Author: Palla Sridhar

When you boot up your computer, if you see “\Windows\system32\winload.exe” file missing with error code 0xc0000428, you are more likely to format the system.

But is it necessary?

You get an information message saying that

“Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file”.

The first-aid for this issue is to disable digital signature enforcement, if you can boot into your computer. This can be done normally by pressing the F8 key. You will find different options.

Related : [Worked] 0xc000000e Solved on Windows 10 : Boot Error is Fixed

Info about “0xc0000428” error

Below are the details about this error gathered from different sources.

A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source.

If you have a Windows installation disk, insert the disk and restart your computer. Click “Repair your computer“, and then choose a recovery tool.

Otherwise, to start Windows you can investigate further. Press the Enter key to display the boot menu, press F8 for Advanced Boot Options, and select Last Known Good.

If you understand why the “digital signature cannot be verified” error is coming, start Windows without this file. Temporarily disable driver signature enforcement.

File: \Windows\System32\winload.exe
Status: 0xc0000428
Info: Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file.

More : Fix Error 0x80070bc2 in 30 seconds when you try Update Windows 10

User Feedback about Error Code “0xc0000428”

A typical error due to 0xc0000428 will look like the below. You can see the causes and solutions for this problem, as you continue reading.

whenever I start my PC (upgraded to win 8.1) I reach the windows symbol. Then I come into a blue screen with an error message. Your PC needs to be repaired. Also it shows an error code: 0xc0000428. It says:

“Your pc needs to be repaired

The operating system couldnt be loaded because the digital signature of a file couldnt be vertifiedFile: windows\system32\drivers\sfsync02.sys Error code: 0xc0000428 You’ll need to use recovery tools on your installation media. if you dont have any installation media , contact your system administrator, or pc manufacture.”

When I follow the instructions in other forums it doesn’t worked. I already tried the automatically repair of my originally win 8 disk. But I get no other reactions of my PC…

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/your-pc-needs-to-be-repaired-error-code-0xc0000428/cbd830d2-9d8a-43ee-9605-0c47f3a51adc

Like this: [Solved] How to Fix Error Code 8024402c in Windows 10 or 8.1 or 7 or Server 2012 or 2008?

Cause 1: Old BOOTMGR is being used

If there is a Windows 10 upgrade and you have updated your system. But Windows 7 or Vista boot loader is being used which has not been updated to the new version. Then error 0xc0000428 occurs.

Related –

• How to fix the Installation Error of KB4571756 in Windows 10

Cause 2: Dual Boot System with old BOOTMGR

If you are using Windows 7 on one hard disk and you connected a new SSD. Then you installed Windows 10. This is a multi-boot system. But the boot loader is still the old one. So the new OS cannot detect the old BOOTMGR. This will halt the boot process. It is a software error.

Cause 3: Service Pack Problem

Just like in XP where SP2 and SP1 in Windows 7 are released, updates like 1709 or 1803 or 1809 updates are being released by Windows 10. The new Creators or October update will still being using the old version of the BOOTMGR. Since it is not updated to the level of the new upgrade, you can get this error.

Cause 4: BOOTMGR remaining on existing drive

Many people, as a safety precaution, disconnect the primary boot drive prior to installing Windows 10 on a new drive. This will cause the system boot loader on the main boot disk to outdated, while the new OS will try to find a new one. This conflict can also cause this error.

How to Fix “0xc0000428” on Windows 10

There are several ways to fix this problem.

Fix #1: Update BOOTMGR manually

The following are the commands that are to be executed to fix the error.

1. Boot Windows 10 from installation DVD or USB. (You need to press the DEL or F12 or F2 keys to enter BIOS options. Then you need to make your installation disk (CD/DVD/USB) as your first boot device).
2. 
3. After selecting language and keyboard layout, click on Next.
4. Click on Repair your computer.
5. Select the boot HDD and your Windows 10 installation drive.
6. Choose “Command Prompt” under Advanced Options.
7. Type the following commands.

First you can rebuild your boot manager using the following commands. Enter each command and you should get a successfully verified message.

bootrec /rebuildb--
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot

Then you can restart the computer.

If the above commands fail saying that your OS partition is denied access, then enter the following command.

B--boot C:\Windows /s D:

Where C:\Windows is your Windows installation folder and D:\ is your active boot partition.

Generally, it is not required to update the MBR or apply the bootrec commands for this error code 0xc0000428.

This is because, in most of the cases, BOOTMGR is correctly configured. Then you need to only apply the last command.

You can also follow this YouTube video which will show how to open Command Prompt window using Windows 10 installation media like CD or DVD or USB.  Then you can enter any boot commands to restore your boot files.

Fix #2: Change the Hard Disk Boot Priority

If you have multi-disk and multi-boot system, then there is a possibility to get this error.

For example, if you have HDD as DISK 0 and SSD as DISK 2, you need to make the correct drive as boot disk.

When you have Windows 10, 8.1 and 7 on different hard disk, it is important you always make DISK 0 as the boot disk. This causes less problems.

Always make the boot drive partition as the first disk to load using BIOS options. If you have multiple drives on your boot disk, make sure the first partition is where the BOOTMGR resides.

Fix #3: Use EasyBCD to Write MBR and Install BootLoader

As mentioned in the causes above, if you have updated your Windows 10 OS, the boot loader also has to be updated.

Even when your HDD is disconnected to install a new OS, the old boot configuration data may not be compatible.

In many cases of dual boot or multi-boot system, it is better to rewrite the boot loader and MBR again to fix 0xc0000428 problems.

For such cases, you can use a software called EasyBCD which creates the required boot files very easily.

Fix #4: Repair BOOTMGR Data

This works in many of the cases as reported on wintips.org. You have to apply a few commands to implement this solution.

1. Boot your computer from the Windows 10 installation media like DVD or USB. You need to make necessary changes in the BIOS.
2. Then select your language and keyboard layout and click on “Repair your computer“.
3. In the Troubleshooting > Advanced Options > Command Prompt you have to type a few commands.

a. In command prompt give these commands:

• diskpart
• list volume

– Notice the Volume number of the System Rese (“System Reserved”) volume and the Driver Letter of the OS Volume. *

* The “System Rese” volume contains the Boot Manager and the Boot Configuration Data, it has the smallest size (e.g. 100MB, 350MB) of all volumes and if you use an UEFI based computer then the “System Reserved” is in Fat32 format (aka “EFI” volume).
** The OS volume is the partition where the Windows is installed and commonly is the largest volume in size (GB).

e.g. In this example:

The volume number of the “System Rese” Partition is “2”
The drive letter of the OS volume is “D”.

b. Select the System volume by typing this command: select volume 2

* Note: Replace the number “2”, according to your case.

c. Then give these commands:

• assign letter=Z
• exit

d. Finally type this command:

• b–boot D:\windows /s Z: /f ALL

* Note: Replace the letter “D”, according the drive letter of the OS volume in your case.

e. Restart your computer and try to boot in Windows normally. If Windows doesn’t boot, then follow the same steps, but at the end, type this command:

• b–boot D:\windows /s Z: /f UEFI

How to rectify Error “0xc0000428” if the above fail

You can use your “Windows Installation” disk or USB to repair your computer, if the boot fails. Then you can open Command Prompt and type the following commands one by one.

diskpart
list disk
select disk <#>
list partition
select partition <#>
active

This will make the OS partition active.

You can then use BCDBoot command-line tool, to configure the boot files on a PC or laptop to run Windows 10 or 8.1 or 7.

This is useful in the following 4 ways.

1. Add boot files to a PC after applying a new Windows image
2. Set up the PC to boot to a virtual hard disk (VHD) file that includes a Windows image.
3. Repair the system partition
4. Set up or repair the boot menu on a dual-boot PC.

BIOS:

• BCDBoot copies the boot files to either the active partition on the primary hard drive, or the partition specified by the /s option.
• BCDBoot creates the BCD store in the same partition.

Then apply the following command.

b--boot C:\Windows /s S:

The following example copies BCD files from the C:\Windows folder to a system partition on a secondary hard drive that will be booted on another computer. The system partition on the secondary drive was assigned the volume letter S:

Source : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/b–boot-command-line-options-techref-di
This is helpful when you have a dual-boot or multi-boot scenario.

It works with all Windows OS. For example, of you are having Windows 10 and 7 on the same computer, then you can use the above commands.

Note: It may not work with Windows and Linux as a dual-boot scenario. This is because it is a DOS command line tool, which will work with Windows OS only.

If you get error code 0xc0000428 while booting on a dual-boot system, then the best bet would be to boot into one of the OS (like Windows 10 or Windows 7) first.

Then using EasyBCD, you can later add the other OS.

In a dual-boot scenario, when you have both Windows 10 or 8.1 and Windows 7 on the same system, it is best to leave the default Metro BootLoader.

I faced problems trying to install the Windows 7 or Vista boot loader.

0xc0000034 – How to Fix this Boot Error Code

Boot loader errors like 0xc0000034 create trouble if you have no other support to troubleshoot. Either you should have another desktop PC or laptop with an internet connection to resolve your problem or find a Microsoft engineer to solve your issues.

How to Fix Windows 8 Boot Error Code 0xc0000034

The error description goes something like this:

Recovery Your PC needs to be repaired. The Boot Configuration Data file is missing some required information File : BootBCD Error code : 0xc0000034 You’ll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. If you don’t have any installation media (like a disc or USB device) contact your system administrator or PC manufacturer.

I earlier faced a similar issue with error code 0xc0000098 regarding booting problem and resolved it using the “b–boot” command. In that case the boot error solution was quick to solve. To resolve the issue this time, I searched Google for answers.

Solution

The fix that I applied was totally a different one compared to the earlier solutions. I thank “NeoSmart Technologies” for providing the command line editor commands in an easy manner.

This solution is especially for Windows 8 or 8.1 users.

For Windows 7 or Vista, you may need to try little different commands.

Note: Since your Windows will not boot, you need a Windows 8 installation DVD to boot into and enter the Command Prompt tool which is available under “Repair your computer” option.

The process involved applying commands in the command prompt Window in a 5-stage process.

Stage 1 :

We should first make sure that the MBR and bootsector contain the right references to the Windows 8 bootloader.

bootrec.exe /fixmbr
bootsect.exe /nt60 all /force

Stage 2:

Then we need to get rid of the old BCD registry and create a new one.

Note: The important thing is that C: refers to the boot drive and also the Windows installation drive. If you are having a dual boot system, find out which partition is the active one.

attrib -h -s C:WindowsbootBCD

del C:bootBCD
b--edit /createstore c:Windowsbootb--.temp
b--edit.exe /store c:Windowsbootb--.temp /create {bootmgr} /d "Windows Boot Manager"
b--edit.exe /import c:Windowsbootb--.temp
b--edit.exe /set {bootmgr} device partition=C:
b--edit.exe /timeout 10
attrib -h -s C:Windowsbootb--.temp
del c:Windowsbootb--.temp

Stage 3:

The Windows 8 bootloader is clean now and you need to add your Windows 8 installation entry to it.

b--edit.exe /create /d "Microsoft Windows" /application osloader
The entry {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} was successfully created.

Stage 4:

Then we need to assign the device partition and set some path changes.

b--edit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} device partition=C:
b--edit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} osdevice partition=C:
b--edit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} path Windowssystem32winload.exe
b--edit.exe /set {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008} systemroot Windows

Stage 5:

Finally, we need to tell the bootmgr bootloader to list the entry.

b--edit.exe /displayorder {c0dfc4fa-cb21-11dc-81bf-005056c00008}

Conclusion

Though there are various solutions for this booting problem and error code, this is like altogether creating a new boot manager, wiping out of the old data.

So if you had a Windows 8 Boot Manager, after applying these commands, you will see a Windows 7 or Vista styled Boot Menu.

My Experience in a Few Words …

I faced this issue, when I re-wrote the boot configuration data on my SSD disk. But this happened to be DISK 2 according to the disk management tool. I had 4 OS installed in my system. Only 2 of them were booting and error 0xc0000428 was displaying when I tried to boot into the other two.

But earlier I didn’t have any problem when I installed the boot loader on DISK 0 which was a 80 GB HDD. So I reverted the changes. Hoila! It worked simply. I did not even execute any commands.

It is always better to have a dual-boot system. Because, if you have problem with one OS, you can login into the other and make the necessary changes. If F8 works, then you can use the “Last Known Good Configuration” option and “Safe Mode with Command Prompt” to make necessary changes.

You get 0xc000000e error code on Windows 10 when there is a problem with boot loader or wrong Boot configuration data.

If you have multiple disks, only one of them is the boot disk.

So, the boot configuration data is stored on one disk of all the related settings to boot different Windows OS.

Even though you use bootrec commands to fix the boot loading options, it is important you change the order of the boot disk. You can have Metro bootloader or Windows 7 type, but the cause of the problem is the same.

The typical error message for 0xc000000e will be like this –

Recovery
You’re PC/Device needs to be repaired…….
File: \Windows\system32\winload.efi
Error Code: 0xc000000e

This can appear when your Windows 10 OS was deleted on one HDD, which is the boot drive. The boot order options could also have changed.

For example, having two disks like Samsung 850 Evo 1TB and Samsung SM951 m.2 NVME 128GB, can complicate the issues.

You may get confused that the problem is with the hardware or some software. But many-a-times the real problem is with the boot loader configuration stored on your disk.

There are different causes which can cause this Windows 10 error code issue.

1. A required device isn’t connected or cannot be accessed
2. Required device is inaccessible
3. The selected entry could not be loaded
4. The selected entry could not be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt
5. The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

Source : thewindowsclub.com

As you can see above, the real cause for this error code 0xc000000e is either winload.exe file is not accessible or is corrupt or the boot loader location of Windows 10 is not accessible.

How to Fix Error Code 0xc000000e in Windows 10

The following solutions may be tried to fix this problem.

1. Change the boot order of the disk, if you have multiple disks like HDD and SSD.
2. Use Windows 10 Startup Repair feature using Installation Disk
3. Apply BCD command to rebuild it manually
4. Make your Disk Online
5. Try third-party software

Most-of-the-times, the above fixes will show you the way to solve error code 0xc000000e in Windows 10.

1. Change the Boot Order in BIOS

The first preliminary fix is to check, whether the boot disk is the first disk loading during booting.

This can be done, by changing the options in BIOS.

Most of the times, pressing F2 or F2 or F10 or ESC or DEL keys during booting will take you to BIOS settings.

This depends on your PC manufacturer model and the BIOS software you are using.

For example on Phoenix AwardBIOS CMOS setup utility, under “Advanced BIOS features” you have the following options.

1. Hard Disk Boot Priority
2. First Boot Device

You can have multiple devices like USB, DVD, HDD etc connected to your PC.

1. First make sure your HDD is the First Boot Device.
2. If you have multiple hard disks or solid state drives on the same system, then you have to use Hard Disk Boot Priority.
3. Go to the first option and press Enter. Then select the disk which is your boot disk and press F10.

It will save your changes and Restart. If nothing is corrupt, you should be able to fix error code 0xc000000e and enter Windows 10.

2. Use Startup Repair in Windows 10 Installation Disk

Create a bootable Windows 10 installation disc. This could be either a DVD or USB. You can use an utility like Rufus to boot from USB. Otherwise, you can use software like MagicISO to boot from DVD.

Insert the appropriate hardware and change the BOOT options to load from it, as mentioned above.

Source : https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/windows-10-advanced-startup-options-menu

The installation disc will boot up and select language and keyboard layout. Click Next. You will be taken to the next screen. On this screen, at the bottom you see, “Repair your Computer”.

Then click “Troubleshoot” > “Advanced Options” > Startup Repair.

If it’s a small issue, this will fix problems that keep Windows from loading. This will also automatically solve the 0xc000000e error, as startup problem is the main cause for this issue.

3. Rebuild BCD manually

This solution is appropriate if the problem is due to corrupt boot loader. If the boot configuration data has been erred by some hardware change, then the BCD commands will fix this. This is the most common solution for error code 0xc000000e and in many-a-times solve the problem.

1. Boot using the Windows 10 Installation dsic.
2. Then go to “Advanced options”.
3. But this time select “Command Prompt”.
4. Enter the following commands one by one.

bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /rebuildb--

Upon completion of each command, you will get a successful message. If you get any other error message then you  can try these troubleshooting steps.

1. Access is denied while apply the fixboot command.

Then you have to type the following commands in the Command Prompt.

Step 1: Type diskpart and press Enter key.

Step 2. Type list disk and press Enter. Now check disk number to identify boot disk, this is usually Disk 0. if not, use the correct boot disk number.

Step 3. Type select disk 0 (or your boot disk number) and press Enter.

Step 4. Type list volume and press Enter. Now look for the volume number of EFI partition.

Step 5. Type select volume 1 and press Enter. (Change volume to your number)

Step 6. Type assign letter=V: and press Enter. V: can be replaced by any drive letter that is not in use by any partition.

Step 7. Type exit and press Enter.

Step 8. Now type V: (or the drive letter you just assigned) and hit Enter.

Step 9. Type md \efi\microsoft\boot\ and hit Enter.

Step 10. Type — /d V:\efi\microsoft\boot\ and hit Enter.

Step 11. Now type bootrec /fixboot command, the problem should be solved now.

Step 12. b–boot c:\windows /l en-us /s V: /f all

The below YouTube video will show how to fix the Access is denied error while using the Fix MBR command. 

If you have multiple OS on the same PC, you can add all of them to the new boot configuration. A prompt with different options is displayed during the /scanos command.

If this still fails to boot your computer, then the correct order of the boot disc is the problem.

So using the BIOS settings, you have to do trial and error of the correct disc on which the boot loader is situated.

This happens when you have multiple disks.

4. Make the Boot Disk Online and Scan Disks

Sometimes, the boot drive can go offline and is not added to the boot loader settings. Then you have to apply the following commands.

In the Command Prompt of your Repair Disc or Installation disc, as mentioned before, enter the following commands.

1. diskpart
2. list disk
3. list volume
4. select disk # (or) select volume #
5. online disk # (or) online volume #

Press Enter and restart the computer.

5. Use EasyBCD kind of repair software

There are several third-party software that will recover your corrupted boot loader. They will also scan the disks and do other functions. They are kind of repair software. You just have to boot them using an USB or DVD and make the disc bootable.

Once loaded, find the right options to regain your old boot order. This can check your hard disk for bad sectors and also make the correct drive bootable. The following are some of the software.

1. Easy Recovery Essentials
2. AOMEI Partition Assistant
3. EasyBCD

Some of the case-studies of the above error code can be like this.

I just upgraded to Windows 10 on my laptop from windows 7 on a solid drive, All seemed to work fine at first, then I had this boot failure problem.

“Recovery
Your PC need to be repaired
File: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Error Code: 0xc000000e
You’ll need to use the recovery tools on your installation media, etc……
Press Enter to try again
Press F8 for Start-Up Settings”

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-10-needs-to-be-repaired-error-code/b510c535-0c4f-4c72-adfe-dbbaf54a086f

I updated my Windows 10 OS few days back due to the forcible prompts to update.

My laptop went out of power completely yesterday and after that I get the error Error Code 0xc000000e during startup.

Tried many options like below :

– bootrec /fixmbr
– bootrec /fixboot –> Got Access is denied at this step
– bootrec /rebuildb– –> Total identified Windows installations: 0

The 2 TB SATA drive is not being recognized. I have important data in the hard drive, any ideas how to recover the data by a repair?

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-10-error-code-0xc000000e-during-startup/a0d73d2a-551d-4904-bf0f-9802aca1c878

My Final Thoughts

As you can see, the main cause of this error code 0xc000000e is to install the winload.exe on each OS and repair the boot configuration data. Then load the correct boot hard drive and you are back to normal.

Sometimes, you have to try 2 to 3 different solutions mentioned above to solve your problem. Otherwise, you can use any of the software told above to repair your startup problems caused by the above error code.

Applying the commands in the Command Prompt properly is also important.

If you can rebuild MBR using the bootrec commands, then this error code will disappear. But sometimes, you may get error like access is denied, which can be fixed as mentioned above.

If you have solved your error, mention your experience in the below comment section.

Windows 10 has several audio output devices.

You can connect it to headphones, speakers, loud speakers, 5.1 channel home theater, sound card, portable speakers, power amplifiers and many others.

Multiple audio output devices can create sound issue.

To solve sound not working on Windows 10 output devices, check your speaker output device, primarily. Select the right playback device.

You can also fix the generic audio driver by installing branded drivers like VIA, Realtek etc.

PC connected to TV through HDMI, can also have audio problems. A typical problem may look like this

so i have my pc connected to tv using HDMI cable, so sound goes through this cable and uses nVIDIA audio driver (as the hdmi calbe is connected to my nvidia gpu). when the computer wakes up from sleep, it automatically changes to realtek driver (although there are no speakers that are connected), and also the nvidia driver disappears from the drivers options.

Source: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/sound-problems-after-computer-sleep/ad30707e-b598-4b44-9b5a-6568a87cadb7

The following 15 methods should help you solve your windows 10 sound problems in 2020

Use Device Manager to Solve Sound Problems

• Right click Start Menu and select “Device Manager“.
• Click on “Sound, video and game controllers“
• Select your audio device driver.
• Right-click it and select “Uninstall device“.

Restart the computer and the correct driver is installed on reboot.

Use the Sound Drivers from Manufacturer Website

• If that doesn’t work, then use the option “Update driver“.
• Select the option “Browse my computer for driver software“.
• If you have the correct sound driver download, you can select it’s location and click on “Next“. This will manually install the correct driver.

This is more often the case when you download drivers for sound card manufacturer web page.

Check the default playback device

• If you go further down, you can see “Related Settings“.
• Below it there is an item called “Sound Control Panel“.
• Clicking it will open the “Sound” pop-up box.
• Under “Playback” tab, you can see all your sound devices.
• Check whether your sound device is the default one or not.
• If not, right-click it and make it “Default“.

• If the sound is not still working, keep the above window open.
• You can use it for further troubleshooting audio problems of Windows 10.

• If you go little below, there is another option called “Have a question?“.
• Under this you can find “Fix sound problems“.
• This should open the default browser and give different search results related to sound not working in Windows 10.

Check the default Output and Input devices

• Press Win+I to show up Windows 10 Settings
• System > Sound
• On the right-hand side, check the output and input device for Sound.
• The desired playback device should display under the output option.
• You can have your mic from headphones and output sound from speakers, if you like.

Try the Audio Troubleshooter in Windows 10

Just below the default output device in “Sound” settings of Windows 10, you can find the “Troubleshoot” button.

• Clicking it will automatically start the Audio troubleshooter for Windows 10.
• It will ask for the speaker device to troubleshoot.
• Select the required device and click on “Next“.
• It will automatically do some cross-checks and restore your sound to normal in Windows 10.
• This works for most of the sound problems.

This can also be found in the Control Panel under the “Troubleshooting” and “Troubleshoot computer problems“. Under “Hardware and Sound” you can click on “Troubleshoot audio playback“. It will do the same.

Check the Audio Service status in Windows 10.

• Press the Win+R to open the Run dialog and type “services.msc“.
• This should open Services window.
• Check the “Windows Audio” service is running or not.
• It may be disabled by third-party software or virus sometimes.

Turn Off all Enhancements

• By default with every sound device, “Speakers properties” are associated.
• Under this we have a property called “Enhancements“.
• This provides certain subtle enhancements to improve your speaker configuration like –

1. Loundness Equalization
2. Sound Equalizer
3. Environment Modeling
4. Room Correction

Sometimes if we enable any of them and forget it later, they can interfere with the audio device sound in Windows 10.

This can also be a reason for sound not working in Windows.

To disable it you can do the following.
Use the “Sound” pop-up window mentioned above.
1. Select the default speaker
2. Click on “Properties”
3. The “Speakers Properties” window will open
4. Click on “Enhancements” tab
5. Check the option “Disable all enhancements”

Click on OK or Apply. Close all the Sound window and check your audio.

Uninstall Realtek HD Audio driver in Windows 10

Using the Device Manager, go to the Realtek audio driver and uninstall it.

This is because Microsoft has added Dolby and own Sonic drivers to Realtek HD drivers.

So these will be set to off, if you uninstall it.

This is a major problem in 1803 version and your sound should start working, once the default generic driver is being used.

Otherwise, you can use the Realtek driver from the manufactuer web page.

Windows 10 sound is not working – Primary Steps

• Check the multiple audio devices connected to your PC/laptop
• See whether the required sound device is the default playback device or not
• Check your speakers and headphones cables – Sometimes the jacks may be loosely connected to the ports
• See whether the cables connecting the audio devices are functioning properly or not
• For wireless devices, see whether the adapter USB ports are working or not
• Sometimes, speakers and apps have their own software controls. They are to be checked whether they are enabled or not.
• The power and volume levels may be set to “zero” or minimum. You just have to raise the volume slider in that case.
• Try an alternate USB port for the speakers and headphones, if sound was working previously and not working now
• Only one device will work at a time. So if headphones are working, the speaker sound will not work.

How to Fix No Sound in Windows 10

In many forums on the Internet like Reddit and Microsoft, users complained that their sound stopped working after installing the Windows 10 1809 update.

It just says that “No Audio Device is installed“.

According to a Microsoft employee, the cause was that an incorrect audio driver was pushed during this update.

This mainly affects if you are using an Intel Audio driver, which comes mostly with your motherboard.

In the Device Manager, View menu > Devices by connection. 

If you look at the parent device which says something like – “Intel SST Audio Controller” (Intel Smart Sound Technology driver version 09.21.00.3755), then this is the wrong device pushed to your computer.

Just uninstall the device. Then use the Realtek or default generic driver provided by Microsoft.

There is another way to circumvent this problem. If you get an error that “No Audio Output Device” is installed on your PC/laptop, then you can try this solution.

Steps to fix No Sound issue in Windows 10

• Open elevated Command Prompt (i.e with Admin rights)
• Type the following

pnputil /enum-drivers

• A lot of drivers will be listed, something like this.

• Then you have to find the audio driver with a typical name like oemXXXX.inf.
• It should be the correct driver related to your sound.
• Otherwise, that device functionality will stop working.

• Once the driver name .inf is found, run the following in the same command prompt window.

pnputil /delete-driver oemXXXX.inf /uninstall

• The oemXXXX.inf is the driver name of the sound device you found earlier.

The sound problem will be solved in Windows 10.

No Sound after Windows 10 Update

Even in 1909 and 1903 updates, you find that people face sound driver problems in Windows 10.

You need to fix your audio drivers, for these kind of sound issues.

The latest 1909 update in Nov 2019 has given some audio problems to a few users.

It is fixed in the next KB updates and many users to have found a solution in Jan 2020.

Some sound errors look very silly like not selecting the default playback device.

Others tend to get sound from headphones, but complain that speaker sound is not working.

In other cases, the sound drivers are the issue.

As mentioned many times, compatible drivers and software are required for sound cards and mother boards.

You may be getting sound in Windows 10 through any of the above devices.

In Windows 10, if you use Windows Update, it automatically update the sound drivers also.

These generic drivers work with normal sound and giving good effects based upon the speakers you have.

Creative and ASUS are good speaker companies which produce audible sounds. But sometimes these are incompatible with your motherboard.

Also many sound card companies did not release drivers for Windows 10 (64 bit in most cases).

Sound Issue Resolved after Windows 10 1809 Update in Jan 2019

Now in Jan, 2019 you are in luck.

Microsoft has listened to its valuable customers about their vows related to audio problems in Windows 10 and come out with another update.

The KB4468550 update when installed will solve the earlier problem created by 1809 update in Oct, 2018.

The problem arising from Intel Smart Sound Technology driver (version 09.21.00.3755) should be fixed by the above update.

Doing a System Restore in Windows 10

Before you upgraded to 1809 update, a system restore point might have been created automatically by Windows 10.

If you can use that, to go back to the previous version, it can fix your audio problems.

In many other cases, the 1709 update seems to work fine with audio in Windows 10.

It is always reasonable to wait for the new 1809 update to stabilize and then install it.

Finally, Microsoft is pushing the 1809 update in Jan 2019 again and it should fix all the problems caused by the Oct 2018 update.

Windows update could be causing problems

Sometimes other updates like the 1803 update could have made changes to other apps.

This could cause an issue to your existing sound device drivers.

Third-party apps may sometimes take control of your sound and reduce it, so that it is not audible.

You just have to pump up the volume levels again, to see if the sound is fixed in Windows 10.

Try Different Sample Rates and Bit Rates

• In the “Speakers Properties” window, click on “Advanced” tab.
• There are different audio formats available here.
• To set the default format you can click the drop-down box.
• Several audio formats with a combination of frequency and bit depth are available.
• Try one after other, till your sound plays.
• Most of the times, 24bit, 48000Hz (Studio Quality) works for many computers.

Check the “Spatial Sound” option

Another tab present in the “Speakers Properties” window is Spatial Sound.

The Spatial sound format has several options based upon your sound card, mother board and audio codec.

The most common is the “Windows Sonic for Headphones“.

If that is enabled, the 7.1 virtual surround option is also enabled sometimes.

This can interfere with your speaker sound sometimes and could stop working. In that case, choose the “off” option.

Check the Audio Driver status

• On the “General” tab of “Speaker Properties“, you can see your audio controller information.
• Check whether it is the right driver.
• For example, some motherboards only support VIA and not Realtek or NVIDIA.
• Install VIA audio codecs only.

Latest Audio Driver installed

• Click on “Properties” for the above property window.
• This will open the audio driver properties window.
• Then install the latest audio driver.
• This can happen after an update to Windows 10.
• Some sound card manufacturer release Windows 10 drivers immediately and some take time.
• In any case, you can use Windows 7 drivers under compatibility mode.
• You can use several options like “Update Driver” or “Roll Back Driver” .

Your sound problem in Windows 10 should disappear.

Use the Microsoft’s High Definition Audio Device Driver

• Otherwise, you can select the next option that says “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer“.
• You can see compatible sound drivers here.
• Try the “High Definition Audio Device” as your sound driver.
• This is the generic driver provided by Microsoft.

Most-of-the-time, this solution should work even-if all the other sound drivers fail to work.