How to Update Audio Drivers in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista & XP

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There are high chances that you may face audio driver issues after upgrading the system to Windows 10. Your driver concerns can be:

The latest audio driver not being installed
Need to know How to Fix Audio Drivers in Windows 10
Need help fixing audio or sound problems
fix windows 10 no sound issue
Missing or outdated drivers

In case, you are using other Windows OS, the reasons for non-functional drivers remains the same. However, there might be a slight difference in the steps followed to resolve the concern.

If the driver fails to work properly, the connected audio device will not produce any sound. Hence, the drivers will have to be made functional in order to run the audio device smoothly.In case, the driver is outdated or missing, you can update audio/sound drivers following certain steps later.

Fix windows 10 no sound issue

Update audio drivers in Windows 10

To obtain the status of the audio driver, go to ‘Device Manager’ of your system. Look for the device in the opened list. If the device has a yellow mark next to it, means there is an issue with the device driver.

Once you are aware that there is a problem with your audio driver, you can follow 3 different approaches to solve the issue and make your audio device functional.

Approach 1: Update the Audio Driver Manually (Via Device Manager)

Follow the below mentioned steps to update the audio drivers in Windows 10, 8:

In the Device Manager window, right-click the Device to select ‘Update Driver Software‘.
A pop-up window will appear providing you options to choose between ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ and ‘Browse my computer for driver software‘.
From the two, select ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ to help Windows search for latest driver software for the selected device in your system and the internet.
If the Windows fail to search a new driver for the device, you will have to look for the check for the driver online on the device manufacturer’s website.
If the above mentioned steps fail, you may have to reinstall the driver.

Also Read:

Update audio drivers in Windows 7

Follow the below mentioned steps to update audio drivers in Windows 7:

Go to the ‘Start’ button of the system and open the Menu option. Right-click ‘Computer’ and select ‘Manage’.
Computer Management Window appears. Select ‘Device Manager’
Selecting ‘Device Manager’ opens a list of categories in the right panel.
You can expand the categories to look up for the system drivers that need to be updated.
Right-click the required device driver and choose ‘Update Driver Software’.
Selecting the Update Driver Software will open a pop-up window that provides you with dual options to select from in order to update your device drivers. Select ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’
The action will re-direct Windows to explore the latest available driver software for the chosen device in your system and online.

Related – How to Update Drivers in Windows 7 ?

Update audio drivers in Windows XP/Vista:

Follow the below mentioned steps to update the drivers in Windows Vista/Windows XP:

Go to ‘Start’, select ‘Control Panel’, and then open ‘System’.
Click the ‘Hardware’ tab and select ‘Device Manager’.
Expand the ‘Sound, video, and game controllers’
Under ‘Sound, video, and game controllers’, double-click your audio card entry, and click the ‘Driver’ tab.
Select ‘Update Driver Software’.
Follow the Update Driver Software Wizard to update the sound card driver.

Other Windows Troubleshooting Article

Approach 2: Download and Install the Audio Driver from Device Manufacturers

If you want to update Realtek audio drivers, don’t worry, here you will find an easy way to update it for Windows 10,7,8,8.1,XP&Vista.

Although, the initial suggested approach will help update the required driver, sometimes Windows fail to install a new audio driver for the device. In such a scenario, you will have to refer to the device manufacturers website to download and install the driver.

You can either go to the PC or audio device manufacturer’s website to obtain the latest driver for the device according to the Windows 10 specifications. Make sure that the driver meets the specifications and requirements of your PC model and Operating System and it should be compatible with both.

Windows Audio For Windows (32-bit and 64-bit Windows)

After upgrading to Windows 10, If you are experiencing audio driver issues , you can fix the issue by updating the audio driver.

Download at: Microsoft Update Catalog

RELEASE DATE: January 13th 2017

AUDIO DRIVER VERSION: R 2.81

Driver Version in Device Manager: 6.0.1.8036
Compatible With Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10

Softpedia – Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 2.81

High Definition Audio Codecs: Driver Download Site

High Definition Audio Codecs: Driver Restore Site

Recommended Way: Update Audio drivers using Driver Restore

If none of the above methods work for you, switch to Driver Restore to update your system audio drivers. Driver Restore is a software that follows a convenient and step-by-step approach to update the outdated or missing drivers.

The Windows driver update software will scan the system to generate a list of outdated or missing drivers. Once, downloaded and installed, the software will update the required drivers.

Manufactured by 383 Media, Inc., the software supports commonly used Windows OS, including Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.

List of the most common Audio and Sound Drivers in Windows

AC97 Audio Driver
USB Audio Driver
Realtek audio driver
Realtek high definition audio driver
PCI Audio Driver
intel audio driver
Sound max integrated digital audio driver
C Media audio driver
ALi Labs WDM Audio Driver
SIS Audio Driver
Legacy audio drivers
Conexant HD audio
Smart audio 221 driver
AC97 audio driver

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