Windows update and now no sound...

[Lydia Purpuraria]

Windows update last night restarted my computer and I haven't had sound since.

Did this happen to anyone else? Anyone know what to do to fix it?

[Akavit]

I don't know the answer but to help others diagnose the problem could you please list the operating system and sound card (probably built into the motherboard)?  It's possible that Windows updated the driver or something along that line.

[Dafrenchman]

Might be as simple as the default sound device has been assigned to an unused connection.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Lydia Purpuraria]

Oh yeah.  (That might help, huh? lol

It is using Windows 8.0... How would I find the soundcard? I'm not sure what that is or that I have one, as I am using an Asus Notebook. I know I have Realtek HD Audio Manager, does that help?

[Akavit]

I'm pretty sure you don't have a dedicated sound card as they aren't common these days and you have a notebook anyway.  You could try typing "system information" or "device manager into the "search programs and files" box and look for the sound device information.  Probably won't learn a lot there because all I see on my PC is general information when I do the same.  You'll probably just see more about that Realtek HD Audio manager in there.

One other thing to do is look for the update history to see what was changed in the last update and put that list here.

I'll step out of this conversation now because my computer experience doesn't go any deeper than that into sound devices and drivers.

[Gardener]

Howdy...

Hopefully we can get this figured out. A few things:

1) don't mean to insult your intelligence but, is the volume muted and if you have external speakers plugged in, are they powered on and is the volume up?

2) Is this with CD's, mp3's and internet, or just internet?

3) if you have "This PC" on your desktop, right click and choose "Manage". In the left pane, look for "Device Manager". Click it. Scroll through the options until you see "Sound, Video and Game Controllers". Expand it by left-clicking on it. You should see at least RealTek. Is there a black arrow on RealTek? If so, it was disabled in the update. Simply right-click and choose "enable". Then test for sound.

In a little while, I'll post a screen capture video walking you through the steps.

[Lydia Purpuraria]

Howdy...

Hopefully we can get this figured out. A few things:

1) don't mean to insult your intelligence but, is the volume muted and if you have external speakers plugged in, are they powered on and is the volume up?

2) Is this with CD's, mp3's and internet, or just internet?

3) if you have "This PC" on your desktop, right click and choose "Manage". In the left pane, look for "Device Manager". Click it. Scroll through the options until you see "Sound, Video and Game Controllers". Expand it by left-clicking on it. You should see at least RealTek. Is there a black arrow on RealTek? If so, it was disabled in the update. Simply right-click and choose "enable". Then test for sound.

In a little while, I'll post a screen capture video walking you through the steps.

Hey Gardener -- thanks for your help!

1)  That was the first thing I checked. Both the speakers built into the notebook are at 100%, and when I plug in my little speaker (which is what pulls up the Realtek) it is all on at 100% but there is no sound.

2) This was basically youtube straight off the internet (no cd's or mp3's)

3) I don't see this on my desktop.

[Gardener]

Here's a screen capture running you through the steps you might be able to take.

It's a significant portion of my screen, so you might need to scroll up and down, left and right to see what I'm doing.

http://screencast.com/t/o8Siu5JUXkf

[Habitual_Ritual]

Other folk having the same issues:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/57dfcd3d-cca8-4a0f-be29-cd2da7f8761e/no-sound-after-windows-8-update-to-windows-81?forum=w8itproinstall

[Lydia Purpuraria]

Thanks, guys! 

I went through Gardener's screen shot (thank you for spending so much of your time with that, btw) and all of mine were showing up the same -- enabled -- device working properly -- no updates -- etc.  I did go ahead and disable and then enable and then restarted my computer. When I turned it back on - voila! sound!!  (I had tested the sound before I did this and it was not working, so something with the disable/enable must have worked?!)

Thanks again, Gardener, and everyone who responded to my "desperate plea" - I really appreciate your help!

[Habitual_Ritual]

P.s.

Turn off your updates.   

[Lydia Purpuraria]

P.s.

Turn off your updates.   

Especially since it is not working again, strange.

Then I messed up and accidentally removed my System Sound (Intel?) (got distracted by lil ones at a crucial moment  ) So I am now trying to figure out how to put that back on. lol

eta: did a system restore, all is good now 

[Ascetik]

Windows 8 installed the incorrect sound drivers for your soundcard, Windows Update does this if you don't tell it not to.

You need to uninstall the sound driver and download the latest one from your manufacturer website for your model laptop. If it is not a laptop, you need to go to the motherboard manufacturer or the manufacturer of your tower.

In Windows 8, to uninstall a driver do the following.

Hit the windows Button to go to the Metro screen.

Start typing "Computer"

Right click the computer icon, and go to the manage button at the bottom menu.

Under System Tool go to Device Manager.

Click the arrow for Sound, Video and game controllers

Right click all the audio drivers and uninstall. Reboot your computer.

Install the driver you downloaded from the manufacturer website.

Reboot computer.

Enjoy sound.