How to resolve sudden display and sound issues on PC

Question

I have a Dell Inspiron 3910 which is no longer under warranty. Just recently, one of my two monitors is no longer displaying and no sound comes through.

I ran diagnostics through Dell SupportAssist, and other than not hearing sound during the tests, no problems were detected. I also did trouble shooting through MS (Windows 11) but got no fix.

Has anyone had similar issues crop up after installing a windows or dell update?

Answer 1

The best option is to go to the support page for your system on the Dell website, then from there, click 'Select Drivers' and manually install the version of Graphics drivers and HD Audio drivers they provide for your system model.

If you have any difficulty locating that support page, click your Start Button, then just type msinfo and press Enter, please provide a screenshot of the resulting System Information window.

Answer 2

Follow these steps in order, testing display and sound after each step:

1. Check default output device and monitor speakers
   • In Windows 11, select Start > Settings > System > Sound.
   • Under Output, select the device that should be used (for example, the working monitor, external speakers, or PC speakers). Selecting it sets it as the default.
   • If using an external monitor without speakers, make sure that monitor is not selected as the default output device, or there will be no audio.
2. Verify Windows Update status
   • Go to Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
   • Install all available updates, including any driver or optional updates.
   • Restart the PC and test display and sound again.
3. Update or reinstall audio drivers
   • Open Device Manager (search for “device manager” from Start).
   • Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
   • Right‑click the audio device (for example, Realtek or High Definition Audio) and select Update driver > Search automatically for updated driver software and complete the wizard.
   • If no newer driver is found or the issue persists, in Device Manager right‑click the audio device again, choose Uninstall device, check Delete the driver software for this device, and select Uninstall.
   • Restart the PC so Windows reinstalls the audio driver automatically, then test sound.
4. Try the generic Windows audio driver (if sound is still not working)
   • In Device Manager, right‑click the audio device under Sound, video and game controllers.
   • Select Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers > Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
   • Choose the generic High Definition Audio driver if available and install it, then test audio.
5. Roll back audio driver if the issue started after an update
   • In Device Manager, right‑click the sound card or audio device and select Properties.
   • On the Driver tab, select Roll Back Driver and follow the prompts.
   • If rolling back is not available or does not help, use System Restore to restore the PC to a restore point from before the issue started, as described in the Recovery options documentation.
6. If no audio device is detected at all
   • In Device Manager, confirm that an audio device appears under Sound, video and game controllers and has no warning icon.
   • If missing or with an error, install the latest audio driver from Dell’s support site for the Inspiron 3910 model, then restart and test.

If the problem began immediately after a Windows or Dell update, steps 5 and 6 (driver rollback or using the generic High Definition Audio driver) are often effective.

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References:

• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Audio issues after win11 25h2 update - Microsoft Q&A
• How to fix this. no audio device is installed - Microsoft Q&A
• cannot increase volume even if trouble shooter updates it - Microsoft Q&A
• My audio inputs and outputs suddenly disappeared, how do i fix this? - Microsoft Q&A