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: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2021-06-09T22:07:33+00:00

    The problem is due definitely to Version 21H1 update.

    I manage many PCs, some of the after upgrading goes BSOD during boot some other I did not have mic and hedphone any longer.

    I did some test and I discovered that if you remove realtek drivers, systems boot correctly but you lose the ability to have an imput device and switch to a different output port.

    Otherwise if you rollback the 21H1 upgrade everything comes back to normality and you have everything working.

    Given this I strongly reccommend to upgrade to 21H1 only when a reliable audio driver will be proposed by realtek or (better) Microsoft itself.

    Al the tests I made are done on x64 version and 6 PC/Latops ranging form 10 to 1 years old.

    You see with smart working a pc without audio is nearly useless.

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2021-06-10T22:10:10+00:00

    Hi, I really don't know how and why... In Settings-Ease of Access-Audio I randomly changed settings such as device volume, mono audio, etc, then clicked on Change device or app volume. In the 'Sound' page both drop-down lists (Output and input device) showed my devices, the red icon in the tray area disappeared and I finally heard the sound of my pc again...

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2021-06-11T15:04:55+00:00

    Thanks, random changes in ease of use audio settings fixed it! Edit: sadly only temporarily :(

    I was going crazy reinstalling drivers etc. even though they showed as working in the device manager all the time.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2021-06-11T16:22:53+00:00

    Thanks, random changes in ease of use audio settings fixed it! Edit: sadly only temporarily :(

    I was going crazy reinstalling drivers etc. even though they showed as working in the device manager all the time.

    Hi,

    I can confirm that this temp fix works for me on my old Realtek ALC888 and the latest Realtek driver (not with windows native sound driver).

    Adding exact steps (orange):

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2021-06-11T19:19:48+00:00

    Yes it seems visiting the sound setting dialog via ease of use is enough for it to work again although previously it reverted back to not showing any devices and the workaround didn't help until a reboot.

    I am using an old Realtek chipset as well but also have a Sharkoon USB DAC which also does not work.

    Before first experiencing this issue some update lead to a bluescreen which I could fix with safe mode and sfc /scannow

    After that suddenly the audio issue appeared. Note that I only did trigger the 21H1 update afterwards (as I thought why not - it won't get worse) and it was not listed as failed. Therefore I believe that the issue can also be caused by some other update (or Windows for some reason tried to install 21H1 automatically, failed but didn't show it in the log)

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments