How to get sound device driver?

Question

Apparently, I accidentally removed the device for sound on my laptop. How can I get it back or get a new one?

Answer 1

Hi Greg Spahn,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. I'm happy to help.

Normally, device will be reinstalled if you open Device Manager and click on magnifying glass icon, or a reboot may help.

If it does not work, please navigate to your laptop support page, download and install the drivers.

If you have trouble finding them, please provide me your laptop model and the Windows version you're using.

Thank you for your time.

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Answer 2

Hi,

What is the laptop model?

Access msinfo32.exe in the search bar, take a screenshot, and post it here.

Thanks

Answer 3

Use Device Manager to reinstall or update the missing sound driver.

1. Save any open work.
2. Right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager.
3. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   • If an audio device is listed but has a warning icon, right-click it and select Uninstall device, confirm, then restart the PC. Windows will attempt to reinstall the driver automatically after restart.
   • If no audio device is listed, restart the PC first; if it still does not appear, install the audio driver from the laptop manufacturer’s support site.
4. After restart, if the driver did not reinstall or sound still does not work:
   • In Device Manager, right-click the audio device under Sound, video and game controllers and select Update driver.
   • Choose Search automatically for drivers and follow the prompts.
5. If audio problems started after a driver or Windows update, roll back the driver:
   • In Device Manager, right-click the audio device, select Properties → Driver tab → Roll Back Driver, and follow the instructions.
6. If the device appears but still shows “no audio device installed” or has issues, you can try the generic Windows audio driver:
   • In Device Manager, right-click the audio device → Update driver → Browse my computer for drivers → Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer → select High Definition Audio Device (or similar) → Next and complete installation.

If the audio device never appears in Device Manager even after restart and installing the OEM driver, this can indicate a hardware problem and the laptop manufacturer’s support should be contacted.

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References:

• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Update drivers through Device Manager in Windows
• How to fix this. no audio device is installed - Microsoft Q&A