Checking Windows Registry for Sound Settings

[WWGD]

Hi All,
I am having trouble with my sound ( no output) and, after trying all the obvious things and more,
I am trying to see if the registry settings (which contain initialization info for devices, among other things).
Does anyone know how to check these settings for sound devices?
Thanks.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Windows sound settings GUI simply edits the registry so I'm not sure what you have to gain. What Windows version and what things have you tried? Have you tried using Window's generic drivers? Is there sound level activity or no registered output (maybe speaker dead?)?

 

[jedishrfu]

there's always the regedit command but without some guidance of what to look for it won't help much.

 

[WWGD]

Thank you both. More specifically, I have Windows 8.1 and no sound output, with the error message " No sound devices are installed".
I have gone thru the device driver and there are both input, output devices, together with the Real Tek driver. The device manager indicates, to the contrary of the message, that there are both input and output ( internal speakers) devices installed, they appear to be functioning correctly
(when I get home I will do some screenshots and post hem here ), and the drivers have all been updated.

 

[QuantumQuest]

Hi All,
I am having trouble with my sound ( no output) and, after trying all the obvious things and more,
I am trying to see if the registry settings (which contain initialization info for devices, among other things).
Does anyone know how to check these settings for sound devices?
Thanks.

If registry is not corrupted for some reason then it's almost certainly a driver issue. If you have already tried to enable the audio device and does not resolve the problem and also you cannot start the service, you must check the drivers.

 

[WWGD]

If registry is not corrupted for some reason then it's almost certainly a driver issue. If you have already tried to enable the audio device and does not resolve the problem and also you cannot start the service, you must check the drivers.

thank you, I have updated the drivers already.

 

[QuantumQuest]

thank you, I have updated the drivers already

Still does not work?

 

[WWGD]

Still does not work?

I tried it many times. When I get home to my PC, I will post snapshots of the error messages, see if that helps someone understand better what is going on.

 

[Routaran]

thank you, I have updated the drivers already.

Given your machine is saying that it doesn't see any audio devices at all, I'm thinking you have integrated audio and it's disabled for some reason. When integrated audio is disabled, and you have no PCI audio card installed, Windows will report that there are no audio devices on the system.

Have you checked your BIOS settings on this machine to ensure that integrated audio is enabled/turned on?

 

[WWGD]

Here is a Screenshot:

I tried it many times. When I get home to my PC, I will post snapshots of the error messages, see if that helps someone understand better what is going on.

Thanks for your comments and please let me know if you need more info.

 

[WWGD]

Given your machine is saying that it doesn't see any audio devices at all, I'm thinking you have integrated audio and it's disabled for some reason. When integrated audio is disabled, and you have no PCI audio card installed, Windows will report that there are no audio devices on the system.

Have you checked your BIOS settings on this machine to ensure that integrated audio is enabled/turned on?

No, thanks, let me check it out.

 

[QuantumQuest]

As I see in your attached screenshots, troubleshooting mentions "One or more audio service isn't running". That's why I said

and also you cannot start the service

in #5. If you tried to start the service (Realtek Audio Service - Startup Type: Automatic) and cannot be started, you may have some issue with some software recently installed, so a clean boot may be needed in order to isolate the problem.

 

[WWGD]

As I see in your attached screenshots, troubleshooting mentions "One or more audio service isn't running". That's why I said

in #5. If you tried to start the service (Realtek Audio Service - Startup Type: Automatic) and cannot be started, you may have some issue with some software recently installed, so a clean boot may be needed in order to isolate the problem.

I did one very recently during a virus removal, problem remains.

 

[Routaran]

Are we plugged into the correct port on the back of the computer?

There's an unknown device in your device manager. Has that always been there? If it's new, it might be related and potentially worthwhile to attempt resolving as it could be related to the sound.

 

[FactChecker]

If you can't get a hint on which registry entry to check, the registry is a big problem. Searching that registry is a mess. I once had something that stopped working when a script called it, but it worked otherwise (double-click, command line, etc.). There are so many ways that something can be started and a different registry entry for each. I had to write a Perl script to search through the registry, looking for relevant text strings. I found the invalid entry that was used in one specific case and not in the others. Once the invalid entry was found, fixing it was trivial (it had neglected to pass parameters).

 

[WWGD]

Are we plugged into the correct port on the back of the computer?

There's an unknown device in your device manager. Has that always been there? If it's new, it might be related and potentially worthwhile to attempt resolving as it could be related to the sound.

I can't see it, can you please point out which?

 

[WWGD]

If you can't get a hint on which registry entry to check, the registry is a big problem. Searching that registry is a mess. I once had something that stopped working when a script called it, but it worked otherwise (double-click, command line, etc.). There are so many ways that something can be started and a different registry entry for each. I had to write a Perl script to search through the registry, looking for relevant text strings. I found the invalid entry that was used in one specific case and not in the others. Once the invalid entry was found, fixing it was trivial (it had neglected to pass parameters).

Beyond my pay grade at this point. I wonder if I should set up a restore point and reboot like Routaran suggested.

 

[Routaran]

I can't see it, can you please point out which?

This guy is what I'm talking about.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/I0zRXkWv_IEQEdyHX1Ff5ajlTm3pSJj16uE1OB3PXDct17ngQ5uVwp08aEINwpMk3Wv2h1u2to8ioy4=w1122-h811
Since we've effectively ruled out physical connection, BIOS device setting, drivers, mute, etc., maybe this missing driver has something to do with your sound issues.This is what i'd like you to do
Right click on your Unknown device, select properties.
In the properties window, select the details tab.
Change the property drop down and select Hardware Ids.
Then right click on one of the values listed, select 'Select All' (if more than 1 item listed)
Then right click and copy and paste those values in a post here. Then we can try to identify what device drivers your system is missing and then we can attempt to resolve it by installing the correct drivers. Hopefully the issue is related and it fixes your sound problem.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/MXNyGpyHxYferQZRMd5TvaX9Us7XL5gMkGm5v_8Lpd9UitdDaIqyD8DoQtGVqA7uv-I5rk2ZpME-OIo=w1680-h811

 

[WWGD]

This guy is what I'm talking about.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/I0zRXkWv_IEQEdyHX1Ff5ajlTm3pSJj16uE1OB3PXDct17ngQ5uVwp08aEINwpMk3Wv2h1u2to8ioy4=w1122-h811
Since we've effectively ruled out physical connection, BIOS device setting, drivers, mute, etc., maybe this missing driver has something to do with your sound issues.This is what i'd like you to do
Right click on your Unknown device, select properties.
In the properties window, select the details tab.
Change the property drop down and select Hardware Ids.
Then right click on one of the values listed, select 'Select All' (if more than 1 item listed)
Then right click and copy and paste those values in a post here. Then we can try to identify what device drivers your system is missing and then we can attempt to resolve it by installing the correct drivers. Hopefully the issue is related and it fixes your sound problem.
[PLAIN]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/MXNyGpyHxYferQZRMd5TvaX9Us7XL5gMkGm5v_8Lpd9UitdDaIqyD8DoQtGVqA7uv-I5rk2ZpME-OIo=w1680-h811[/QUOTE]
Hi, sorry for the delay. Here it is:

Sensors\SensorsSimulatorDriver

 

[Routaran]

Hi, sorry for the delay. Here it is:

Sensors\SensorsSimulatorDriver

If I'm not mistaken, that's part of Visual Studio. I don't think it has anything to do with your sound issues. I'm running out of things to try...

I'm not sure if you have already tried this or not but, what about a system restore? If the issue is recent, in the last couple weeks perhaps, then maybe do a system restore to a week before the issue started.

 

[rcgldr]

In device manager, what shows up, if anything under sound, video, game controllers? Looking at the images shown above, it seems you're looking at a USB controller. What type of motherboard do you have? For example, I have an Intel DP67BG, that includes a Renesas USB 3.0 controller (along with its own driver).

The DP67BG includes a Realtek ALC892 audio codec, and there are multiple jacks, where the green is the primary line out (would need to be connected to the proper pins on the motherboard). I don't use it as I have a Creative sound card, which is my primary sound device, which also has a line out (or it can drive low powered speakers, but I feed the line out to a receiver / power amp to drive large speakers). The video card also has an "audio device", but it only outputs sound via HDMI cable.

 

[QuantumQuest]

@WWGD: I am sure that one of the first things you thought about in order to resolve the issue, is what software and/or hardware change was done before this issue appeared or even if there was some security issue (like a virus attack). Many years before, I struggled a lot of times with such things, until I found out how to sort out at least the common issues that we usually encounter and fix them quickly - it was part of my job, once upon a time. In this regard, administration tools of Windows come to the rescue, like event viewer. If neither them can help, then I think a system restore, as Routaran points out, is in order.