Audio I/O Issue with Windows Update 1709

Audio devices (recording/playback) are not showing up in the sound menu. Even the generic 'speaker' is gone! Realtek audio also seems to have disappeared from my device manager, and will not reappear after reinstallation (whether that be from mobo manufacturer, or from Realtek themselves). This first occurred after my update to 1709, but it appears not to have created a restore point before the update, so I can't fall back on that, either.

Any help you guys could render would be greatly appreciated!

Specs:
OS: Windows Home 10 (64-bit) Update 1709
CPU: i5-7600K (Stock clock)
Mobo: Gigabyte H270M-D3H
BIOS: F6 (Latest)
GPU: Galax GTX 1060 6GB
RAM: 16GB Kingston HyperX Fury 2666 (2x8 Kit)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 750
SSD: 120GB Kingston (Boot Drive)

Hi there

I had a similar sound problem a few days ago on my Windows 7 machine .....
1) The speaker icon in the tray had a red x on it and said that no audio device was installed.
2) The entries under Sound in the device manager had the yellow warning symbol.
The entries warned of a Code 19 fault .. an incomplete or damaged registry.
3) Reinstalling and updating drivers did no good.
In my case the answer was to ...
4) Right click and uninstall all those entries under Sound in the Device Manager. They'll re-populate later.
5) Navigate in the Registry to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\, find and right click on the folder {4d36e96c-e325-11ce- bfc1-08002be10318} and click on Export so as to back it up. You'll then be able to Import it back later if something goes wrong.
6) Highlight the folder and if you see any entry for UpperFilters, right click on it and delete it. You may have to do this for any LowerFilters entry as well.
7) Exit out of the Registry, then restart your machine.
8) In my case everything miraculously reappeared in working order.

Thanks for the response.

I tried this last night, and unfortunately, it had no effect, even after (supposedly) reinstalling the drivers. Yet, Realtek HD Audio isn't turning up in the device manager still, and my speaker icon still has the red x with 'no audio device installed'.

Thanks for your suggestion, nonetheless!

Solution found (although it's far from satisfying...)!

Tried to play an audio file from iTunes half-minded, forgetting that I have no audio - I surprised myself by actually hearing something coming out of my headphones.


I'm not sure if the solution was me playing the music, reinstalling Realtek drivers for the 57th time, or simply luck - but the problem has fixed itself.