Computer playing music by itself randomly when nothing is open

In this article, we will find out why random music plays on your computer and how you can fix the issue. A computer playing music randomly when nothing is open is something uncommon. Like any other computer issue, this needs to be fixed so that you can control when and what you want to play on your PC. The random music on our PC can last for about a minute or more, and despite doing everything, the music won’t stop immediately. This causes a lot of confusion among users, and some may believe they have been hacked or something.

Checking your Volume Mixer can give you an idea of where the music is coming from, but in some instances, that won’t even help. You might decide to restart your computer, but still, the issues continue. The best way to approach this is to understand why random music plays on your PC while nothing is open. Then, you will know how to fix or troubleshoot several possible causes of the problem. So before we look at how you can fix this nagging error, let us first look at the possible causes of random music playing on your PC.

Why is music playing on my computer by itself?

The causes of a computer playing music randomly can range from one reason to another. This forms the basis of the solutions you will need to apply. Here are the root causes of random music playing on your PC:

Virus or malware attack. This is one of the main causes of random music on your PC. There is this common virus called the Random Music Playing Virus. It is a name given to potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) which it is mostly activated by ads playing in the background. That is just one, there are other forms of viruses or malware that may impede some programs and corrupt your computer’s files and programs.
Background programs and processes. Some apps may have weird authority and access to your computer, and they may run themselves in the background without you opening them. This can also happen when you close them and stay for a moment with music playing in the background.
Play To Streams. Windows computers have a Play To feature that allows users to play music from one PC to another. Your computer might be connected to another, and you might have forgotten to disconnect.

Having looked at the reasons that may cause your computer to play music randomly when nothing is open, we are now satisfied that we can go ahead and try to fix the issues. Let’s get started.

Computer playing music by itself randomly when nothing is open

Before you apply any of these solutions, you may start by restarting your computer or stopping apps from running in the background. After that, apply the following solutions to fix the computer playing music randomly when nothing is open.

Close apps accessing audio on the Volume Mixer.
Scan and remove any malware.
Disconnect the Play To from other computers
Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State.
Update Audio driver
Run Audio Troubleshooter.

Let us now look at these solutions in detail.

1] Close apps accessing audio on the Volume Mixer

If you stop all apps from accessing your PC audio or all background programs, you will definitely close all media apps running in the background. Here, you need to check these apps in the Volume Mixer and/or close all background apps. These apps may be the reason why your computer is playing music randomly without anything else open. First, we will look at how to open the Volume Mixer, and here is how:

Go to your taskbar and locate the volume icon. In many Windows computers, it’s a speaker-like icon.
Right-click on the icon and choose the Open Volume mixer option.
The Volume Mixer window will open. Here, you can view all the apps that are currently using and accessing your PC audio.

Now that you have identified the apps using your audio, the next step is to end them all. Follow the steps below to end the tasks of all apps accessing your audio on your computer.

Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows key + I.
Locate the Apps option and then go to Installed apps.
Here, look for the app that you identified in the Volume Mixer and select the three dots next to the app. Then, choose Advanced options.
When you scroll down, you will see the Background apps permissions option.
Locate Let this app run in the background and choose Never.

If this didn’t fix music playing randomly on your PC, then use the next solution.

2] Scan and remove any malware

Your PC might be infected with malicious software or viruses, and the only way to remove them is by running an antivirus. You can scan for viruses using Windows Defender, Avast, Kaspersky, or any other certified antivirus software. These programs will detect and remove (or suggest removing) the affected files, which might be why your computer is playing music randomly when nothing is open. Here is how to use Defender to scan for computer threats:

Open Windows Settings by pressing the Windows key + I.
Select Update & Security and then head to Virus & threat protection which is under Windows Security.
Click on the Scan option. Next, choose Full scan and click Scan now.
Wait until the scan is done, then restart your computer.

3] Disconnect the Play To from other computers

Your PC might be connected to another using the media sharing and Play To Windows feature. This feature allows computers to play or share media like music, videos, and pictures. So, if you are connected to another PC on the same network, you need to check and disable or stop the feature on your computer. You may also need to check other computers at home or at the office to see if they are using the Play To feature to play music from your computer. If that is the case, you can go ahead and stop the music on the host computer or disable the Play to media sharing tool.

4] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State

A clean boot may stop your computer from playing music randomly when nothing is open. For instance, a clean boot restarts your PC with no background apps running and the minimum amount of drivers. Follow the steps below to perform a clean boot:

Here, you need to open the System Configuration. To do so, press Win + R and then type msconfig and click on OK or press Enter.
Locate the Services tab and check the box next to Hide all Microsoft services. Select Disable all.
Head to the Startup option and select Open Task Manager and choose to disable everything in the panel.
Close the Open Task Manager windows, click Apply, and then OK on the System Configuration window.
The final step is to restart your computer.

Once in Clean Boot State, try to manually identify the offender by enabling one process after another and checking.

If that didn’t stop your computer from playing music randomly when nothing is open, then you can boot in Safe Mode. This too may help you identify the cause.

5] Update Audio Drivers

You can update your audio drivers and see if the issue is resolved. If you recently updated your drivers and then the issue started, roll back the audio driver and see.

6] Run Audio Troubleshooter

Run the Audio Troubleshooter and see if that helps you.

We hope that one of the solutions works for you.

Read: Fix random Notification Sound keeps playing on Windows.

Where is this music coming from on my PC?

The music on your PC might be coming from apps running in the background, from your browser, or from other computers in your network using the media share and Play To feature. To identify where the music is coming from on your PC, right-click on the volume icon on your taskbar and then select Open Volume mixer. Each bar will show the app using your PC audio and the volume levels for each. You can mute each separately.

How do I stop my laptop from playing music automatically?

You can stop your Windows laptop from playing music automatically on the Control Panel. Once you open the Control Panel, click View by Small icons and then locate AutoPlay. Click on it and then untick the box next to Use Autoplay for all media and devices. Alternatively, you can select other options according to your preferences.

Read: Volume keeps muting automatically on Windows.