Addio Driver

Question

I recently ran updates on my windows 11 laptop and when I turned it back on my audio drivers were goe and I cannot find them in device manager. Can you help?

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[Tag moved from: System Center Service Manager]

Answer 1

Welcome curtis fleenor to the Q&A forum!

To restore the missing audio driver in Device Manager after a Windows 11 update, please try the following steps:

1. Run Audio Troubleshooter

Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar, select Troubleshoot sound problems, and let it detect and apply fixes automatically.

2. Check Hidden Devices in Device Manager

Open Device Manager > Select View > Show hidden devices

• Expand these sections:
• Sound, video and game controllers
• Audio inputs and outputs
• System devices

If you see greyed‑out audio devices, right‑click > Enable.

Right-click any audio entry (or unknown device), choose Update driver > Search automatically; if unavailable, select Browse my computer > Let me pick > High Definition Audio Device.

3. Check Audio Services

Press Windows + R, type services.msc and hit Enter. Locate "Windows Audio" and "Windows Audio Endpoint Builder," right-click each, select Properties, set Startup type to Automatic, and start the service if stopped. Restart your PC after changes.

4. Check Windows Update

Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates, then click Advanced options > Optional updates for driver fixes. Install any audio-related updates and restart.

5. Manufacturer Drivers

If these steps didn't solve your audio issue, identify your laptop model (Settings > System > About) and manually download the latest Realtek or specific audio driver from the manufacturer's site. The following is an example of a driver download page for a sound device manufacturer.

Image and method source, see: Fix sound or audio problems in Windows

If the methods above do not work or are not options, you can try to restore your PC from a system restore point.

When Microsoft installs updates on your system, a system restore point is created in case problems arise. Try restoring from that point and see if that fixes your sound problems. For more info, see "Restore from a system restore point" in Recovery options in Windows

Hope this helps you address your issue. I'm here if you need further clarification!

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