No Audio Output / Input Devices found

[Empirical]

Hi,

(Surface Pro 3 i7, Windows 10 Pro, 10.0.19042 Build 19042)

In the last 2 days my SP3 has been showing a little red x on top of the speaker icon in the System Tray. When I click on it, it does the whole "detecting Problems, ... Checking audio" routine, which takes ages and seems to to require huge CPU resources , but always returns "Troubleshooter couldn't identify the problem".

The Device manager shows all audio input and output devices are working correctly, the drivers are up to date etc. I have uninstalled every single device, multiple times, restarting between each uninstall and there is no change. This affects built-in speakers and microphone, headphones in the headphone jack, headphones in the USB slot, docking station headphone jack - everything.

The Manage Sound Devices window in the settings app shows that there are no output or input devices.

I have uninstalled every possible app that could be active and trying to access these devices - Teams, Skype, WattsApp, YourPhone - you name it. (The only one I can't get rid of is Skype for Business because apparently the only way to do that is get rid of the entirety of Office). And re-started after every one, Nothing has made a jot of difference.
Tried it without the dock, no difference.

Several days ago I "allowed" (ie succumbed to the nagging) the latest updates to install.

I can't attend virtual meetings - basically can't really do my work.

So if anybody knows solutions to this problem, I would very much appreciate the help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[sharpuser]

Do a “Reset” of Windows 10.

Settings, Update & Recovery
Reset This PC - Keep My Files

Also, if you were to remove Office, all your Office files will remain. You can delete Office and re-install.

I hope this fixes you up.

 

[Empirical]

Do a “Reset” of Windows 10.

Settings, Update & Recovery
Reset This PC - Keep My Files

Also, if you were to remove Office, all your Office files will remain. You can delete Office and re-install.

I hope this fixes you up.

Ouch. Is that really my only remaining option?
I've a couple of apps that I do use that I don't particularly want to lose access to that might be difficult to replace.

 

[sharpuser]

If you've tried everything else, then allowing Windows 10 to make sure all your settings are sorted is the next step.

 

[Hard.Wired]

Hmm, I wonder if your devices got disabled somehow. Try this...

1. Right Click on the sound icon in the lower right Taskbar and then Left Click "Sounds".
2. On the Sounds dialog box that opens, Left Click on the "Playback" tab. If you don't see any devices in that list, then it is highly likely this could be the issue.
3. Right Click in the blank area and then Left Click on "Show Disabled Devices". If a bunch of grayed out devices now show up in the list, Right Click on each one you want back and then Left Click "Enable".
   
   
4. Repeat the steps for the Sounds dialog box "Recording" tab.

 

[Empirical]

If you've tried everything else, then allowing Windows 10 to make sure all your settings are sorted is the next step.

Well, I finally did this over the weekend (after finishing urgent work and much backing up), and it worked. Still re-installing and configuring, but everything looks (and sounds) good so far.
So, Thank you!

 

[Empirical]

Hmm, I wonder if your devices got disabled somehow. Try this...

1. Right Click on the sound icon in the lower right Taskbar and then Left Click "Sounds".
2. On the Sounds dialog box that opens, Left Click on the "Playback" tab. If you don't see any devices in that list, then it is highly likely this could be the issue.
3. Right Click in the blank area and then Left Click on "Show Disabled Devices". If a bunch of grayed out devices now show up in the list, Right Click on each one you want back and then Left Click "Enable".
   View attachment 9554
4. Repeat the steps for the Sounds dialog box "Recording" tab.

Thank you I appreciate the effort taken to reply. Just to close this loop, I had already tried this, as well as uninstalling all the duplicates, greyed out devices, etc.

 

[jake_paul]

Re-Install The Device​

Try this to fix your audio problem, follow these steps

1.) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key

and R at the same time to launch a Run command. Type devmgmt.msc in the run box and click on OK button.
2.) Locate the Sound, video and game controllers category in the list.
Step 2A: Click the Action menu and select Add Legacy hardware (if you see only the Help in this menu, click somewhere in the white space around the list
Step 2B: Click Next to start the Add Hardware wizard.
Step 2C: Select Search for and install hardware automatically
Step 2D: If the wizard tells you it can’t find any new hardware, click Next.
Step 2E: You should now see a list of hardware types. Scroll down until you see Sound, video and game controllers. Select it and click Next.
Step 2F: Select the manufacturer and model of your sound card, then click Next.
3) Click Next to install the device, then when the installation is complete, click Finish.

I Hope this helps you out solve your problem.