Windows Insider Preview - Audio Service Fails to Start, No Sound.

Question

I am currently running a Windows Insider Preview build on my laptop, and I am facing an issue where the Windows Audio service is not starting. As a result, there is no sound output in my system.

I have already tried basic troubleshooting steps such as restarting the system and checking services, but the issue still persists. Additionally, my system has been experiencing other instability issues like unexpected restarts.

Could anyone please guide me on how to fix this problem?

Answer 1

Hi Piyush Dohare

Since the Windows Audio service won’t start, it’s could possibly be due to a dependency or driver issue rather than the audio service itself.

Quick checks that usually fix it:

• Open services.msc and make sure these are Running + Automatic:
  • Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
• Restart both services, then try starting Windows Audio again (dependency failure is a common cause).
• Run as Admin:

    sfc /scannow
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
  

• Reinstall or roll back your audio driver (Device Manager → uninstall → reboot)

If you’re also seeing random restarts, it likely points to Insider build instability or driver incompatibility, so consider rolling back to the previous build or switching to a more stable channel.

If you can share the exact error (e.g., Error 1068 / 0x80070005), it would help narrow it down further.

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