Posted by How to Restart Audio or Sound Drivers on Windows 10?
Windows 10 has a built-in setting to troubleshoot sound or audio, which is pretty good for diagnosing and fixing common sound issues. Whenever experiencing sound issues, you should run the sound troubleshooter (Settings > Update & security > Troubleshoot) before doing anything else.
If the troubleshooter fails to diagnose the issue, you can manually check or restore sound settings to defaults.
Reinstalling the audio driver is the last resort while troubleshooting sound issues. However, before this, I will recommend restarting the audio driver.
While restarting the audio driver might not always fix the issue, it might sometimes help. Also, restarting the audio driver takes a few mouse clicks.
Sometimes, the sound on your Windows 10 computer may stop working, or you may encounter issues like distortion, crackling sound, or no sound at all. These problems could be due to malfunctioning or outdated sound drivers. Restarting your audio or sound drivers is a simple way to resolve such issues. Here’s how you can do it:-
Step 1. First, press the “Windows key + X” shortcut on your keyboard to open the Quick Link menu.
Step 2. Next, select “Device Manager” from the list.
Step 3. In the Device Manager window, locate the “Sound, video, and game controllers” section and click on it to expand.
Step 4. Locate the sound driver you want to restart, right-click on it, and select “Disable device” from the context menu.
Step 5. A confirmation dialog box will appear. Check the “Delete the driver software for this device” checkbox, and then click “OK.”
Step 6. Wait a few seconds, then right-click on the same sound driver again and select “Enable device.”
Step 7. Finally, close the Device Manager window and restart your computer.
After the restart, Windows 10 will automatically reinstall the sound driver, and you should have a working sound system. If the problem persists, you may want to check for driver updates or seek further assistance.
