Audio keeps cutting out at random times, especially when I play games or do any CPU intensive task

Question

Audio keeps cutting out at random times, especially when I play games or do any CPU intensive task

Anonymous

Hi, I'm having an issue that I can't seem to resolve. My audio keeps cutting out completely and I can't seem to figure out why.

-When audio cuts out I can almost always see the device in sounds working normally (with the green bars moving representing the volume); if I unplug my headphones, sometimes I get the red X on the sounds task bar icon, and it just stops working until I restart.

I tried many times both enabling/disabling the Realtek HD audio drivers and I tried many times uninstalling them and reinstalling them, both with the automatic Windows feature, and downloading them from the motherboard page on Gygabyte's site. The audio always come back and stays a random amount of time before going away. Sometimes soon after the Windows startup sound, sometimes after hours, but it seems to go silent especially while I play a videogame.
I tried disabling the front jacks on my pc and connecting my headphones on the rear jacks, but the problem persisted.
I updated the BIOS, and installed all the drivers for my chipset provided by Gigabyte.
Today I made a fresh Win 10 Pro install on another SSD and not even this seems to have solved the problem. On this version the troubleshooter works, and it solves the issue, although temporarily.

I can't seem to figure out the problem: it seems related with Realtek drivers, but I can't find a version I can install that would work normally, and every time I restart, it seems that Windows automatically installs the version it prefers.

Thank you all in advance for your help

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8 answers

Answer 1

Hi ph.lave.

I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

Disable automatic driver installation in Windows and reinstall the version of the Realtek driver that is working correctly.

Do the following to disable automatic driver installation:

Press "Windows + X" and select "System";
Under "Related Settings", select "Advanced System Settings";
Select the "Hardware" tab;
Select "Device Installation Settings";
Select "No (your device may not work as expected);
Click "Save Changes" and then "Ok".

You can also do this through "Group policy" (gpedit) or "Registry Editor" (Regedit).
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-disable-auto...
The article does not specify to restart Windows for the changes to take effect. Therefore, I suggest you restart the device after doing the procedure.

The "Group policy" is not available in Windows 10 Home. If yours is Home, try the procedure involving the Registry Editor.
Remember to back up your registry before proceeding.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-t...

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Answer 2

It does seem like its related to the driver. There might not be a good working driver that way on that specific sound hardware. Realtek has a bunch and some are in the junk pile while the rest are in the great pile depending on the computer purchased.

I'd suggest testing using a different audio device such as HDMI or DP out from the GPU. This will provide audio out and use a completely different driver. Or try Bluetooth audio. Something else. Whatever works for you. HDMI and DP is a good one as a lot of monitors have that and an audio out jack. But, it depends on what you have and want to do.

If it does it with the other audio device then something you install or do with Windows is causing it. I have no idea what. If it doesn't then its a win.

Answer 3

I'll try using an external card, but I find it absurd to have to resort to something like this to go around software bugs likely introduced in a Windows update.

I doubt it's anything I installed, because it started doing this almost immediately, when I had only installed Firefox, VLC, Steam and Escape From Tarkov. Nothing crazy, really.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll let you know how it goes with the sound card. I'm hopeful because the audio works if I make it play from the monitor via HDMI. Unfortunately, if I connect my headphones to the monitor, the audio quality is terrible, so it's not an option (and it wouldn't solve the problem with my mic)

Answer 4

David-M 110.2K Independent Advisor

You should be able to start games in a clean boot state.

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Answer 5

Perform a clean boot to see if any third-party program in the background is causing this problem. Follow the instructions carefully.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-t...
If the problem does not occur after a clean boot. In this same article, there is a technique to help you identify which program is causing this in "How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot".

After finding the cause or if it does not help, return to normal boot as instructed in "Reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting".

The audio cuts out most consistently when I start a game, but -and correct me if I'm wrong- I won't be able to start games in clean boot state, right?

I will try the technique with the services, though. I will update you when I do. Thanks for the help so far!

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Audio keeps cutting out at random times, especially when I play games or do any CPU intensive task

8 answers