No audio device found but there is in Control Panel

Probably the optional upgrade does some changes to the system that are incompatible with some specific devices such as old Realtek HD audio cards, and you cannot access any audio or video device (I mean TV tuner etc, not VGA). I will not install it just in case.

Meanwhile I upgraded successfully from v2004 to v21H1 and created a restore point, just in case. I will update every application and then create a full backup with Acronis or Macrium. I want next time I need it (I hope never) to have all my current data so I would miss very little restoring it.

Heartbeat:
While I have both, a fairly recent backup and a fresh installation of a new (21H1) version of Windows, both of which have working sound, I'm still running the "broken sound" version of Windows on my main PC (I'm using my laptop for anything that requires sound), in an effort to uncover this mystery, and I'm still looking for ways to fix this specific issue.

Recap and update:
I encountered this issue after some final steps in a 2021-06 Update finalized, which rendered my PC unoperable (blank/dark gray screen), and I went to "uninstall latest quality update".
I've now tried several things like copying drivers from a working backup, comparing registry states to a working backup, looking at system folders.
Obviously, I haven't found anything yet.

Additional info:
The issue probably lies somewhere very low level, relatively. It appears to lie even below device drivers.
I thought I'd try using streaming/remoting software like TeamViewer to remote into my affected computer with a working one to see if sound could then be played by my "capable" laptop.
No: No sound came through.
Also, as I mentioned before, it's not just my main (on-board) sound card that's affected; all other sound cards (nVidia integrated, stand-alone USB SC) are not working in the same way: Reporting "This device is working properly." in device manager, while Windows reports "No Audio Output Device is installed", and there are no outputs (or inputs) listed in the sound panel (yes, we've checked "disabled" and "disconnected" devices, too)

I hope we'll get to the bottom of this.
I could easily restore an old backup or use a clean install, but I'm still clinging on to the hope of nailing down the issue.
No need to wish me luck: Superstitions have no effect on the real world beyond people susceptible to it.

See you around, peeps

The issue is caused after installing some Windows update, not sure which one. You have to uninstall the update or return to a system restore point before the issue (if available).

spapakons said:

The issue is caused after installing some Windows update, not sure which one. You have to uninstall the update or return to a system restore point before the issue (if available).

...kind of, but this story gets really interesting where you can uninstall the latest updates and the issue still persists 🤔
And, weirder yet, you can install a fresh, newer version of Windows, and have no issue with sound/audio devices, While a repair install of Windows won't fix the issue O.o

I feel like generally blaming "a Windows update" is like saying "it all started when mankind invented manned flight" when talking about 9/11
(Alright, I may be exaggerating just a bit for the sake of making a point here ^^)

We need to know the specifics of what happened and find ways to fix it.
Without any hard evidence, it feels like this issue happens somewhere simultaneously low level in a hierarchical sense, and with little impact on files on disk. (AKA the "usual suspects" of files remain the same, and even after a repair install, the issue can persist)
Since I can use both an older version of Windows and a clean new install of Windows without issues, and a repair install of Windows won't fix the issue, I have a hunch that this is some kind of config mishap, possibly in registry(?).
I'm entertaining the idea that it might be a permissions issue, like TrustedInstaller having sole permissions over a file (or key in registry) as a consequence of botched updates, which something down the line then fails to access (maybe read permissions are effed, maybe a component would have to write something in order to function again)

Been there, done that. No matter what I did to fix it, the issue persisted. I then restored an old backup (v2004) I had from my old SSD (cloned back to the new SSD, after backing up my files). I upgraded v2004 to v21H1 again, so far so good. Once I installed two specific updates (see my older posts in this thread), the issue appeared again without any possibility to fix it. So these updates change something in the multimedia subsystem which is incompatible with our old PCs and screws it. Then no audio or video device is available to the applications, although the are installed without problems, according to the Device Manager. So no able to play any sound or capture any video. Find an old backup to begin with and avoid any suspicious cumulative or otherwise June 2021 dated updates. Use the Show/Hide Tool to hide them (and block them).

Hello!

I just downloaded the Media Creation Tool 21H2 and using that the Windows 10 21H2 ISO. Before I dare to upgrade to the new build, I would like to ask if anyone had any weird incompatibility, such as losing access to audio/video devices or losing access to Windows Store. Any other issue? Please share! Thank you in advance.