sound not working on windows 10 lap top computer.

Hi Fannie Evans,

I understand how inconvenient it is when your laptop suddenly has no sound, especially when you see an “X” on the speaker icon. Have you already tried the Q&A Assist suggestions? In addition, please try the following.

Step 1: Make sure the Windows Audio service is running

Sometimes the sound icon shows an “X” simply because the audio service stopped.

1. Press Windows + R, type “services.msc”, and press Enter.
2. Find “Windows Audio”.
3. Make sure:
   • Status is “Running”
   • Startup Type is “Automatic”
4. If it is not running, right‑click it > “Start”. If it’s already running, right‑click > “Restart”.

Step 2: Check if the playback device is disabled

An “X” can appear if all playback devices are disabled.

1. Right‑click the speaker icon > “Sounds”
2. Go to the “Playback” tab
3. Right‑click anywhere in the list and ensure “Show Disabled Devices” is checked
4. If you see “Speakers” or “Headphones” marked as disabled:
   • Right‑click it > “Enable”
   • Then select “Set as Default”

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Can you pls check in Device Manager, if you've audio driver listed there.

Follow these steps in order on the Windows 10 laptop.

1. Run the audio troubleshooter
   1. Select Start > Settings > Update & Security.
   2. From the left menu, select Troubleshoot.
   3. Under Find and fix problems, select Playing audio > Run the troubleshooter and follow the prompts.
2. Turn off audio enhancements
   1. In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and open it.
   2. Select Hardware and Sound > Sound.
   3. On the Playback tab, right‑click the Default Device (the one with the green check) and select Properties.
   4. Go to the Enhancements tab.
   5. Check Disable all enhancements or Disable all sound effects (whichever appears), then select OK.
   6. If there are other default-capable devices listed, repeat for each one.
3. Check Windows Update and restart
   1. Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
   2. If updates are available, select Install now and complete installation.
   3. Restart the PC: Start > Power > Restart (or Update and restart if shown).
4. Update the audio driver automatically
   1. In the search box on the taskbar, type device manager and open it.
   2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   3. Right‑click the sound card or audio device (for example, speakers/headphones) and select Update driver.
   4. Select Search automatically for updated driver software and complete the wizard.
5. Reinstall the audio driver If updating does not help and the X is still on the sound icon:
   1. Open Device Manager again.
   2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   3. Right‑click the audio device and select Uninstall device.
   4. Check Delete the driver software for this device, then select Uninstall.
   5. Restart the PC. Windows will reinstall the audio driver automatically.
6. Try the generic Windows audio driver
   1. Open Device Manager.
   2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   3. Right‑click the audio device and select Update driver.
   4. Select Browse my computer for drivers.
   5. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
   6. Select the generic High Definition Audio Device (or similar), then Next and finish the installation.
7. If sound stopped after an update, roll back the driver
   1. Open Device Manager.
   2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   3. Right‑click the audio device and select Properties.
   4. Go to the Driver tab and select Roll Back Driver (if available).
   5. Follow the prompts and select Yes to roll back.

If none of these steps restore sound, use the device manufacturer’s support page to download and install the latest audio driver for the exact laptop model, or restore from a system restore point created before the problem started.

References:

• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• cannot increase volume even if trouble shooter updates it - Microsoft Q&A
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• My audio inputs and outputs suddenly disappeared, how do i fix this? - Microsoft Q&A
• How to fix this. no audio device is installed - Microsoft Q&A
• Audio garbled after new Windows 10 installation - do I need different drivers? - Microsoft Q&A