HP 15-dw0xxx audio stopped working ths afternoon

[EgonDragon]

Hello!

I bought this computer at the end of June and it's been working beautifully until today. I worked this morning, then took a nap because I'm recovering from stomach problems. I went back to work at 4 pm and there was no sound. Nothing from the speakers and almost nothing through my headphones. I have been trying to resolve the problem unsuccessfully ever since, and I'm a bit panicked since I'm visually impaired and need audio cues to help me perform my job.

When I restart or try to use the headphones, there is a horrible whirring sound coming from the right-hand side of the speaker vent; during restart, there will also be a brief sound from the left side. It stops after a minute or so after a restart, but if I use the headphones it doesn't stop at all until I restart the computer. I actually can't gauge the headphone sound accurately because the whirring is so loud.

The Windows and HP scans can't find a problem, but when I ran the system diagnostics the audio components failed.

I have installed, updated, rolled back, uninstalled, and reinstalled drivers. I have disabled and re-enabled the audio, changed all of the settings, reset the BIOS to defaults, and spent so much time chatting with the virtual agent I'm tempted to give her a name. I have read the repair manual and priced replacement speakers, but since she's still under warranty I don't want to open the case myself!

I really don't know what else to do, although I should probably update the BIOS while I'm at it.

Only one thing has happened to my computer lately, and I don't know how it could be related but will include it just in case:  against my wishes, my husband set up an "administrator" account for himself on my computer; he said he was hunting for work while he waited for a part for his own PC, but the other day I caught him messing with my BIOS in some virtual MS3 setup. I chased him off of my computer and told him that I would delete his account as soon as his computer part arrived, but he wasn't to touch mine in the meantime.

Of course, while I was napping he deleted his account and--again without my permission--tried to reset the computer back to factory settings. He did not reset it successfully, but ever since then I have had no audio. Again, I don't know how it could possibly be related but didn't want to leave out anything that might help.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Troubleshooting? Prayers and spellwork?

--Thanks,

EgonDragon

[praveenbv]

Hi@EgonDragon, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

We reviewed your post and I understand that the  audio issue,

Don’t worry, I assure you I will try my best to get this sorted.

I recommend you follow the below steps and check if it helps.

1. Turn off your HP laptop.
2. Disconnect all external devices (printers, USB drives, etc.) from your computer.
3. Remove all recently added internal hardware.
4. Press the Power button to switch your HP laptop on.
5. Once your unit starts booting, immediately press the F11 key. Repeatedly press it until you see the Choose an Option screen.
6. Select Troubleshoot.
7. Choose Reset this PC.
8. You can either opt to keep your files or to remove everything.
9. Select Keep My Files when you want to retain your data. Once you click Reset, your operating system will be reinstalled. The process may take a while.
10. Choose Remove Everything when you want to remove all your personal files.
11. You can opt to remove everything solely on the drive where your operating system is installed. On the other hand, you can click All Drives when you do not want to retain any data.
12. You can also fully clean the drive you selected or just remove your files.
13. Click Reset.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

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