How to enable generic audio driver

Hi John,

Driver compatibility may vary depending on the model and version of the driver and system that you're using. As an initial step to resolve your concern, we suggest that you restore the previous driver version by performing a roll back. To do this follow the steps below:

1. Type Device Manager in the search box and press Enter.
2. Locate sound driver by clicking the drop-down arrow to expand one of the categories.
3. Right-click on the installed driver and then select Properties.
4. Under the display driver properties window, select the Driver tab.
5. Select Roll Back Driver...
6. Select OK.

If the option is greyed out, try reinstalling the driver by repeating steps 1 to 4 then select Uninstall. Restart your device and Windows will attempt to reinstall a native driver.

Let us know should you need further assistance.

SOLVED!

I can report that the audio has been restored on one of the two affected Lenovo desktops.  I expect that I will now be able to fix the other one, but I first wanted to let you know what I found.  The troubleshooting process was long and arduous--I won't try to describe it.

The registry entry for the Windows Audio Service contained this entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\Audiosrv

     ObjectName      REG_SZ     Local System

I changed this to:

     ObjectName      REG_SZ     NT AUTHORITY\Local Service

Then, magically, the audio started worked just as though nothing had ever happened.

Thanks for all the help along the way.

Hi John,

Your observation about the possible blocking effect of the old audio driver being in the registry may be correct but we highly suggest not to remove it as it may affect your device's performance.

Let's check if there's any available updates on our Microsoft Update Catalog, we'd like to know the Hardware ID of your driver. To check this information, follow the steps below:

1. Press Win + R keys at the same time to open the Run dialog box.
2. In the Run dialog box, type devmgmt.msc and click on OK to open Device Manager window.
3. Expand Sound, video and game controllers category, right-click on the audio driver, and click on Properties.
4. Click on Details tab and select Hardware Ids on the drop down option under Property. (see screenshot below as a sample)

We look forward to your response.

We appreciate the comprehensive response. Our next step is to try and reinstall the compatible audio driver for your device. To do this follow the steps below:

1. Type Device Manager in the search box and press Enter.
2. Locate sound driver by clicking the drop-down arrow to expand one of the categories.
3. Right-click on the installed driver and then select Properties.
4. Under the display driver properties window, select the Driver tab.
5. Select Uninstall and check the box for Delete the driver software for this device.
6. Select OK.
7. The system may require a reboot at this point. Reboot if needed, then reopen Device Manager.
8. Select any device, then click the Scan for hardware changes button  to reinstall a compatible driver for your device.
9. Wait for the installation to complete, and then restart you device if prompted.

Once you're done, check if the issue persists.

We'll appreciate if you can send us an update.

Thanks for the quick response, Darwin.  However, no progress.

When the SoundMAX driver is loaded, the internal speaker appears to be correctly installed, except that there is no sound.

The Rollback procedure that you suggest results in the SoundMAX driver being replaced by the generic driver.  Playback Devices now reports "No audio devices are installed."

Rolling back again gives the same result.

I had previously attempted to install the generic driver using the "Update Driver" command.  Same result.

FYI, the SoundMAX driver that I am using is the last one that Lenovo released.  I used it successfully for Windows 7.   I upgraded from Windows 7 directly to Windows 10, and the driver continued to work for the early versions of Windows 10.  It's life came to and end with the Creator's update (version 1709, build 16299.125).

I continue to hope that there is some way to use the generic driver.