No Audio Output Device is installed on Windows: How To Fix
“No Audio Output Device is installed” is common error associated with Microsoft Windows based devices that states no sound card is installed in your computer. If you want to confirm whether your System have this problem or not, then hove your mouse cursor over “Sound” icon in the System tray. If you get “No Audio Output Device is installed” Error, it is sure that either your sound card is problematic or device driver is missing/corrupted.
By hovering your mouse on the “Sound” icon, if you see a “Red Cross X” on “Sound” icon in notification area in Windows 10 with this error, then you can read & follow our instructions to fix this problem. In most of the cases, this error occurs due to outdated, corrupted, broken audio drivers.
The Audio Drivers are required to communicate your sound card with your Operating System like Windows 10 or others OS version you have. To check whether the sound driver for your audio output device is installed or not, you can go to “Device Manager” and expand “Sound, video and game controllers” category and check if your sound card name in this field.
In case if you see “Yellow Exclamation Mark” or “Yellow Questioned Mark” on your audio drivers, then you need to update or reinstall your sound driver to fix this issue.
Reasons behind No Audio Output Device is installed Windows 10
- Problem with sound drivers: It might possible to get this error due to missing, corrupted or broken your audio device drivers.
- Recent Windows Update is problematic: Some users reported that this issue occurs usually after upgraded their PC to latest Windows 10
- Viruses or malware attack: In case if your System is infected with malware or viruses, then it might possible to get No Audio Output Device is installed Error and/or several other issues.
How to Fix No Audio Output Device is installed on Windows 10/8/8.1/7?
Method 1: Run Audio Troubleshooter
To fix this issue, at first you can try “Troubleshooters” programs on Windows.
Step 1: Press “Windows + I” keys together from keyboard to open “Settings” App
Step 2: In the opened “Settings” App, search or go for “Troubleshooters”
Step 3: In the opened “Troubleshooter” window, select “Playing Audio” and click on “Run the troubleshooter” button
Step 4: Follow on-screen instructions to complete the audio troubleshooting process
Step 5: This process will detect audio issues. Once done, please check if the trouble is resolved.
Method 2: Scan the PC for malware or viruses using “Windows Defender”
Sometimes, this type of error might occur due to malware or viruses related issue. So, you should scan your computer with powerful security software to remove the infections. To scan the PC for malware with Windows Defender, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Press “Windows + I” keys together from keyboard to open “Settings” App
Step 2: Go to “Update & Security > Windows Defender > Virus & Threat Protection”
Step 3: Click on “Quick Scan” to start the scan or click on “Scan Options” to choose other scanning options
Step 4: Wait to complete the scanning process. Once done, please check if the problem is resolved
Method 3: Reinstall Audio device driver on Windows
Step 1: Press “Windows + X” keys together from keyboard and select “Device Manager”
Step 2: In the opened “Device Manager” window, locate and expand “Sound, video and game controllers” category
Step 3: Right-click on your audio device and select “Uninstall”. Follow on-screen instructions to finish the uninstall process
Step 4: After that, under “Action” menu, select “Scan for hardware changes”. This will automatically detect audio device again and install its drivers.
Step 5: Then restart your computer to save the changes and check if the No Audio Output Device is installed problem is resolved.
Method 4: Restart Windows Audio Service
Step 1: Press “Windows + R” keys together from keyboard to open “Run Dialog Box”
Step 2: Type “services.msc” in “Run dialog box” and hit “Ok” button
Step 3: In the opened “Services” window, locate “Windows Audio” service or looking for services having audio or sound options
Step 4: Right-click on it and select “Restart” option
Step 5: Close “Services” window and check if the problem is still persist.
Method 5: Add Legacy Hardware
If you can’t see “Sound, video and game controllers” category, then you can follow the steps below to add legacy hardware
Step 1: Open “Device Manager” and click on “Action > Add Legacy hardware”
Step 2: Click on “Next” on popping up “Add Hardware Wizard” window
Step 3: Select “Search for and install hardware automatically” and hit “Next”
Step 4: Scroll down to locate “Sound, video and game controllers” option and select it and then hit “Next” button
Step 5: Select your exact sound card from manufacturer and sound card model list and hit “Next” and then “Finish”
Step 6: Right-click on your audio device in “Device Manager” and select “Enable”. Once done, please check if problem is resolved.
Method 6: Re-enable your sound card in BIOS
Step 1: Restart your computer and press “Del” or “F12” or other depending on PC manufacturer to open “BIOS”
Step 2: In the opened “BIOS”, locate “HD Audio Controller” and disable it
Step 3: Press “F10” to save the changes and restart your computer
Step 4: After that, enter into BIOS again and now, re-enable “HD Audio Controller” to see whether sound is back to normal
Method 7: Update Intel Smart Sound Technology Audio Control Driver
If you are unable to fix the problem with above solutions, then you can try to fix this by updating Intel Smart Sound Technology Audio Control Driver.
Step 1: Open “Device Manager” and expand “System devices” category
Step 2: Right-click on Intel Smart Sound Technology Audio Control and select “Update Driver”
Step 3: Follow on-screen instructions to finish the updating process.
Step 4: Once done, restart your computer to save the changes
Conclusion
I am sure this article helped you on “How to fix No Audio Output Device is installed on Windows” with several easy methods. If this article really helped you to fix, then you can share it with others to help them, and if you have any queries regarding this, please write on comment box given below.