Windows 10: Bug with Microsoft Audio Driver and ALC1220 7.1 channel selection?

Hi,


I recently purchased a new 7.1 channel speaker setup after my old setup died a while ago. This system takes it's 7.1 channels via the standard setup of connecting to 4 analog 3.5mm jacks on the back of my motherboard. Now I do have a newer PC than when I last used this kind of setup, but have run into an issue that the Microsoft sound driver only gives the option of selecting a 5.1 channel setup, as below.




I still have my old PC, so I tried the same thing there and as happened in the past, was given the option for 7.1. Both machines are running the same version of Windows 10 1909 and are both running the same Microsoft audio driver, as below.





The only difference between the machines that maybe important is the one with an issue has a Realtek ALC1220 and the one that is working has a Realtek ALC 1150.


Now what a lot of people will be shouting out to this question is to install drivers from Realtek or from the motherboard manufacturer as they would have better compatibility than a generic Microsoft driver. And yes if those are installed the 7.1 channel option is available and sound can be heard from all channels. The issue is that the subwoofer of the setup does not work properly in that case. The bass management on the motherboard and Realtek's drivers don't support bass management properly, like the Microsoft drivers. And certainly don't have any cross over frequency selection support, so the subwoofer tends to be silent. Whereas with the Microsoft driver sounds get properly redirect to the subwoofer in games, etc, as they should be. The issue is just that for some reason 7.1 is not given as an option for the ALC1220.


I have done all the standard troubleshooting steps like an sfscan and dism, but not faults were found. I have also tried the sound trouble shooter in windows but to no avail. I also tried a clean windows 10 install

I am starting to suspect that the driver needs an update as it does not look to be supporting the ALC1220 hardware properly, I assume because it is fairly new. Unless there is a by design reason this is not working with the MS driver when it works with other drivers?

:)

 

Mono audio only plays 1 channel instead of combining them after recent update

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



It is very unusual that even after enabling Mono Audio option, the channels are not combined. I understand how difficult it could be when certain features doesn’t work as they are supposed to.



However, it would be great if you can reply with the details requested below:

• Are you using Realtek audio driver?
  
• What is the make and model of the computer?
  

If you are using Realtek audio driver, we can try to use an alternate audio driver and see if that helps. Refer the steps mentioned below:

1. Press Windows Logo key + X, and select
   Device Manager.
   
2. Expand Sound, Video, and Game Controllers.
   
3. Right click on Realtek Audio and select
   Update Driver.
   
4. Select Browse my computer for Driver Software.
   
5. In the next screen, select Let me pick from a list of available drivers.
   
6. Check the box Show Compatible Hardware and select
   High Definition Audio Device.
   
7. Click on Yes if you get any prompt.
   

If you do not see any change, you can use Update Driver option and Search automatically to revert to Realtek driver.



You may also want to check the Registry setting mentioned below:



Note: Important this section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow
these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.



Follow the steps to take backup of registry.




Also, I would recommend you to
Create a system restore point.

1. Press Windows key + R, to open
   Run dialog box.
   
2. Type regedit and click on
   OK.
   
3. Navigate to, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\Audio
   
4. On the right pane, double click on AccessibilityMonoMixState
   and change the value to 1.
   
5. If you do not see the DWORD, you can right click on empty space, select
   New and click on DWORD (32-bit).
   
6. After changing the value, restart the computer and check.
   

Let us know how it goes.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

No audio in 'Asphalt 7: Heat'

Hi Moezul,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Does the audio work in other applications?

If you are not able to hear the audio in any applications. I would suggest to check with the steps below and see if it resolves your issue.

Steps:

1. Check if the audio driver is updated. Follow the steps mentioned in the article to update audio drivers.
   
   Update drivers in Windows 10
   
2. The issue can occur if the appropriate playback device is not selected. Click the
   Sound icon (bottom right corner of the screen), click Playback device and select the appropriate device from the menu.
   
3. Check the In-game audio settings to confirm if the sound is turned
   on.
   
4. Check the Volume levels in the system's Volume Mixer to confirm that it is not turned
   off and the levels are appropriate. Right click on the Sound icon and select
   Open volume mixer. Adjust the settings as per your requirements.
   

If the audio issue is only with the game, I would suggest to get in touch with the
game developer
to get a confirmation on this.

Thanks,

Peer Samie

Microsoft Community-Moderator

 

Dolby Audio driver

Hi Joseph,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community and being a part of Windows 10.

Do let us know the following to assist you better with this issue:

• What is the complete error message of this issue?
• When are you facing this issue with the drivers?
• Have you installed all the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website for current operating system?

I suggest you to uninstall the existing Audio drivers, download the latest drivers for your device and check if it helps.

Step 1: Uninstall the Audio driver.

Steps:

• Press Windows + X keys from the keyboard, click on Device Manager.
• Expand Audio inputs and outputs, right click on the driver and click on
  Uninstall.

Step 2: I suggest you to manually install the latest audio drivers and check.

Download the latest drivers from: Lenovo Support for g500

Select the driver and operating system to download.

Refer to the article by Andre Da Costa to install the latest driver:

How to: Install and Update drivers in Windows 10

Hope it helps. Get back to us with the required information and updated status of this issue for further assistance.