Windows  ·  medium  ·  Hardware, drivers & peripherals

"No audio output device is installed" or sound stops working

Either the audio service has failed, the endpoint has been disabled, or the driver has been replaced by a generic one that does not match the codec.

What you see

A red cross on the speaker icon, no devices in the sound settings, or sound that works in one application and not another.

What is actually wrong

The Windows Audio and Audio Endpoint Builder services depend on each other and both must be running. Beyond that, a monitor connected over HDMI often takes over as the default endpoint, and driver updates regularly replace a vendor codec driver with the Microsoft generic one.

Codes and articles

No audio output device is installedAudioEndpointBuilderAudiosrvCode 10 audio0xc00d36fa

Fixes (3)

Restart the audio services in the right order
Elevated PowerShell10 minuteslow riskreversible

No devices are listed. Two minutes, and it is the most common cause.

  1. Check both services and their dependencies.

    PowerShell
    Get-Service Audiosrv,AudioEndpointBuilder,RpcSs | Format-Table Name,DisplayName,Status,StartType

  2. Restart the endpoint builder — which restarts Windows Audio with it, because Audiosrv depends on it.

    PowerShell
    Restart-Service AudioEndpointBuilder -Force

    Restarting Audiosrv on its own leaves the endpoint builder in the same broken state that caused the fault, and the devices stay missing. The dependency runs the other way from what most people assume.

  3. Make sure both are set to start automatically.

    PowerShell
    Set-Service Audiosrv -StartupType AutomaticSet-Service AudioEndpointBuilder -StartupType Automatic
Confirm it workedPlayback devices are listed again.
PowerShell
Get-CimInstance Win32_SoundDevice | Format-Table Name,Status,StatusInfo
If you need to undo itNothing was changed beyond service state.
Re-enable the endpoint and set the right default
Sound settings10 minuteslow riskreversible

Devices exist but nothing comes out, or the sound has moved to a monitor.

  1. Open the sound control panel — the old one, which shows disabled devices.

    Command Prompt
    control mmsys.cpl sounds

  2. Right-click in the device list and tick both "Show Disabled Devices" and "Show Disconnected Devices". A disabled endpoint is invisible without this, which is why the settings app appears to show nothing wrong.

  3. Enable the correct device and set it as Default Device and Default Communication Device — these are two separate assignments and applications use them differently.

  4. Test the endpoint's exclusive mode setting. In its Properties → Advanced, clear "Allow applications to take exclusive control" if one application silences all the others.

Confirm it workedThe test tone plays through the intended device from the Advanced tab.
If you need to undo itEvery change here is a checkbox in the same dialog.
Put the correct codec driver back
Elevated PowerShell30 minutesmedium riskreversible

Windows has replaced the vendor driver with "High Definition Audio Device".

  1. Check what driver is bound now.

    PowerShell
    Get-PnpDevice -Class MEDIA | Format-Table FriendlyName,Status,InstanceId

  2. "High Definition Audio Device" is the Microsoft generic driver. On most laptops it produces no sound at all from the internal speakers because the amplifier is not driven.

  3. Install the Realtek, Conexant or IDT package from the machine manufacturer's support page — not from Realtek directly, since the vendor build carries the amplifier configuration for that model.

  4. If Windows Update reinstalls the generic driver, use the manufacturer's package again after the update rather than blocking updates entirely.

Confirm it workedThe device name matches the codec rather than the generic one, and the speakers work.
PowerShell
Get-CimInstance Win32_SoundDevice | Format-List Name,Manufacturer
If you need to undo itRoll Back Driver in Device Manager returns the generic driver.

Where this stops. This write-up was written and checked by hand. It says what each step changes, how to confirm it worked and how to reverse it, and anything destructive is flagged before you reach it. If it does not match what your machine is doing, search the Support Centre for the exact code or message — and when something needs a person, get in touch.