No Sound. Have tried everything.

[emachine777]

So, I have no sound whatsoever and have tried troubleshooting on my own as well as getting Microsoft Windows support. The latter was simply the same as the former.  Apparently, it seems there are no drivers for windows 11 right now. So, I think the windows updates I just downloaded are what messed it up. The support agent's final piece of advice was to come here for support, but I can't actually chat with an agent so here I am. 

[BeemerBiker]

You installed an update and some devices are no longer working. You need to either uninstall the update or alternately roll back the device driver to an older one that was working before.

If you cannot start windows normally, then bring up windows in the safe mode. How to start windows in safe mode


1. Either uninstall the problem update or even better just fix the device.

2. Rollback the driver that the Device Managers shows as failing or is the wrong one.

If uninstalling or rolling back did not work then see if there is a windows restore point that has a date from when the camera last worked.  This video describes how to use a restore point. Alternately enter restore in the windows search bar.

Possibly a windows update put in the wrong audio driver. Brin up the device manager and look for the audio device.
\
Bring up the device manager and find the audio device with the problem. For example

Click on Update driver
Click Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
Remove the selection from Show compatible hardware. (uncheck)
Find a driver that will work. if windows warns that you have a newer driver already installed, that newer driver is the one with the problem and that is why you should try an older one.

Let me know what you find out.

[emachine777]

I performed steps 1 through 3 (which I already had done), and it didn't solve the problem. I don't even have the rollback option for the drivers. It was greyed out.

[BeemerBiker]

If safe mode does not restore the audio there might be a real hardware problem.

Check to see if there is a hardware problem: Watch this video.
Tap the ESC key after powering on. Tap it once a second after you see the LEDs on the keyboard flash. When you see the startup menu, press F2 to run diagnostics.
If a component fails during the UEFI test then Click here to check warranty

HP is removing cloud recovery for system over 5 years old.
The actual wording is a limited time after the warranty expires
You may want to get a copy of the cloud recovery before it is too late.
Cloud recovery provides all the custom HP drivers.
Go to the below site and enter your product ID including the 3 characters after the # character
If you have cloud recovery you can restore your system using a 32gb flash.
It may take an hour or more to create the recovery USB.
https://d34z73bbtpzgej.cloudfront.net/
Alternately, download from the MS windows store
Click here for instructions.

Let me know what you find out.

[emachine777]

That also didn't work. But I solved the problem by uninstalling the latest Windows update from the advanced screen when I booted into safe mode. Because even safe mode had the sound issue. Turns out the problem was definitely the Windows update. I am curious about the cloud recovery you mentioned though. I think it might be too late for me because I followed the link and put in my product id and it just redirects me back to HP support. My laptop is definitely more than 5 years old.