No audio device found but there is in Control Panel

obamabindriftin · 08 Jun 2021

HeM said:

Hi,

Although, as you've mentioned you've tried that, I'd suggested to do it again, but this time carefully:

With no internet connection, go to Device manager and uninstall any audio driver checking also "Delete" box. Then, go to Control panel/Programs and Features and uninstall any audio driver you see, apps which have any audio driver installed (like Apowersoft) and any Antivirus app.

Make sure all above have been removed, restart and then connect to internet and let Windows download and install automatically whatever it likes.

That's what I'd have done if I were you and I wish you luck...

ΥΓ: Μην απελπίζεσαι

that didn't work for me sadly (I also tried to reset all local group policies)

. It seems like a registry issue but I don't know how to work with it

spapakons · 09 Jun 2021

That means I have to visit my parents home and do it locally (I control this computer via AnyDesk). OK I will try that. I'm also thinking to use CCleaner to fix any Registry errors, just in case.

HeM · 09 Jun 2021

spapakons said:

...I have to visit my parents...

Double joy... Παστίτσιο μαμάς and PC fixing

obamabindriftin said:

that didn't work for me sadly...

If nothing can repair that issue, clean install included, perhaps you have to stay on a previous version of Windows. Also both of you should remember what you had done when the issue appeared.
I'm not an expert, I cannot help with registry and I hope someone help you.

Good luck!

spapakons · 09 Jun 2021

I had upgraded from 250GB SSD to 480GB SSD a few months ago. Fortunately I had cloned the old SSD to the new one. So if nothing else works I will backup my files and clone once again. All I have to do is update Windows 10 and other applications, not start from scratch, thanks Goodness!

Upgrading Windows 10 from v20H2 to 21H1 some days ago did not give me any issues. Some other update done recently probably screwed up my system. Needless to say to keep a backup frequently to have the less possible hassle if anything goes wrong...

This is your last chance to help me fix it... I will restore my data from the old SSD at the weekend.

PS: I am not sure if that helps, but all video and audio devices are not available. I have a USB HDMI card that capture some videos in 1080p with VirtualDub. I opened VirtualDub, started Capture Mode and sure enough the screen is black. Neither the USB HDMI card, nor my Philips PCTV card is working, although all of these devices appears as OK in Device Manager! That f@cking malware...

HeM · 09 Jun 2021

spapakons said:

...That f@cking malware...

From what I know about your system, the better malware I can see is something called Avast...
Windows Security is as good as any paid or not AV and never causes issues to system. Installing and having more than one AVs activated together, sooner or later, issues should be expected.

The best part of your story is your old disk.
A golden rule, before an update/upgrade, is that any (third party) Antivirus should be disabled and of course a system backup is, as you said, necessary. And one more thing: NEVER trust "System Restore".

RJARRRPCGP · 09 Jun 2021

HeM said:

And one more thing: NEVER trust "System Restore".

That's a left over from the XP days in a bad-kind-of-way! Microsoft should axe it, just like they axed the asinine WPA requirements that XP had!

spapakons · 10 Jun 2021

System Restore is not used frequently, but in many cases is a life saver, the alternative being format! No thanks! I would rather trust System Restore and fix any minor side effects.

HeM · 10 Jun 2021

spapakons said:

System Restore is not used frequently, but in many cases is a life saver, the alternative being format! No thanks! I would rather trust System Restore and fix any minor side effects.

That's your method and as you've mentioned, didn't work... and of course the alternative is NOT a format!
My way is a restore from a frequent backup (Marcium). It takes 5 minutes and never fails.

But... "περί ορέξεως, κολοκυθόπιτα"

(Sorry for greeks. I cannot express that in english)

PS: "System Restore" is a nice way to come here or elsewhere, asking desperately for help...

spapakons · 10 Jun 2021

Cloning over 250GB is time consuming, even with an SSD, but it is good enough. The problem is that unless you update the backup frequently, you most likely restore from a very old backup and then you have to update a lot of stuff to get up to date. System Restore (whenever it works) usually restores back to a 2-3 days, so you lose almost nothing and you are up to date. I would rather have many tools to choose from than rely on a single tool

PS: "Peri orexeos kolokythopitta" has not equivalent in Enlgish, as far as I know, and it roughly means "if your taste is so bad as to eat junk, such as zucchini pie, I will not judge you".

HeM · 10 Jun 2021

spapakons said:

Cloning over 250GB is time consuming,...

That's true!
There are some ways to avoid that. One of them is creating partitions, keeping system and apps in one (C:) and your files in the other(s). By this way you have to do with a "small" backup file and a fast restoration.

Another way is the differential or incremental backups which some backup apps offer, acting like "System Restore", taking even less time for backup & restoration.

Finally, the choice is yours. And that's the real meaning of "περί ορέξεως, κολοκυθόπιτα", at least for me, cause this pie is delicious, if you know how to make it...