Notebook Hardware and Upgrade Questions

The internal speaker that is a part of the laptop (not external) isn't "connected to the computer" (""Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer (Code 45). To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer."). I had to "view hidden devices" on the device manager to even see that the system speaker still existed. Updating the driver doesn't work. I'm not able to enable or disable it. I'm not able to install a new driver from HP's website since they don't support the newest Windows system (11) on my  2.5 year old laptop. There's no option to simply "reconnect" the driver. Troubleshooter doesn't detect any problems. I've restarted my laptop more times than I can count, both to try and fix the problem and to reset it after updating drivers. I've hard reset my laptop. I've given it a few days to try and work itself out. Everything is up to date. And yet nothing is working to fix the problem.

The speakers were working fine a few days ago. And nothing has happened since then to change any settings, or do any damage, or change anything in regards to the laptop. It simply stopped working. Plugged in earbuds don't work anymore. The mic hasn't worked for months. And I am at my wits end. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!