Speaker icon in Notification Area shows "no audio output device installed"

[svencsh]

Speaker icon in Notification Area shows "no audio output device installed" on my HP DV6-4020CX notebook, Win 7 Home Premium. This follows replacement of HDD by SSD and restore to factory defaults using HP Recovery Manager. Only found IDT High Definition Audio Driver (sp50642.exe) but this will not install saying "This is not the correct audio driver for the system (vista)”. Attempting to contact HP Support for product out of warranty, but I am not hopeful of a response. Any ideas?

[AttackofZaq]

Hello svencsh. I understand you're having some problems installing your sound card driver.

Are you using Windows 7 32- or 64-bit?

To begin I'd like to make sure that your computer is detecting a sound card. Do the following.

1. Click Start, type "Device Manager," and press Enter.
2. Expand the "Sound, video, and game controllers" and "Other Devices" sections.
3. Do you have a sound card listed here?
4. If so, post the name. 

If you do not have a sound card listed here but have any "unknown devices" it could be one of these. In that case I'd need the Hardware IDs of these unknown devices in order to locate their drivers. Here is how to locate the Hardware ID.

1. Click Start, type "Device Manager," and press Enter.
2. Right click on the "Unknown Device" and select Properties.
3. Navigate to the "Details" tab and select "Hardware Ids" from the drop-down menu.
4. Post these for me so I can locate drivers.

I will await your response. I hope you have a great evening!

[svencsh]

Hi AttackofZag - Thanks for your prompt response. Situation has improved a little thanks to one response from HP suggesting uninstalling Audio Controllers and restarting the PC. It is a laptop (HP DV6 Win7 64-Bit and probably doesn't have a sound card as such. Device Manager > System Devices now shows 2 High Definition Audio Controllers both listed as "working properly", but the Speaker icon in Notification Area is still showing a red cross and popsup "No speakers or headphones are plugged in". I still have no sounds at all. Double-clicking the icon starts the troubleshooter which tells me "Audio device is disabled", but Device Manager > Driver tab has the "Disable" button available, so it thinks the device is enabled. Would greatly appreciate your expert comments on what to do next. Regards Sven 

[AttackofZaq]

Good morning svench.  You are quite welcome; it is a pleasure to help!

There are actually two places in which you can disable the sound card.  You have checked one, Device Manager, so I will provide instructions on how to check the other.  Here are the instructions.

1. Go to your Control Panel.
2. Navigate to "Sound" or the "Hardware and Sound" category and then "Sound."
3. Right click in the white space in the middle of the window. 
4. Ensure that both "Show disconnected devices" and "Show disabled devices" are checked.
5. Right click on your "Speakers/Headphone" (it may be named a little differently than mine) and select Enable.
6. Save your settings and test the sound.
7. Post the result.

If this doesn't work I'd like you to take a look at this HP Support Document.  It covers resolving issues involving your audio.  It should be very helpful.

I will keep an eye out for your reply.  I hope you continue to have an excellent day!

[svencsh]

Again, many thanks for your suggestions. The Playback tab shows two devices, right-clicking shows the “Disable” button available for both devices (presumably this means they are enabled?). The ATI HDMI Output icon says “Not plugged in” and has a red DownArrow on the icon, the Speakers icon says “Default Device” and has a green Tick on the icon. No sound when testing. Troubleshooting “playing audio” returns “Audio device disabled – Not fixed – Red cross”. Further details says “The audio device you selected is currently turned off in Windows”. This would appear to be contradictory results. What next? Best Regards Sven

[AttackofZaq · Accepted solution]

I would like you to try removing the driver and having Windows reinstall it.  This should reset the disabled status of the soundcard and allow you to use it once more.  Try the following steps.

1. Click Start, type "Device Manager, and press Enter.
2. Expand the "Sound, video, and game controllers" section.
3. Right click on all audio devices listed here and select "Uninstall."  If prompted remove the driver only.
4. Reboot the notebook.
5. When Windows loads it will automatically reinstall the drivers.
6. Test the functionality of the speakers and note the result.

Let me know if this resolves the issue for you. 

[svencsh]

Hi, AttackofZag - That fixed it. Uninstalling all audio devices and rebooting made all the devices come back with updated drivers. I now have sound!!! Thank you so, much. Best Regards Sven

[Ashiwuudh]

Hello sir , i dont have speaker in windows 7 so how should i run Gta San Andreas so how should i run it