Share via

Windows Audio Service Stops when audio beguins to play

Anonymous
2019-08-03T01:26:05+00:00

My audio on my PC randomly stopped working (No sound, The icon in the taskbar changed to a broken audio sign, and I can not even change the volume settings) and I have not found any solution in order to fix it.

All of my drivers are updated. I have tried multiple audio outputs including the system speakers. I have restarted my PC. I can not restore my PC to a later version because I did not have system restore enabled previously. I tried uninstalling drivers than reinstalling them. I tried resetting my default audio device.

I have run the troubleshooter and found that "one or more services are not running". So I investigated my services to find that windows audio services continues to stop running. Windows audio endpoint does continue to run. I tried restarting both services and a number of things happen. Sometimes WAS (windows audio service) stops immediately after, sometimes I get an error saying that the attempt to start unexpectedly quit, sometimes windows audio service continues to run as though the audio would be fixed: the Icon (red circle with a white x by a mute speaker) in the taskbar turns into a normal sound icon and my volume allows me to adjust it up and down. However, whenever I go to play anything with audio to test (usually a random youtube video) windows audio service immediately stops running and the broken audio icon returns. No audio plays whatsoever not even for a moment. On fewer occasion of testing the same method windows audio service continued to run or appeared to be, however no audio played still and when I adjusted my volume the pop-up slider in the upper right-hand corner said it was playing "chrome.exe" audio, whatever that means. I attempted to play audio from different sources than google tabs, such as Spotify. When seeing if Spotify would play I noticed that not only does the audio not play, but the songs rapidly skip forward and backwards between tracks without me pressing anything. I also tried to play an mp4 which I had on my computer and when I tried to watch it it gave me an error 0xc00d4e87 "Try restarting the device you're using. We can't find an audio driver right now." On one occasion I ran the troubleshooter (which essentially just restarts windows audio player) while the mp4 was going and by some miracle the audio worked! So I thought eureka! I opened a youtube video to test the audio there aswell and immediately as audio would have began to play, windows audio service stopped running again.

Testing these different methods has given me such odd and inconsistent results. I have tried every solution I could find on any forum, but none have worked. I am not sure what else to try. Any help would be much appreciated!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous
2019-08-03T02:57:30+00:00

Hi Alexander. I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 10 year Windows MVP here to help you.

I'll give you all possible solutions for Sound problems. If you have any problems performing any steps I'll be standing by here to help you.

  1. Update the sound driver from the PC or device maker's Support Downloads webpage for your exact model, if it is newer than the one presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start button. While there compare to make sure you also have the latest BIOS, Chipset, Display, Network and all other drivers.
  2. Restore the Windows Audio Service which may have become disabled: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/57567-resto...
  3. Next try this checklist: https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/402699...
  4. Right click Volume icon in System Tray, choose Sound Settings, from the Output and Input devices dropdown menus, choose then one(s) affected to see if that helps. If not use the Troubleshoot button nearby.
  5. Run the Playing Sound troubleshooter at Start button > Settings>Update & Security>Troubleshoot.
  6. Try rolling back the sound drivers in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start button. Choose Sound controller and other audio devices, then Driver tab, then Roll back if available.
  7. If no newer sound drivers then uninstall the one presently installed in Device Manager, reached by right clicking the Start Button. Restart PC to reinstall.
  8. Try other and older drivers for your model Sound controller, too. For example, try the next oldest driver in the model's online Support Downloads list. To try all previous drivers installed on your system, in Device Manager choose Sound controller's Driver tab, then Update Driver, then Browse, then Let Me Pick.
  9. If this was caused by Windows Updates then you can check which were installed at Settings>Update & Security>Windows Update under Installed Updates, then uninstall them from the link there, and hide with the Hide Updates tool downloaded from here: http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f2...
  10. If this was caused by a Version update (which you can confirm at Settings > System > About) then you can roll back the version in Settings>Update & Security>Recovery and then hide it until it matures using the Hide Updates Tool downloaded from here: http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f2...
  11. You can also use System Restore to get before the problem began, then check for Updates with the Hide Update tool and hide them: http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/how-t...
  12. Go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Start with Step 4 to turn off Startup freeloaders which can conflict and cause issues, then Step 7 to check for infection the most thorough way, then step 10 to check for damaged System Files. Then continue with the other steps to go over your install most thoroughly.

  1. If nothing else helps then run a Repair Install by installing the Media Creation Tool and choosing from it to Upgrade Now. This solves many problems and will also bring it up to the latest version which you need anyway and by the most stable method. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

________________________________________________________

Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.
0 comments

6 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2019-08-03T03:23:49+00:00

    HI

    I recommend you check these methods to repair any Windows problem.

    Press the Start key and type the word CMD, right click on the command prompt and select Run as administrator, enter the following commands one by one followed by the Enter key:

    •- DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

    •- DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

    •- DISM.exe /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup

    •- sfc /scannow

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-03T02:24:22+00:00

    I have tried both of those and tried them again per your reply. Still to no avail.  When running the troubleshooter, the problem appears to be fixed, however, when I go to test something with sound, the moment audio would be playing, the audio service stops running immediately. What else can I do?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-03T01:54:38+00:00

    Hi, AlexanderHeinz

    My name is Smith and I am an Independent Advisor. I would be happy to help you today.

    1.- Press ‘Windows key + I’ together to open ‘Settings’.

    2.- Click on ‘Update & Security’.

    3.- Click on ‘Troubleshoot’.

    4.- Click on ‘Playing audio’.

    5.- Click on ‘Run the troubleshooter’.

    If this does not work you can update the Audio drivers.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/402844...

    Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the status for further assistance.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-08-03T01:33:37+00:00

    Here is some system info if it helps

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments