Some users encountered an unusual issue where their Windows 11/10 PCs lost sound after updating or installing the graphics card driver. This issue most commonly occurs on systems with an NVIDIA GPU. However, other GPU users may also encounter this problem. If you encounter that your computer has no sound after installing or updating the NVIDIA drivers, use the fixes provided here.
No sound after installing or updating NVIDIA drivers
Use the following fixes if your system has no sound after installing or updating the NVIDIA drivers in Windows 11/10:
- Did you install the right GPU driver?
- Check the BIOS settings
- Run Audio Troubleshooter
- Roll back, update, or reinstall the Audio driver
- Check the status of the required services
- Check the default sound output
- Perform the clean installation of the GPU driver
- Run System Restore
- Update BIOS
All these fixes are explained in detail below.
1] Did you install the right GPU driver?
Probably, you have installed the incorrect GPU driver, due to which this issue has occurred. Visit the official website of your computer manufacturer and download the GPU driver again, and install it. Enter the correct model number of your system.
2] Check the BIOS settings
Updating the graphics card driver may have altered the audio settings in the BIOS. Check this. Enter your system BIOS by using the correct BIOS key and find the setting named something like Integrated audio or HD audio controller. If this setting is disabled, your system will generate no sound output.
If you cannot find this setting, you can restore all BIOS settings to the default. This will fix this issue.
3] Run Audio Troubleshooter
The Audio Troubleshooter in Windows 11 helps users fix audio issues. You can use this tool when the sound is not working. Here is how:
- Open Windows 11 Settings.
- Select System > Troubleshoot > Other Troubleshooters.
- Run Audio Troubleshooter.
You can also launch the Audio troubleshooter through the Get Help app.
4] Roll back, update, or reinstall the Audio driver
You can roll back your audio driver to fix this issue. Follow these steps:
- Open the Device Manager.
- Expand the Sound, video, and game controllers branch.
- Right-click on the audio driver and select Properties.
- Go to the Driver tab and click Roll Back Driver.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to install the previous version of the audio driver.
If the Roll Back Driver button is greyed out, you can try other ways to restore the earlier version of the audio driver.
If this does not work, uninstall the audio driver and restart your computer. Windows will automatically reinstall the missing driver on restart. You can also update the audio driver by downloading its latest version from the manufacturer’s website.
5] Check the status of the required services
The Windows Audio Service manages audio for Windows-based programs. If this service is stopped or disabled, audio devices and effects will not function properly. Windows Audio Endpoint Builder is another audio service that manages audio devices for the Windows Audio Service. Therefore, both of these services are crucial for audio devices to work properly on Windows.
Check the status of these services. Follow these steps:
- Open Windows Services Manager.
- Check the status of the following services:
- Windows Audio
- Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
- Both these services should be running.
If any of these services is stopped or disabled, start it. If they are already running, restart them. Right-click on the service and select the required option. To enable a service, double-click on it and select Automatic in the Startup type drop-down. Click Start. Click Apply and then OK.
6] Check the default sound output
Check your default sound output. Another audio device might be set as the default sound output. Follow these instructions:
- Open the Control Panel.
- Select Hardware and Sound > Sound.
- Under the Playback tab, right-click on your sound device and select Set as default device.
7] Perform the clean installation of the GPU driver
Perform the clean installation of the GPU driver and see if it fixes the issue. For this, you can use the Display Driver Uninstaller or NVIDIA Installer. Run the NVIDIA installer and select the Custom install option. Now, on the next screen, select the Perform a clean installation checkbox and click Next.
8] Run System Restore
The System Restore tool in Windows 11 takes your system to the previous working state. In this case, running the System Restore can be helpful.
9] Update BIOS
Check the currently installed version of BIOS on your system using the System Information. Now, visit the official website of your computer manufacturer and check if an updated version is available. If yes, download and install it. During the BIOS update, the power supply to your computer should not be interrupted.
That’s it. I hope this helps.
Does the NVIDIA driver affect audio?
The NVIDIA GPU driver does not affect audio. However, in some cases, you may encounter audio issues on your system after updating the NVIDIA GPU driver. This usually occurs when the NVIDIA GPU driver update or installation disables the audio in the BIOS.
Is the GPU responsible for sound?
GPIU is the Graphics Processing Unit. Hence, its primary function is to render the graphics. A GPU is not responsible for sound on a computer. The sound is produced by a sound card installed on the motherboard.
Read next: How to increase Maximum Volume beyond 100% in Windows.
