Why does the sound in Windows disappear?

Problems associated with the reproduction of sound - is not uncommon. Their nature can be diverse: a damaged or not included service, an incorrect driver, a failed sound chip on the motherboard, a virus, a contact from a speaker or headphones (this should be seen right now). In this article we will discuss what can be the reason that the system is losing sound, that is, the media files are reproduced normally, but after a while they stop doing it. All reasons are listed, from hardware to problems with codecs and drivers.

To make sure that the sound does not disappear because the audiochip wants to "give the soul to God", try to boot from any Linux Live CD with a full graphical interface, for example, Ubuntu latest version and make sure that the sound is working. Use this distribution kit for several sessions to catch the hardware disappearance of the sound, if any. It is clear that if the sound disappears in Linux, then you should replace the built-in sound card with an external one, the problem will be solved (do not forget to disable the built-in BIOS). You also need to make sure that the motherboard does not "sip". See if there are any swollen capacitors on top of it.

Only after determining the programmatic nature of the problem can you get down to business. A common reason for the loss of sound in Windows XP is malware. Therefore, download the anti-virus with the latest databases, Dr Web Cure IT is suitable for this purpose, boot into safe mode with command-line support and carefully check the system.

It is still highly recommended to use Zaitsev Anti-Virus (AVZ), specially created to clean the PC from such a cunning "evil spirits" (one of the manifestations of the ancient is already Net-Worm.Win32.Kido). For Windows XP with the specified symptoms, install the update of Windows XP-KB958644-x86-RUS, already after cleaning the PC from viruses and with the network turned off. Also, through the "Services" section of the "Administration" icon, you should disable "Server" and the working "Station". For the future, you should close the ports through which this virus penetrates. A good solution is to use Windows Worms Doors Cleaner (wwdc.exe), which completely closes the ports of 5000, 445, 135, 137,138,139 and prevents infection of the system in the future. Do not you believe, to your naivety, that all the vulnerabilities on these services have already been found ?!

And in more modern systems than XP, it happens that the sound disappears. Windows 7 is no exception. All that is listed below, should be taken at the "seven" to localize and repair the problem associated with the inability to play media files.

Remember when the problem first appeared. If this is possible, then roll back to the recovery point until that date. If this is not the case for some reason, open the Device Manager (Win + Pause> Hardware tab> Device Manager button) and make sure there are no question marks in front of the devices. If they do, then remove them and restart Windows. Virtual devices must "be found," and the sound can be earned.

If this did not work, then install the latest driver for your sound card. You can check the version of the chip from the documentation on the motherboard. The most common codec is Realtek AC 97. Another common reason that audio goes missing is the "fallen" Windows Audio service. You can view it through the "Services" icon of the "Administration" panel. It may not be run for some reason. You can see the reasons using the "View Events" item. Then, drive the error number into the search engine and get a description of the problem and how to fix it on the Microsoft website. It should be noted that the most common error is 1068, which the system issues in the absence of the included "Power Service".

Quite often, if the sound disappears on the computer only in the video, there is a problem with the codecs. To fix it, use one of the stable assemblies fdshow, and not popular collections of K-lite Codec Pack, composed by non-professionals.