Low audio volume after bios update

[Morac]

My dad has a HP Pavilion - 15-cs3065st running Windows 10.  Last night it updated the bios to F.18 Rev.A (sp143658).  After the update my dad complained he needed to increase the volume to 80 to hear the audio.  He used to have it on 42.  So basically he had to crank up then volume to hear it.  He ran the audio troubleshooter from both Windows and HP and neither detected a problem. 

I remotely logged into his machine and saw 2 odd things:

1. His laptop is using both a Microsoft high definition audio driver and an Intel Display Audio driver as opposed to the Realtek high definition audio driver listed on https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-pavilion-15-cs3000-laptop-pc-series/29133460/mod...

2. Under system drivers, the Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (Intel(R) SST) OED driver failed to start because the fw never responded to the signal. It shows an error code 10.  I looked in the Windows Event log and the first time this failed to load was right after the bios update so that seems to be the cause. 

I read Smart Sound Technology requires certain settings in the bios be enabled, but I couldn’t check that remotely.  My guess is the bios update did something to those settings. 

Any idea how to fix this?

[Morac · Accepted solution]

I decided to have him install the Realtek audio drivers and he said that fixed the problem.  I’m not sure why it worked without them previously. 

[Tomii19]

Hi @morac

It sounds like the BIOS update may have caused some issues with the audio drivers and the Intel Smart Sound Technology driver on your dad's HP Pavilion laptop. Here are some steps you can try to troubleshoot and fix the problem:

1. Roll back the BIOS update: If the issue started after the BIOS update, it's possible that rolling back to the previous version of the BIOS could fix the problem. You can find instructions for rolling back the BIOS on the HP website, or you can contact HP support for assistance.

2. Update the audio drivers: Try updating the audio drivers for the laptop, including the Realtek high-definition audio driver listed on the HP website. You can get the latest drivers from the HP website or from the manufacturer's site.

3. Reinstall the Intel Smart Sound Technology driver: Uninstall the Intel Smart Sound Technology driver from the Device Manager, then restart the laptop and let Windows reinstall the driver automatically. If that doesn't work, you can try downloading and reinstalling the driver from the HP website or the Intel website.

4. Check BIOS settings: As you mentioned, Smart Sound Technology requires certain settings in the BIOS to be enabled. You can check the BIOS settings on your dad's laptop to make sure they are set correctly. If you're not sure how to do this, you can contact HP support for assistance. 

If none of the above steps work, it's best to contact HP support for further assistance. They can help you troubleshoot the issue and provide additional guidance on how to fix the problem.