The sound device is not working normally. Sound problems in Windows: Setting up audio hardware and troubleshooting audio devices

We have:
- free diagnostics
- free visit of the master

Happens no sound on computer due to your PC being infected with viruses. Check your computer with an antivirus program. As a rule, even after deleting or disinfecting infected files, you will have to reinstall the audio card driver to get the sound as clear as before. Before reinstalling the driver, you need to know the manufacturer of your sound card. To get this information, press the “Start” button again - “Settings” - “Control Panel”. We look for the “System” icon, open it and go to the “Hardware” tab, and then to the “Device Manager” section. Click on the item “Sound, video and gaming devices”. Many computers have sound cards from Realtec, the driver of which is called AC"97 Audio Codecs. Even if you do not have a driver disk, finding this program on the Internet will not be difficult. After downloading, do not forget to check it with an antivirus program. Now you will need delete old version, going to the “Add or Remove Programs” section, restart the computer and install the driver again. Installing the AC"97 Audio Codecs application should not cause any difficulties, even for a novice user. You just need to run the installation file and then follow the prompts. After installation is complete, you need to restart your computer again. If you have a sound card from another company installed, searching for drivers is best start by visiting the manufacturer's official website.

If no viruses are detected and no sound, play any audio file on another player. If you discover that the problems are related to the player, try completely uninstalling it and installing it again. Try to use programs downloaded from the official website of the developers, this will protect your PC from the threat of infection. If the problem is not resolved, try reinstalling the codecs. To make this process as easy as possible, it is best to download and install latest version K-Lite Codec Pack.

If the sound appears as a result of the above manipulations, you can improve its quality using the tools of the “Sound Effects Manager”, which is located in the Control Panel. Here you can select playback effects, such as concert hall, felt room, living room, arena, etc. All effects are noticeably different from each other and, in combination with an equalizer, will help you tune the sound in the best possible way.

If you encounter no sound on your computer, do not rush to immediately run to service center, in most cases the situation is easy to fix on your own. can be divided into two parts.

1. Hardware faults:

failure or incorrect connection speakers and headphones;
audio card malfunction;
damage electronic components motherboard;
BIOS firmware failure.

2. Software glitches:

driver problems;
lack of necessary codecs for playing certain types of files;
incorrect configuration of equipment by means operating system;
viral infection.

Where to start troubleshooting a sound problem on your computer?

Before you start checking or setting up your sound card, click on the speaker icon, which is located in the notification area on the taskbar. Make sure the volume is not turned down to minimum.

Check if the connection is correct sound devices. Make sure that the switch on the speakers themselves is in the "On" position and that the plug is inserted into electrical outlet. Make sure the wires are intact. Check the device's functionality on another computer or laptop.

Right-click on the speakers icon again. Select "Playback Devices". In the window that opens, you should see your speakers (or headphones) marked with a green checkmark. If they are not displayed, click on empty space in the window field. In the menu that appears, check the “Show disconnected devices” and “Show disconnected devices” options. Right-click on the devices that appear and click Enable. Confirm the action with the “Apply” and OK buttons.

Remember your latest actions on the computer. If you have installed new program or were cleaning and configuring the operating system, the recovery function can help. To start the procedure, open Control Panel and go to the Recovery section. Click the "Run System Restore" button. In the dialog box that opens, click “Next”. The restore point should be selected at the moment when the sound was played normally.

Installing codecs for playing music

If sound problems on computer appear while playing music or video files, the reason is the lack of necessary codecs. The most simple solution This problem will be solved by installing the free K-Lite Codec Pack on your computer. You can download it from the manufacturer's official website. Before installation, it is recommended to close all running programs. Be careful: installing codecs downloaded from unverified sources can lead to infection of your computer.

Checking your computer for viruses

Make sure the database antivirus program updated. Run full check for viruses and wait for the results. If the antivirus detects an infection, agree to the proposed actions. In addition to the standard antivirus program, you can use free utilities offered by the developers. The best of them are Dr.Web LiveDisk and Kaspersky Security Scan. Please note that before checking, you must download the latest version of the application from the manufacturer's website.

How to update sound card drivers

Open Control Panel and select Device Manager. Find “Sound, video and gaming devices” in the list of equipment. Right-click on your audio card and click the Update Driver button. It is recommended to select automatic update. But you can manually point the system to the driver CD included when purchasing the card or a driver downloaded from the Internet saved on your hard drive.

How to correctly install the driver on a sound card

If there is no sound on the computer at all or is played jerkily, the occurrence of sound problems on computer due to the lack of drivers.

First of all, you need to determine which audio card you have installed. Go to Device Manager. Select the line with the audio card. Right-click and select Properties. Go to the “Details” section and in the scrolling list, click “Hardware ID”. Copy the contents of this line.

Go to the website http://devid.info/ru/. Paste the copied code into the search box and click Search. In a few minutes you will receive information about your sound card and driver archives. Select the latest driver that matches your operating system. Download the archive and unpack it. Run the installer. If the audio card is working properly, then sound should appear.

You can also determine the sound card model on the website http://www.pcidatabase.com/. To get information about a device on this resource, you need to enter the VEN (manufacturer) and DEV (device) values. Both parameters are specified in the copied code. Having determined the card model, go to the manufacturer’s official website and download the latest drivers.

In addition, you can use special programs to determine installed equipment. For example, the AIDA64 utility. You can download it from the manufacturer's website. The program is paid, but an unlimited trial version will work for a month.

If you have reinstalled the operating system to a more recent version, you can download drivers for all devices installed on your computer on the motherboard manufacturer’s website.

How to install sound card driver on Windows 8?

The absence of a driver on the audio card in the Windows 8 operating system can be determined by the volume control icon. At sound problem on computer it will be displayed in the tray with a red cross, indicating no sound. Click the regulator icon and Windows will begin the troubleshooting process. In the window that appears, point the system to the default sound device and click “Next”. After the system shuts down, click on the “Apply this fix” button.

The computer has long ceased to be solely a device for work and calculations. Many users use it in for entertainment purposes: watch movies, listen to music, play games. In addition, using a PC you can communicate with other users and study. And some users work better with musical accompaniment. But when using a computer, you may encounter a problem such as lack of sound. Let's figure out what can cause it and how to solve it on a laptop or desktop PC with Windows 7.

Loss of sound on a PC can be caused by various circumstances, but they can all be divided into 4 groups:

Acoustic system (speakers, headphones, etc.);
PC hardware;
Operating system;
Applications that play sound.

The last group of factors will not be considered in this article, since this is a problem specific program, and not the system as a whole. We will focus on solving complex sound problems.

In addition, it should be noted that the sound may disappear, both due to various breakdowns and failures, and due to incorrect setting serviceable components.

Method 1: Speaker system malfunctions

One of common reasons The reason why the computer does not play sound is due to problems with the connected acoustics (headphones, speakers, etc.).

First of all, perform the following verification:
- is it connected correctly? speaker system to the computer;
- whether the plug is included in the power supply (if such a possibility is provided);
- whether the sound device itself is turned on;
- Is the volume control on the acoustics set to position “0”.
If possible, check the functionality of the speaker system on another device. If you are using a laptop with headphones or speakers connected, check how the sound is reproduced through the built-in speakers of this computer device.
If the result is negative and the speaker system does not work, then you need to contact a qualified technician or simply replace it with a new one. If it reproduces sound normally on other devices, then the problem is not acoustics and we move on to the next options for solving the problem.

Method 2: System Tray Icon

Before looking for faults in the system, it makes sense to check whether the sound on the computer is turned off using standard tools.

But a situation is possible when the crossed out circle is missing, but there is still no sound.

There is also an option when the icon in the form of a crossed out circle is present at the same time and the volume control is turned all the way down. In this case, you need to alternately carry out both of the above manipulations.

Method 3: drivers

Sometimes, missing sound on a PC can be caused by a driver issue. They may be installed incorrectly or missing altogether. Of course, it's best to reinstall the driver from the disk that came with the sound card installed on your computer. To do this, you need to insert the disc into the drive and, after starting it, follow the recommendations that appear on the screen. But if for some reason you don’t have a disk, then we adhere to the following recommendations.

Click "Start". Next, move to "Control Panel".

Navigate "System and Security".

Further in the section "System" go to subsection "Device Manager".

You can also go to Device Manager by entering the command in the tool field "Run". Calling up the window "Run" (Win+R). Enter the command:

Click "OK".

The Device Manager window opens. Click on the category name "Sound, video and gaming devices".

A list will appear containing the name of the sound card that is built into your PC. Right-click on it and select from the list "Update drivers...".

A window opens that offers you a choice of how to update the driver: perform an automatic search on the Internet or specify the path to a pre-downloaded driver located on the PC’s hard drive. Choose an option "Automatically search for updated drivers".

The process begins automatic search drivers on the Internet.

If updates are found, they can be installed immediately.

If the computer fails to detect updates automatically, you can search for drivers manually via the Internet.

To do this, simply open your browser and enter the name of the sound card installed on your computer into a search engine. Then from search results go to the sound card manufacturer's website and download necessary updates on PC.

If there is an exclamation mark next to the name of the audio equipment in Device Manager, this means that it is not working correctly.

Method 4: Enable the service

There may be no sound on the computer because the service responsible for playing it is disabled. Let's find out how to enable it on Windows 7.
1. In order to check the functionality of the service and, if necessary, enable it, you should go to the Service Manager. To do this, click "Start". Next click "Control Panel".
2. In the window that opens, click "System and Security".
3. Next, go to the point "Administration".
4. A list of tools is revealed. Choose a name "Services".
  
  There is another way to open the Service Manager. Dial Win+R. A window will open "Run". Enter:
  
  Click "OK".
5. In the list that opens, find the component called « Windows Audio» . If in the field "Startup type" worth the value "Disabled", not "Works", this means that the reason for the lack of sound lies precisely in stopping the service.
6. Double-click on the component name to go to its properties.
7. In the window that opens, in the section "General" make sure that in the field "Startup type" there was definitely an option "Automatically". If a different value is set there, then click on the field and select the required option from the drop-down list. If you do not do this, then after restarting the computer you will notice that the sound disappears again and you will have to start the service manually again. Next, click on the button "OK".
8. After returning to Service Manager, re-select "Windows Audio" and in the left part of the window click on "Run".
9. The service startup process is in progress.
10. After this, the service will start working, as indicated by the attribute "Works" in the field "State". Please also note that in the field "Startup type" value was set "Automatically".
After completing these steps, sound should appear on the computer.

Method 5: Check for viruses

One of the reasons why sound does not play on your computer may be a virus infection.

As practice shows, if a virus has already entered the computer, then scanning the system standard antivirus ineffective. In this case, a special antivirus utility with scanning and treatment functions, e.g. Moreover, it is better to scan from another device, having previously connected it to the PC that is suspected of being infected. As a last resort, if it is not possible to scan from another device, use removable media.

During the scanning procedure, follow the recommendations that the antivirus utility will give.

Even if it is possible to successfully eliminate the malicious code, sound restoration is not yet guaranteed, since the virus could damage drivers or important system files. In this case, it is necessary to perform the procedure of reinstalling the drivers, and also, if necessary, perform a system restore.

Method 6: Recovery and reinstallation of the OS

If none of the described methods gave a positive result and you are sure that the cause of the problem is not acoustics, it makes sense to restore the system from or roll back to the previously created one. It is important that the backup and restore point were created before the sound problems began, and not after.

If you do not have a system restore point on your computer that was created before the sound failure occurred, and there is no removable media with backup copy, then in this case you will have to reinstall the OS.

Method 7: Sound card failure

If you have carefully followed all the recommendations described above, but even after reinstalling the operating system, the sound does not appear, then in this case, with a high degree of probability, we can say that the problem lies in a malfunction of one of the computer’s hardware components. Most likely, the lack of sound is caused by a broken sound card.

In this case, you must either seek help from a specialist or replace the faulty sound card yourself. Before replacing, you can first test the functionality of the computer's sound element by connecting it to another PC.

As you can see, there are many reasons why a computer running Windows control 7 the sound may disappear. Before you start fixing the problem, it is better to find out the immediate cause. If this cannot be done right away, then try to apply various options for correcting the situation according to the algorithm given in this article, and then check if the sound appears. The most radical options (reinstalling the OS and replacing the sound card) should be done as a last resort if other methods have not helped.

As often happens, it only seems that sound problems in Windows operating systems are difficult to solve on your own. If you carefully analyze the “symptoms,” you can easily localize the possible cause of the abnormal “behavior” of your computer’s sound card.

As is known, any computing system consists of software and hardware parts. The first is drivers, codecs, shells, etc. Accordingly, the second is represented by components, better known under the term “hardware”. Obviously, sound problems can be caused by: incorrect work hardware components and control programs.

Although developers strive to make their products fairly reliable, breakdowns still happen. If you have problems with sound, then it is more rational to start searching for the cause by diagnosing the components. You need to make sure that the wire to the audio card has no visible damage - sometimes it is enough to simply crush it with furniture, partially damaging the wires, in order to get clicks, noises or complete silence in the audio stream (depending on how “lucky” you are). It is also useful to check the condition of the connector. Well, the champion in the number of complaints about sound is a broken conductor in the wire plug. To check, you can temporarily connect regular headphones to the output.

Much more often, sound problems arise due to errors in software, sometimes completely unrelated to the audio stream. For example, it sometimes happens that the sound disappears after reinstalling the operating system, but before that everything worked. In this case, it can be argued that the reason is software.

Problems with Windows sound 7, and in any other system, most often occur among beginners who forget to install drivers. These special programs, intended to control a particular device, are installed once. When purchasing a computer, you are given a disk containing drivers for all components of the motherboard - they must be installed, and immediately after installing the operating system.

If the card is discrete (separate), then a support disk should also come with it. Alternative option- go to the motherboard manufacturer’s website, find your model, download and install necessary drivers. By the way, you should not chase novelty by installing alpha and beta versions, since they are unstable in operation.

Problems with sound in Windows 7 can also be caused by the way this system works with the “direct sound” component. This is the output of the audio stream by the card itself, actively used in earlier versions Windows systems. In “Seven” this feature has been abolished, since the mechanism for how applications work with the kernel has been significantly redesigned. Therefore, it is not advisable to use the ability to output sound through “direct sound” in programs, since distortion and noise are possible due to double conversion. For example, in the well-known Winamp player running under Win 7, you must specify the usual Wave Out in the output settings. So here are two more possible reasons- drivers and correct output settings.

Sometimes wheezing in the speakers can occur due to the wireless modules involved. Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth. If they are not used they should be disabled.

One of the most common problems in a computer it is sound problem. Most often the sound simply disappears, but it also happens that instead of the usual pure sound we hear crackling or hissing from the speakers. It happens that when playing an audio file, the computer simply freezes. Let's try to consider a solution to this problem.

First you need to understand whether the problem is with the computer or with the speakers. To do this, we will connect to our speakers any audio device that you are 100% sure is functioning correctly. If the speakers are working properly, then we’ll move on to finding the problem in the computer.

1. Let's check whether the sound on the computer is turned on by opening the volume control on the taskbar.

2. Let's check the presence of an audio device driver; it happens that it crashes due to an OS failure.

A. Right-click on the My Computer shortcut and open Control. In the left column, find and open the device manager.

B. In the list of devices that opens, find the item “Sound, video and gaming devices”, open it and find our audio device.

IN. Open its properties and look at the device status line

If the device is not turned on, click turn on under the status bar. If the driver is not installed, then you need to install it from a disk or download it from the website of the manufacturer of your sound card. And then restart your computer.

3. If the device is not on the list, then most likely it has broken down and needs to be replaced, or it is a consequence of exposure to a virus. First, let's check your computer for viruses using the Dr. Web Cureit. If it doesn’t find viruses, then we try to purchase a separate sound card or borrow it from a friend for testing. We install it into the computer and install the driver from the included disk. Then we check if the problem is resolved.

If after the manipulations sound doesn't matter doesn't work, then we recommend contacting.