Problem with Windows 10 ver. 21H1 -- all audio input/output devices missing in Sound settings, red X on volume icon

Anonymous
2021-05-19T09:59:57+00:00

For 2-3 days, I am getting no sound at all from my several audio devices/Windows computer here - I have TWO monitors with HDMI audio, plus headphones jack connected to motherboard audio card. I was able to fix it one time by doing lots of tinkering in Device Manager, but I am unable to replicate the fix a 2nd time.

So, asking here.

System is a desktop PC, running an Intel Core i3 Haswell CPU (2 cores, 4 threads), 16 GB of DDR3 RAM, on a ASUS H81M2 motherboard, GPU is AMD Radeon R9 390 (8 GB). Audio card is the built-in Realtek. 1 Crucial SSD, plus 2 HDDs -- WD and Seagate. Logitech Full HD webcam , Logitech wireless mouse, wired Razer keyboard.

The volume icon in lower right (Notification area) shows with a red X. In Settings of Windows 10 OS, Sounds, NO input or output devices show at all.

No sounds possible in any software, i.e. browser, actual OS does not make the Start Windows sound like it used to/etc.

Also, no recording or voice chat possible with my Logitech webcam (which has a stereo microphone), so no Skype, Viber/etc voice calls.

In Device Manager, nothing shows wrong - all audio, system devices appear to be working fine. In AMD Radeon GPU settings, nothing wrong shows either.

I tried the Windows 10 Sound Troubleshooter, but it unfortunately says it cannot identify the issue.

What can I do to fix this?

(Please do not suggest a reinstall Windows OS or Reset OS, I cannot do those.)

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

144 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2021-06-17T18:16:46+00:00

    I know in place upgrade is doable, but that doesn't just "restore the service" which is what I literally meant. You can't just restore one service. In-place upgrade replaces the entire system store.

    Doing that is generally not a good idea, so I'd rather just reinstall Windows entirely at that point, which I really don't want to resort to.

    Thanks for the info though.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2021-06-17T18:12:43+00:00

    I am facing the same issue it has been so many days can't even go out to give it to a technician. They have asked to reset the windows to the previous version when the sound drivers were working well. I am no techno geek I don't know how to do it.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2021-06-15T23:24:14+00:00

    This is really wild. I can't believe what you guys are going through to get your sound working. Here are any audio related drivers I have running on two of my systems.

    HP Envy 700 Desktop (i7 with IDT sound card and NVIDIA graphics) 8 yrs-old:

    drmk.sys Microsoft Trusted Audio Drivers
    HDAudBus.sys High Definition Audio Bus Driver
    nvhda64v.sys NVIDIA HDMI Audio Driver
    stwrt64.sys IDT PC Audio

    Dell XPS 15 9550 Laptop (i7 with Realtek audio and NVIDIA + Intel graphics) 5 yrs-old:

    btwaudio.sys Bluetooth Audio Device
    drmk.sys Microsoft Trusted Audio Drivers
    HDAudBus.sys High Definition Audio Bus Driver
    IntcDAud.sys Intel(R) Display Audio Driver
    RTKVHD64.sys Realtek(r) High Definition Audio Function Driver
    usbaudio.sys USB Audio Class Driver

    The only common drivers are the "drmk.exe" and "HDAudBus.exe". I have not updated my 11 yr-old Lenovo Thinkpad yet. I will have to see what happens with it.

    JohnD

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2021-06-15T14:44:29+00:00

    Ok, I don't get why you're mad when I didn't mention the article for a solution. Did you even read the rest of my post? lol. The useful part of the article was mentioning what the update did, and the things fixed in the Windows Update do seem to relate with the issues described in this post. Also I had noticed one of the services listed in the article was missing for me. The article doesn't explain how to fix that because, as far as I know, you can't restore missing services in Windows.

    Anyway, thanks for that. I needed to hear someone yelling at me this morning.

    The Service you mention likely has nothing to do with this issue. :)

    You CAN restore missing vital Windows 10 OS services -- it is done via an Upgrade Install aka In-place Upgrade of WIndows 10 OS.

    I tried one a few days ago, but despite losing 45-55 mins, it changed nothing at all - audio is still missing. :)

    But if you have other issues, sometimes some of those can be cured by this procedure.

    Info here:

    How to Do a Repair Install of Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

    Also, please note the Windows 10 ISO you use must be the correct one, i.e. after doing this your Version & Build will remain exactly the same.

    (If ISO is wrong, you will likely get an error and not be able to proceed.)

    In my case, this was going from Version 21H1, OS Build 19043.1055 to exactly same ones. ;)

    NOTE: You can also upgrade to a newer WIndows 10 OS Version and/or Build too but in that case it is not an In-Place Upgrade, just an Upgrade. :)

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2021-06-15T14:28:01+00:00

    Xeno,

    I checked three different computers. None of them have the "Multimedia Class Scheduler" in services, yet I have no sound issues. I suggest that people might start listing what sound device they have and its driver version and date, to see if something might be in common with those who have issues.

    JohnD

    JohnD, thanks for chiming in, good idea here!

    In my case, my motherboard built-in Realtek audio card is mostly unused.

    My main audio device here is AMD Radeon HDMI -- coming via HDMI and DisplayPort cables to TWO separate displays. One is LG Full HD 27" TV/monitor, one is Lenovo 1440p monitor, also 27". GPU is AMD Radeon R9 390. (And other Radeon models on the other 2 PCs -- one older, one newer.)

    I am pretty sure however the GPU/HDMI Audio drivers are fine and not to blame here.

    It is a system driver that sits between the GPU/audio Input/Output devices and the Windows 10 OS that is "breaking" all sound output, as well as input too (i.e. microphones if any - in my case, I have a Logitech Full HD webcam with a stereo mike).

    So, the other relevant info here is that I am using that AMD Radeon GPU on an Intel Core i3 Haswell CPU/chipset motherboard, this is quite old -- socket 1150. The CPU has 2 cores, 4 threads.

    (For me, it is a fairly new PC, as my other PCs are even older -- they use the older IvyBridge CPU/chipset, i.e. socket 1155.

    One has a Core i5 4-core, 4-thread CPU, 2nd one has a Core i7 with 4 cores, 8 threads.

    Interestingly, NO such audio issues exist on the 3 socket 1155 PCs of mine (i.e. 2 Desktop PCs, 1 HP laptop. :) )

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments