Windows 10: No audio device found but there is in Control Panel

Hello, I have a strange issue at my main system (see my specs). The taskbar icon for sound is the speaker with the red X and it reports that no input or output audio device is found. Running the troubleshooter finds no problems. In Device Manager the sound card and all audio inputs/outputs are there without any exclamation mark. What is going on? How can I make the sound card work again? I tried to restart the Windows Audio service, nothing changed. I even tried to reinstall the Realtek HD audio driver, nothing changed. Any ideas about this weird issue? Thank you in advance.

:)

 

windows 10 control panel

Hello,

Thank you for visiting Microsoft Community and providing us with the detailed description about the issue.

As per the description, I understand that you want to know how to access the control panel in Windows 10?

I certainly understand your concern and will try my best to help you.

I would suggest you to try the following steps to open the Control Panel in the system.

Step 1: Opening Control Panel in Windows 10.

• 
  Open Run command box by simultaneously pressing Windows and R keys (Windows + R).
  
• 
  In the Run dialog box, type
  Control and then press Enter key to open the classic Control Panel.
  

Step 2: Access Control Panel in Windows 10 from desktop.

• 
  Right-click on the Start button (Windows logo button at the bottom-left corner of the desktop) and then click Control Panel to open the same.
  

Step 3: Launch Control Panel using search.

• 
  Open Start menu or screen.
  
• 
  In the search box, enter Control Panel and then press Enter key to open the same.
  

Note: You can quickly access the search with the help of Windows + C hotkey.

Step 4: Create Control Panel shortcut on desktop.

• Right-click on desktop, click New, and then click Shortcut.
• In Type the location of the item box, type the following path.

explorer shell:ControlPanelFolder

• Click Next button.
• In the Type a name for this shortcut box, type Control Panel, and click Finish button. You can now double-click on the Control Panel icon on the desktop to quickly launch the same.

Step 5: Pin Control Panel to Start or taskbar.

• 
  In the Start search box, type Control Panel.
  
• 
  When you see search results, right-click on Control Panel entry and then click Pin to Start to pin it to the Start menu or screen.
  

Note: Clicking Pin to taskbar will pin the Control Panel to taskbar.

I hope this information is helpful.

Please do let us know if you need any further assistance, we will be glad to assist you.

Thank you.

 

windows 10 control panel

Step 2 does not work at all. Anything from File Explorer and above does not launch at all.

 

Re-enable audio device

Hi,

I would be happy to assist you.

Before we proceed with troubleshooting, I would need little information on the issue.

• Are using speakers / head phones to listen to audio?

If you have disabled the audio device, then you might not see it under the list of playback devices. I would suggest you to follow these steps to make sure you see the disabled devices:

• • 
    Open
    Control panel.
    
  • 
    Click Hardware and Sound and then Click on
    Sounds.
    
  • 
    Under Playback tab, right click on the empty area and make sure
    “Show Disabled Devices” has a check mark on it. If headphones/Speakers are disabled, it will now show up in the list.
    
  • 
    Right click on the device and
    Enable it. Click OK.
    

If the issue still persists, try enabling speakers automatically using steps below.

• 
  Go to Settings> Click on themes> Advance sound settings> right click on the speakers or the audio device youo have connected > click on
  Configure device.
  
• 
  Test the sound level you want, click Next.
  
• 
  And configure the audio devices.
  

Hope this helps you. Do reply if you need further assistance on Windows 10.

Thank you.