Windows not recognizing motherboard audio device

My computer has been working fine since a few weeks ago when I got it, but last night I booted it up, and Realtek HD Audio Manager failed to load with the computer. I tried to open it manually, but it never came up. I restarted, same problem. I checked on my playback devices, and my motherboard audio (Realtek) was not there. Hardware manager, show hidden devices, it shows Realtek is not plugged in. Went to BIOS, my on-board audio is enabled.
It almost spontaneously stopped working and being recognized. There was no software installed recently enough to show a causation.

The back audio jacks and the front headphone/mic jacks don't work at all, they aren't recognized anywhere in my computer, and any way I try to launch Realtek HD Audio Manager it doesn't load.

For the time being I am using my HDMI audio but my monitor is mono and there is no mic input. Terrible for gaming. Headphones don't work with it at all.

Obviously I'm here for help, so I'm open to ideas.

It's very possible that the Realtek Audio hardware may have malfunctioned and failed, meaning you would either have to have it physically repaired, or replace the motherboard. Either way, not convenient.

The other possibility is that the driver has become corrupted in some way. You could go into Device Manager and remove the Realtek driver, then try to reinstall it. I would get the driver download from your motherboard manufacturer to be certain that you get the right one.

Please try that and post back the results.

Do a full power off (turn off at mains) and restart. If that doesn't work reinstall the Realtek driver.

LazyCoder said:

My computer has been working fine since a few weeks ago when I got it, but last night I booted it up, and Realtek HD Audio Manager failed to load with the computer. I tried to open it manually, but it never came up. I restarted, same problem. I checked on my playback devices, and my motherboard audio (Realtek) was not there. Hardware manager, show hidden devices, it shows Realtek is not plugged in.<snip>

If the HD Audio device only appears in Device Manager as a Hidden Device (it displays with a transparent icon) then, yes, Windows is not detecting the device. Could be the chip failed. But here's a trick that sometimes works....

HD audio connects like this:

Windows <===> HD Audio Controller <=======> HD Audio Device

Your HD audio device connects downstream to an Audio Controller. Sometimes the controller needs to be reset.

Look in Device Manager under System Devices. Do you find a device named something like "High Def Audio Controller" or "Realtek HD Audio Controller"?

• If not there, it's the controller that failed
• If you find the HD audio controller:
  
  • Right click it, select Uninstall. If asked, do not choose to delete driver files.
  • Reboot. The driver will reinstall and the audio controller will attempt to re-detect the HD audio device. Does it find it this time?

If that doesn't work, i'd also check if any BIOS updates.

TV2 said:

The best way to test to see if a problem like yours is caused by hardware failure or software (drivers, OS) is to run a version of Linux on the PC and test to see if you get sound there.

I tried Ubuntu, installing Realtek drivers won't work(?) unless I install Ubuntu. I never realized how painful installing drivers is on Linux. It did not show up in the audio devices list though.

ComputerGeek said:

If the HD Audio device only appears in Device Manager as a Hidden Device (it displays with a transparent icon) then, yes, Windows is not detecting the device. Could be the chip failed. But here's a trick that sometimes works

Done. It didn't show up in the list until I turned "Show hidden devices" on, and reinstalling it did not fix it.
I updated the drivers as well to no avail.

System Restore isn't working for me, so reverting to two weeks ago isn't an option. (Though I tried several times)


I could still update my BIOS, but I doubt that fix it. I'll get to it when I get some more free time.

Understood. Ubuntu gets no sound, BIOS settings have been reviewed. I'll call the company soon and just send it in. They even pay shipping, so no skin off my back.