1. Check the Sound Settings in Windows
The first step to take when troubleshooting sound issues on Windows is to check the sound settings for any errors or incorrect configurations. On Windows 10, right-click on the speaker icon in the lower-right corner of the taskbar, then select “Open Sound Settings”. Alternatively, you can type “sound settings” in the search bar at the bottom of the Start menu.
Check the settings in the Sound tab to make sure all sound settings are correctly configured. These include speakers, microphone, and communication devices. Make sure that the correct device is selected under the Playback, Recording and Communications tabs.
If everything looks OK, then move on to the next steps.
2. Run the Troubleshooter
The next step is to run the built-in audio troubleshooter. In the same Open Sound Settings window, click on the “Troubleshoot” button on the right side of the window. Windows will now scan for any sound related issues and attempt to fix them.
If the troubleshooter is unable to fix the sound issue, then you can try the next step.
3. Update the Driver
You may be experiencing sound issues because you have an outdated sound card driver. To check if this is the case, open the Device Manager by right-clicking on the Start menu and selecting “Device Manager”.
Expand the section labeled “Sound, video and game controllers”. Here you should see the name of your sound card. Right-click on it and select “Update Driver”. You can choose to either manually search for an updated driver online or automatically search for an updated driver using the tool provided.
Once the driver has been updated, restart your computer and check if the sound issues have been solved.
4. Check Volume Levels
If the sound settings were properly configured and the driver was updated but the sound still isn’t working, then it is possible that the volume levels are too low.
To check the volume levels, double-click on the speaker icon in the taskbar. Make sure that the master volume slider is not at its lowest level, and that other volume levels such as Wave, PCM, and Speaker, are set correctly according to your preferences.
5. Restart the Audio Service
If none of the above steps solved your issue, then you can try restarting the Windows audio service. Press the Windows key + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
Scroll down the services list until you find “Windows Audio”. Right-click on it and select “Restart”. Then check if the sound issue has been solved.
6. Uninstall Audio Drivers
If none of the previous steps have solved the sound issues, then you can try uninstalling the audio drivers from the Device Manager. Open the Device Manager and expand the “Sound, video and game controllers” section.
Right-click on the name of your sound card, then select “Uninstall device”. Then follow the instructions to remove the drivers from your system. Once the drivers have been removed, restart your computer and allow Windows to automatically reinstall the drivers for your sound card.