If your computer emits no sound, the sound card driver may not be installed. The sound card driver enables the sound card to communicate with the computer. Realtek HD Audio Drivers, free and safe download. Realtek HD Audio Drivers latest version: The official drivers for High Definition Audio. Realtek HD Audio.
Whenever people update to the they find a lot to appreciate. Unfortunately, big updates can also bring with them new problems, and some of the most common are audio related. Those issues can leave people unable to play videos, use certain apps, or hear anything at all from their speakers.That’s not fun, especially when learning your way around the OS’ new features, so let’s do some troubleshooting.
Here are the ways you can fix Windows 10 audio issues to remove the dreaded sound of silence. Check your output deviceIf you don’t have any sound at all, it could be something as simple as Windows trying to output sound to an old device, like some headphones you forgot are plugged in, or a Bluetooth speaker that’s just not turned on right now. To make sure Windows is trying to send sound to the right device, you need to check your output.Step 1: Click the small up arrow in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, next to the clock and calendar.Step 2: Right-click the small speaker icon, and select Open Sound Settings.Step 3: In the settings menu, look to the top-entry that reads, Choose your output device. Use the drop-down menu to make sure that your correct device is selected, whether that’s your speakers or a connected set of headphones.
While you’re there, double check that the volume isn’t at zero either. Update your sound card driversOne of the most common sources of sound problems is poor communication between Windows 10 and your sound card or chip of choice. This often leads to your sound failing to work at all. Fortunately, there are ways to make Windows 10 and your sound hardware compatible. All you need to do is for the job.Step 1: Open the Start menu and search for Device Manager. Click the relevant result.Step 2: Inside the Device Manager you will see a list of icon options. Choose Sound, video and game controllers. If you have a sound card, it will show up there.Step 3: Open the sound card by double-clicking it, then go to the Driver tab, and look for the option to Update Driver.
This will start an automatic Windows search to find driver updates and download them.Step 4: After the update is finished, restart and see if your audio now works.Here are a couple of additional points to consider. Windows will not always find the right audio drivers on its own. If the search does not work, consider visiting your sound card manufacturer’s website and looking up the sound card to find a manual method to download any applicable updates. Your driver may just need a kick in the bytes.
If updating it doesn’t work, then open your Device Manager, find your sound card again, and right-click on the icon. Select Uninstall. This will remove your driver, but don’t panic.
Restart your computer, and Windows will try to reinstall the driver. Allow it to do so, and you may find that your sound is back on.Use a generic high definition audio device driverIf working on your sound card software has no effect, you should try switching to the generic audio driver that Windows 10 offers. This can often circumvent compatibility issues and restore sound capabilities to Windows activities.Step 1: Open the Device Manager again and find your audio driver as if you were updating it.Step 2: Right-click the driver and choose Update driver.Step 3: This time though, instead of letting Windows search for it automatically, select Browse my computer for driver software.Step 4: Then select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer. This will bring up a list which will include High Definition Audio Device. This is the generic Windows 10 driver. Select and install it, to see if this restores your sound. Fixing Cortana and microphone problemsWindows 10’s built-in vocal assistant, Cortana, can be given all sorts of commands through voice alone.
However, that’s no good if your audio isn’t working properly. If Cortana isn’t responding to you the way you hoped, you may have a problem with your microphone — or lack thereof.First, make sure that your computer has a mic so Cortana can hear you. A microphone is a standard feature for many of today’s laptops and desktops, but it is not guaranteed. Without a built-in mic, you’ll need to use your microphone jack and an external device instead. These are with built-in microphones you can buy right now.If you do have a microphone, let’s double check that your Cortana settings are correct.Step 1: Open Cortana by clicking in your Windows search bar and then select the settings cog icon in the bottom left-hand corner.Step 2: This will give you a number of toggle options to control what the voice assistant can do.
Make sure that the option for Cortana to listen for Hey Cortana commands is turned on.
RECOMMENDED:When you have issues with the sound or audio on your Windows 10 PC, you should run the built-in sound troubleshooter first. The troubleshooter automatically scans and fixes most of the issues. If the troubleshooter fails to detect the issue, you can try fixing the issue by reinstalling the audio driver.But before reinstalling the audio driver, we recommend you to update the audio driver to the latest version. If the issue cropped up after updating to the latest version of the audio driver, rollback to the previous version of the driver. If none of these methods help, you can then try out reinstalling the audio device driver.IMPORTANT: Do note down name and version of the audio driver before uninstalling them so you can easily download the right version of the audio driver. To check the version, please refer to our guide.Method 1 of 2.
Reinstall Windows 10 audio driver from Device ManagerStep 1: Right-click on the Start button in the taskbar area and then click Device Manager to open the same.Step 2: In the Device Manager, expand Sound, video and game controllers.Step 3: You should now see your audio driver name. Most likely you have Realtek High Definition Audio.Right-click on it and then click Uninstall device option.Step 4: You will now get the following confirmation dialog. Select Delete the driver software for this device checkbox and then Yes button when you see the confirmation dialog to go ahead and uninstall the device driver.Restart your PC once.
Download the latest version of the audio driver from your PC manufacturer’s website and run the installer to install the same.If you cannot find the audio or sound driver on your PC manufacturer’s website, search the web to get the latest version of the driver. If you know the PC’s model number, finding the device driver is quite easy.Between, you can download general version of Realtek audio driver from the following link:Try the first. It will work on most of the modern PCs.
If it fails to install or work, download Realtek AC’97 Audio Codecs. Also, separate installers are available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Be sure to the download the right one.
You can refer to our guide for help.Method 2 of 2 Reinstall audio driver from Control PanelStep 1: Type Appwiz.cpl in the Start/taskbar search field and then press Enter key to open Programs and Features window.Step 2: Look for the audio driver entry. Right-click on the audio driver and then click Uninstall option. Click Yes button if you see the confirmation dialog to continue uninstalling the sound or audio driver.After the driver is removed, reboot your PC.Visit your PC manufacturer’s website and download the latest version of the audio driver for your PC and then install the same.