No Audio Output Device Installed

Pseudoflare · 15 Jul 2017

Recently I've been having problems with my audio since yesterday and have been trying to fix it without success. For some reason, the audio suddenly displayed "no audio output device is installed". I went to playback devices and found no drivers even with show disabled and disconnected devices checked. Below is the basic gist of what I have done to solve my problem in chronological order.

ASUS Model: X555UA
OS: Windows 10 - 64bit

3 days ago -
Decided to activate Windows Defender 10
- Computer worked fine for an year without it.
At the same time, scanned computer with MalwareBytes and SuperAntiSpyware.
Everything worked fine before going to sleep when the problems showed up. Was watching Youtube and playing games as usual.
Problems suddenly occurred next morning as follows below.

Problems -
svchost.exe kept taking 100% disk usage.
- Solved by going to regedit and permanently disabling Windows Defender 10.
Audio fails to work, along with any programs that uses audio.

Audio Troubleshooting -
Right clicked audio icon in tray, clicked on troubleshoot problem.
- Windows couldn't find a fix for the problem.
Tried reinstalling drivers from ASUS website. Did not fix.
Scanned for viruses/malware. Did not find anything.
Attempted system restore from automatically created restore points.
- Two points available within week before.
- Both points were corrupted and did not work even in safe mode.
Ran check disk using command "chkdsk /f /r /x".
- Completed in 1 second, showing no progress and just briefly flashing 100% before booting computer.
Ran system file checker with command "sfc /scannow"
- Ran normally. Encountered no problems.
Went to device manager.
- "Sound, video, and game controllers" option was missing unless I went to view and enabled "Show Hidden Devices"
- Tried adding legacy hardware for Realtek drivers. Did not install.
- Uninstalled all hidden sound drivers, restart.
- Installed sound and chipset driver. Nothing still shows up.
Went to services.
- Checked that "Windows Audio" and "Windows Audio Endpoint Builder" was running and set to automatic.
Attempted Windows 10 reset.
- Tried factory reset but the option was not available.
- Tried reset, but failed.
- Tried system image restore which was created way back when I first got the laptop. Also failed due to corruption.
Formatted boot drive to fresh install of Windows 10 using USB.
Installed drivers. Restart.
Everything works except for audio drivers, exhibiting same problem as before.
Ran most stuff done on above checklist again on newly formatted boot drive.
Went to Realtek website for the latest Windows 10, 64bit sound drivers.
- Still doesn't work.
Go to device manager, install legacy hardware.
- This time, program does install saying that "This device cannot start (Code 10)"
- Searching for drivers online automatically does not solve the problem.
- Driver disappears from device manager if computer restarts.
Updated to latest BIOS.

Additionally, this is what I see on my device manager if I enable show hidden devices. I would really love to fix this problem since audio seems to be the only thing that is not working on my computer.

TL;DR
Audio icon on tray with 'X' mark shows no audio output device installed.
Laptop formatted and problem still not fixed.

CountMike · 16 Jul 2017

Can you check in BIOS if audio is enabled ? None of SW fixes would help if it's not enabled and/or working.

Pseudoflare · 16 Jul 2017

Thank you for the reply. I checked the BIOS but wasn't able to find any option related to audio. These are the 1st two screens I see. Whited out serial number and MAC address just in case since I have no clue what those are but better safe than sorry.

Main:

Advanced:

I also checked the I/O Interface Security for audio based on the ASUS BIOS manual and there seems to be no options related to it. Everything in this section is unlocked.

I was able to get a temporary fix by inserting a USB DAC/Amp and plugging my headphone into it. However, the solution is unwieldy for me and I would like to find one that would fix the audio of my laptop instead.

CountMike · 17 Jul 2017

That's only place I could see anything related to sound in the manual. Laptops tend to have very few BIOS options. From device manager it's obvious that sound chip is not found, it should at least mention it even if it's with warning sign or like Unknown device. No drivers or SW can solve that problem, you should take it up with Asus. If it's under any warranty, I would take it back.

Pseudoflare · 17 Jul 2017

I was afraid this may have been unfixable on my end the moment a reformat did not resolve the issue. I'll try giving ASUS support a shot but there's no way the warranty will hold since the LCD screen was replaced with a higher 1080p resolution monitor when the screen cracked in two months.

At this point I think I'll look at buying a new laptop but thank again for the help!

ComputerGeek · 18 Jul 2017

One last thing to check: The audio controller which connects like this

Windows <==> High Def audio controller <==> Sound chip

If controller failed, windows can't see the sound chip. If controller still working, there's a trick to try

Look under System devices for High Definition Audio Controller (or similar name). If it's not there (or you only find it as a hidden device) then it's the audio controller that failed. If controller is there (not hidden) right click Uninstall driver. Reboot. Controller will reinstall and look for the sound card again

Pseudoflare · 19 Jul 2017

I have already tried this and have the picture posted in the first post with "show hidden devices" checked. If I don't have this checked nothing appears for sound on my device manager list.

It's odd seeing the laptop fail catastrophically within multiple backup plans made in place specifically for this kind of situation and later finding out the sound device has likely gone beyond repairable state. It really does look like nothing else can be done but thank you for all the help so far.