Sound randomly going out??

Erabane · 08-17-2011, 10:22 PM

Hi everyone, new to these forums but I'm just looking for any kind of help to finally get this problem fixed...

What happens is that ill either be running internet browsers, a game, etc. or even just leave my computer alone only to come back to no sound. At first I thought it was a problem with my video cards (GTX 460) drivers were conflicting with my Realtek HD audio drivers so I uninstalled the Nvidia HD audio drivers only to find they would automatically reinstall upon reboot. I also uninstalled the Realtek drivers and tried to just use the nvidia's sound drivers as well as even uninstall everything Nvidia related on my pc but to no avail.

Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

**Dogg** · 08-18-2011, 04:11 PM

The Realtek drivers are for your audio chipset. The nVidia drivers are for the HDMI audio output. There should be no conflict.

Check Windows Event Viewer and see if Windows is logging any errors for the audio. Also check Device Manager and ensure the Realtek audio chipset is still listed when the audio stops working.

EDIT: grammar

Erabane · 08-18-2011, 10:27 PM

Yeah, I thought so. I've tried using the Windows Event Viewer to see what is happening but I'm having a hard time understanding all the information. Well, when the sound randomly goes out on me in the middle of something, I always check the device manager but all four of the hd sound devices and the one realtek HD audio device show no problems. Nothings disabled, although if I try and delete the other four hd sound devices they are automatically installed upon reboot.

**Dogg** · 08-19-2011, 03:26 PM

Test with a different set of speakers or headphones.

Test using a different output (ie: front panel instead of rear panel...or vice versa) and/or a different output jack (ie: optical instead of analog).

And again, they should not conflict with each other. You have to manually choose (ie: audio setup) which chipset is used AND as the audio is working (and then cuts out) the setup appears to be fine.

Most likely faulty hardware, but could also be a driver problem.

Erabane · 08-19-2011, 07:11 PM

Alright, I will give the headphones and alternate jacks as I haven't thought to do that lol. I would plug my speakers in the front panel if it didn't consist of 3 audio cables, for my 5.1 logitech speakers.

Could it be that the on-board sound chipset/device that came with my motherboard is going out or something? If it is hardware, I guess I could just buy a sound card but I wish I could know what the problem was specifically...

Erabane · 08-19-2011, 07:48 PM

Oh, and I forgot to mention, that when I'm using the computer and the sound goes out, any video I play, either online or from my library, does not play at all really. The video is incredibly slow and choppy and the time on the video chugs along making every second in a clip actually 2-4 seconds.

Erabane · 08-22-2011, 03:47 AM

bump. just found a really interesting work around. If I have my TV connected to my PC via an DVI to HDMI cable (giving me sound through my TV with the help of the 4 HD audio devices) and my sound goes out on the Realtek HD audio device, I can switch to having my audio output on the TV which remarkably fixes my sound problem and the associated video playing problem that comes with it. But as soon as I go back to the Realtek audio device, the problem returns.

Sadly, I still can't find out what's at fault here; the speakers or the drivers, as I have no other speakers or headphones to try at the moment.

**Dogg** · 08-22-2011, 04:05 PM

It's not surprising that the HDMI output is fine when the Realtek output fails. They are completely independent of each other.

So the onboard Realtek chipset is faulty, or the Realtek drivers are corrupt.

Check Windows Event Viewer for any errors during the "failure".

Erabane · 08-23-2011, 11:30 PM

Thing is I don't know how to navigate through the Event Viewer..

What parts should I be checking when it happens?

**Dogg** · 08-24-2011, 04:31 PM

What information appears in event logs (Event Viewer)?

You are looking for anything that occurs at or right before the time that the sound issue begins.

Erabane · 08-27-2011, 09:37 AM

So far I don't see anything suspicious really...

I just tried deleting all my video and audio drivers by uninstalling and deleting and all files I could find, then I booted into safe mode, used Driver Sweeper and cleaned up some more, then finally installed the newest video drivers and then sound drivers when I rebooted. It seemed to work for a few days then suddenly it started doing it again.

**Dogg** · 09-06-2011, 05:15 PM

I'd suspect a faulty audio chipset.

Rawjava · 03-08-2012, 06:46 AM

I don't mean to revive a dead thread but I found a solution if you, or anyone who finds this, is interested.

If you go to playback devices and disable Realtek HDMI and just left the audio HDMI output enabled, the sound stays on.