No audio after clean install

Hello,

 

I did a clean reinstall of Win10 on my Toshiba laptop and since that time, the audio has not worked.  When I attempt to play audio -- MP3, video, etc. -- the mixer shows I have sound, but the speakers do not actually play anything.  Similarly, it does not work if I plug in headphones.  The speakers will occasionally pop, but not with any frequency or in a way that would suggest a pattern.  

 

I have tried updating the driver, uninstalling and reinstalling the driver, deleting and reinstalling in Device Manager, turning off enhancements, changing the default sample rate -- basically, everything that I've found in multiple places on Google and nothing is working.  The speakers worked fine up until I did the clean install, so while it could be a hardware problem, that seems unlikely, doesn't it?

 

Any help would be much appreciated.  Thank you!

Try a copy of linix mint, you dont have to install anything its live boot. just fire it up and see if you have sound with it.

 

https://linuxmint.com/

If your Toshiba has "Media Control Buttons" somewhere on your model like most do and or FN "Function Keys" you may need to install or re-install the "Flash Cards" driver since your audio driver has been troubleshooted already by yourself I can imagine maybe its the flash cards issue some models have.

 

So go to toshiba drivers page here and enter your model. Once pulling up the compatible drivers for your model in Windows 10 look for "Flash cards", download and, install. When that is done reboot your computer then back at the desktop after reboot play some audio, while the audio is playing locate your "FN" Function key which is generally bottom left or right of keyboard as "FN" in orange letters. Once you locate and hold the key down look at your F keys at the top of the keyboard for a "Volume Up key" make sure while holding FN you tap that vol up key more than a few times too see if it provides you with sound at that point.

 

Sometimes these external media options or media buttons above the keyboard can cause a problem after a fresh install and need additional drivers from the manufacturer's site for the computer itself. While your at it if you have not done so, on the toshiba page download your controller drivers and any media utilities from toshiba.

 

Let us know how that goes.

As well as Michael's good advice above, try here...just in case

 

http://win10faq.com/what-to-do-if-you-cant-hear-sound/

Try a copy of linix mint, you dont have to install anything its live boot. just fire it up and see if you have sound with it.

 

https://linuxmint.com/

 

I will try this and report back.

 

If your Toshiba has "Media Control Buttons" somewhere on your model like most do and or FN "Function Keys" you may need to install or re-install the "Flash Cards" driver since your audio driver has been troubleshooted already by yourself I can imagine maybe its the flash cards issue some models have.

 

Sometimes these external media options or media buttons above the keyboard can cause a problem after a fresh install and need additional drivers from the manufacturer's site for the computer itself. While your at it if you have not done so, on the toshiba page download your controller drivers and any media utilities from toshiba.

 

Let us know how that goes.

 

I did d/l the Flash Cards app and it doesn't even install -- in poking around, Toshiba says it doesn't work for Win 8 and beyond.  I do have the media key buttons that share with the F keys and did d/l the drivers for those (and all the other current drivers per the Toshiba support site) and it did not work.

 

As well as Michael's good advice above, try here...just in case

 

http://win10faq.com/what-to-do-if-you-cant-hear-sound/

 

Thank you for the link...unfortunately it did not work but I appreciate the idea and help!

Deleted. I doubt this is a driver issue. I would try the linux disk as shadow_647 suggested.

Edited by JohnC_21, 19 December 2016 - 02:41 PM.

Did you have Windows 10 as an upgrade before you did your clean install of Windows 10? or was there 7 or 8/8.1 on there before?

 

If you had 10 before the clean install maybe you had it from an upgrade? would explain why it worked as Microsoft may have preserved the use of some of those older drivers or applied a working generic driver. In this case you want to consider going back to 8 or 7 (which ever was before your Windows 10 upgrade) then maybe run the Windows 10 installation again as upgrade of existing system instead of clean. If you end up doing it this way make sure your pre-Windows 10 system (7/8) has all its drivers/updates done before doing it.

 

*The second option in the image above is what I was referencing*

 

Also if you really wanted to stick with what you got there is a chance you can hunt down the media keys driver issue in Device Manager:

 

Try to see if you can flag it somewhere in:

• System Devices
• Sound, Video and Game controllers
• Audio inputs and outputs

It won't be the sound card you're looking for, it will look like maybe a generic name of some sort for "Media or sound" related. I can't be too sure on this to be honest but basically if you find a device in device manager related to sound or media controls that has like (!) on it or anything like "Generic" you can try:

 

1. Right click on the device
2. Properties
3. Details
4. Drop down: Select "Hardware IDs" (Example of the IDs "MMDEVAPI\AudioEndpoints" OR "HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0892&SUBSYS_10438436&REV_1003")
5. Copy the first result (You can right click on a ID then "Copy")

With the hardware ID you can drop it into google to do research to find out #1 WHO makes the device #2 what is the MODEL... Then make sure you take that information and enter it into the valid support site for that device.

 

Bad example: "Driverdownloads.com" or "Driversupport.com"

Valid site for a device by make: "http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/" or "http://support.toshiba.com/drivers"

 

Bottom line if you can pinpoint the media control driver and find the root of the making company you may have a resource from them to download a version of the driver that may work with Windows 10... I've helped clients in the past with a similar task that works but very rarely it will as some devices just stop supporting new OS drivers to a certain point.

Try a copy of linix mint, you dont have to install anything its live boot. just fire it up and see if you have sound with it.
 
https://linuxmint.com/

I downloaded this and there was no sound when I tried to play an MP3. (I don't know anything about Linux, so it is possible I did it wrong, but it seems a bit too easy for that.)

Did you have Windows 10 as an upgrade before you did your clean install of Windows 10? or was there 7 or 8/8.1 on there before?

It was 10, but a clean install after getting it back from service (it threw a power supply).

In this case you want to consider going back to 8 or 7 (which ever was before your Windows 10 upgrade) then maybe run the Windows 10 installation again as upgrade of existing system instead of clean.

I will try this. I'm at a loss at this point, so I'll give it a shot. What seems odd is that while the speakers don't play audio, they'll pop at certain times -- most notably if I turn the mute on and off. It will pop quite loudly then. Very frustrating.

Thank you!