Reinstall Sound Driver

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I uninstalled the sound driver and I need to reinstall it. Remember - This is a public forum so never post private information such as email or phone numbers!

Active4 years, 4 months ago

I suspect my audio driver to be misbehaving. As my previous question didn't return anything useful, I'm trying to do anything I can think of.

I now want to reinstall my sound drivers. But I have no idea how to do this safely. Could anybody help me please?

DriverGarrett
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Simon VerbekeSimon Verbeke
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1 Answer

'safely' is hard. The right way to manage this stuff is through the Device Manager.

  • Do a run: Win+r
  • Type devmgmt.msc in the run dialog and hit Enter

From there you should be able to see your sound card. There's a lot of stuff in there which could break your system badly, so be careful. Right click and disable, or right-click and try to 'Update Driver Software'

None of this is ever really 'safe', but most of the time it's okay. Be sure that you've got a second machine or a friend who can help you should you get stranded. Windows takes pains to try to protect you from clobbering yourself, but the one time you really need it to work and have no way out, it will fail.

Reinstall Sound Driver Mac

(to reinstall, you can uninstall the device and re-detect it and/or launch the driver's install program.)

Nifle
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Reinstall Sound Driver Macbook Air

mgjkmgjk
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Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged windows-7driversaudiosound-cardreinstall or ask your own question.

Sound

Hi,
Control Panel - Device Manager - SOUNDS - look for HD Audio - Mine says RealTek High
Definition Audio (that is an example and yours may have an entirely different name/maker).
Write down description make and model - double click on it - drivers tab - write down version.
Now Click UPdate Drivers which may not do anything as MS is far behind certifying drivers.
Then RIGHT CLICK on it and UNINSTALL - REBOOT - this will rebuild the driver stack.
1st go to system maker's site and look for latest driver Download - SAVE - go to right click on
and RUN AS ADMIN (This is your fallback.) REBOOT after each driver installation.
NOTE : Sound drivers often rollback so check the version after installation and the
reboot to see if the version you installed is there, if not repeat the install - reboot
until it is. It can take several tries depending on how many rollbacks it does.
Then do same for Device Maker's site.

Manually look at manufacturer's sites for drivers - and Device Maker's sites.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/driverssupport/ht/driverdlmfgr.htm

How to Install a Device Driver in Vista Device Manager
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/193584-device-manager-install-driver.html
-----------------------------------------------------
Error “the Audio Service Is Not Running” When Opening the Volume Mixer in Vista
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/error-the-audio-service-is-not-running-when-opening-the-volume-mixer-in-vista/
Also Right Click Speaker near clock - Playback Devices - right click in the box area -
check Show disable and disconnected devices. Highlight speaker and on the lower
Right click Properties check settings for Device Usage enabled and so on. Also do
same for Configure on Lower Left of that box.

In Control Panel you can also look for an Audio Manager along with the Sound Settings.
Problems with sound and audio or no sound - a Mr Fixit
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/no_sound
Tips for fixing common sound problems
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/1e87a3e8-c0e8-49af-980f-9eb6686f42d21033.mspx
Speakers and other audio output devices
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/a43f3a31-6d9f-49d1-be22-e2f47b8b1f2c1033.mspx
How to Enable Hidden Audio Devices in Vista
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/143447-audio-device-enable-hidden-devices.html
How to troubleshoot sound problems that you experience after you install a Windows Vista
Service Pack
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948481
Hope this helps.

Rob - Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right. Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP - Windows and Devices for IT 2010 - current
Windows Insider MVP 2016 - current

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