Windows 10: A problem with devices in the "sound" menu in the control panel. Can I use any other audio...

Hello!


I have an Acer Aspire 792G laptop with Windows 10 installed.

I had been running a Realtek audio driver since I acquired the laptop, but recently I found an issue.


When having the Realtek driver installed and running, my internal laptop speakers and my plugged in headphones appear as the same device in the "sound" menu in the control panel. As in, if the headphones are unplugged, I see the "speakers" device working. And when I plug in the headphones, it's still the same "speakers" device that's playing all the sounds. So for example, if I disable the "speakers" device while having the headphones unplugged, then after I plug them in, there's still no sound from the headphones, because they are now disabled, as they just "become" the speakers. And I desperately need them to appear as two separate devices so that one of them can be disabled while keeping the other one going.


I tried switching to Microsoft HD Audio drivers, and they actually do just that: now the headphones and the speakers appear as two separate devices and I can disable and enable each of them individually as I please. Unfortunately, this driver has its own issues, the sound quality is worse, and there's some popping sound going on in the headphones, indicating that there's a problem of some sorts.


I know that in most laptops, Realtek driver has advanced settings available where you could separate the speakers from the headphones, unfortunately, my laptop appears to be one of the few which doesn't support advanced Realtek settings at all, as I can't access this menu.


So my question is, are there any other drivers I can try out? Or perhaps there's another way to separate speakers from the headphones without sacrificing the sound quality?


Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

:)

 

No Stereo Mix In Sound Control Panel

I used to be able to select Stereo Mix under the Recording tab in the Sound control panel but it's no longer there. I checked to be sure all devices, including disabled ones, are displayed, but that wasn't the problem. I also checked to be sure I'm running the latest drivers. I'm using a new laptop and it has more audio devices than my old laptop, so I'm not sure if this impacts the situation. All are working properly, according to the device manager. Just to be sure, I went to Realtek's website and downloaded the latest version for my x64 system and installed it. The result was no sound at all (EEK!), so I did a driver rollback and things went back to the way they were - normal audio, but still no stereo mix.
I also checked the sound section under System Settings. When I click the popup menu under input, Microphone Array is the only option listed there. I did a little research and saw something about Microsoft intentionally removing the Stereo Mix/Wave Out Mix option from its drivers. I'm running the latest May 2019 update, so perhaps this is the case?
My ultimate goal is to use the Snagit screen capture utility to record a a video (with sound) of a game I'm playing so I can send to a friend. Snagit is configured properly, but it still captures the microphone input - as well as some kind of distortion. Audio from the microphone is also poor. I know there are workarounds, such as Virtual Audio Cable and Stereo Mix Plus, but I don't know about the bona fides of these apps and I'd prefer to solve the problem with my existing software/drivers - if that's possible. If not, I'll consider workarounds. Anyone have any ideas? TIA for any help.
Apologies if this is a duplicate post. I did a search for "stereo mix" and found nothing.

 

Disabling Audio input/output (Microphone/Speaker/etc) in Device Manager does not disable device in Sound Control Panel or stop audio...oh my!

In Windows 10 (1803 build 17134.228), I open both "Device Manager" (devmgmt.msc) and the "Sound Control Panel" (mmsys.cpl).

Both Device Manager and the Sound Control Panel show the same audio input/output devices.

ex: "Speakers" and "Microphone".

This is good!

In Device Manager, I disable "Speakers", which continues to show up and has an icon showing it is disabled.

In Sound Control Panel, "Speakers" still shows up and *is not disabled*!

When I play a sound through the [disabled in Device Manager] Speakers, I can still hear the audio!

This is horrible!

In Device Manager, I re-enable "Speakers".

In Sound Control Panel, I disable "Speakers".

In Device Manager, "Speakers" disappears as an Audio output device.

Audio correctly cannot be heard.

This is good!

In summary:

1. Why does disabling "Speakers" in "Device Manager" not stop audio coming out of them?
2. What does disabling "Speakers" in "Device Manager" actually do?
3. Why is disabling Speakers in Device Manager different than disabling Speakers in Sound Control Panel?

Now for the real meat: I am trying to disable/enable the Audio input/output device...

...the way that the Sound Control Panel does...

...but programmatically (PowerShell, C#, C...whatever works).

There are many of examples of how to disable/enable a device that involve "devcon.exe disable/enable", "Get-PnpDevice | Disable/Enable-PnpDevice", and "Get-Device | Disable/Enable-Device".

All of these result in the device being disabled in the Device Manager, and exhibiting the above undesirable behavior; the audio devices still show up in Sound Control Panel and are usable.

I also have tried the Registry hack (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\MMDevices\Audio\Capture\{GUID} DeviceState=1 or 10000001), but that seems to be a cosmetic hack only and doesn't actually force close any open devices or prevent new opens.

So I'll add another question:

1. How can I programmatically disable/enable and audio device to have the same effect as doing it in Sound Control Panel?

And no; UI automation of the Sound Control Panel is not an acceptable answer.

I am looking for an actual API that can be called in the background, not a horrible UI hack that requires being in the foreground.

Thanks!

Pv

 

Problem with audio devices

Hi Marcello,

I appreciate you for trying some steps in order to get the issue resolved.

If you're connecting to an audio device using USB or HDMI, you might need to set that device as the default.

Open Start, enter Sound, select it from the list of results, and then, on the
Playback tab, select a device, then Set Default.

I would also suggest you to turn off Audio enhancements.

• 
  Go to Start, enter Sound, and select Sound Control Panel
  from the list of results.
  
• 
  On the Playback tab, right-click (or tap and hold) the
  Default Device and select Properties.
  
• 
  On the Enhancements tab, select the Disable all enhancements
  check box and try to play your audio device.
  
• 
  If that doesn't work, select Cancel and, on the Playback
  tab, select another default device (if you have one), select the Disable all enhancements check box, and try to play audio again. Do this for each default device.
  

Please revert if you face any issues with Audio.

Thank you.