1 installed although I don't know if that is important information or not. My computer has a sticker on it that says "Dolby Sound Room," whatever that means. Thanks in advance!

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Anonymous

Hi m_kelsey,

It sounds like you might have an audio driver that isn’t working properly, please do the following:

1. Click Start

2. In ‘Start Search’ type Device Manager, press Enter (provide administrative credentials if prompted)

3. Click the “+” next to Sound, video and game controllers to drop down the menu

4. Check the status of any device listed in that category by right-clicking that device, clicking Properties, and then under the General tab check what it says under “Device status”. Let us know what the status was.

5. Then check all the devices (especially any that had a problem under “Device status”) listed in this category for updated drivers by right-clicking that device and then clicking Update Driver Software… (this step may take a moment so be patient).

Get back to us with your results so that we can further assist you if need be. We look forward to hearing back from you.

Brian

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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190 additional answers

Anonymous

2014-05-31T08:11:05+00:00

Wow. I guess the ads aren't the only thing that is stupid.
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Anonymous

2014-04-27T17:07:15+00:00

Under the status box it said "The device is working properly" when I put my mouse on the speaker logo with the red X next to it it says "No audio output device is installed" I'm really scared, how can I fix this?
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Anonymous

2014-04-14T21:42:32+00:00

these stupid ads keep popping up when im on the internet and i cant stop them also im having the same problem with the audio and i hav on device manager it says i hav 4 NVIDIA hi-def audio an d2 Realtek hi-def. only one realtek is not working properly and it told me to report it to windows so its not getting done. haha. also um my computer is really slow once it wouldnt turn on and um my flash player wont update and i hav 2 reinstall every couple weeks when i need it and sometimes i cant move my emails

HELP NEED THIS FIXED
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Anonymous

2014-03-04T18:33:10+00:00

Thanks RazorBurner, unfortunately I didn't find any update (using VISTA) regarding audio. Scrolled back until 2012. Guess I have to live w/o sound...
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