"audio inputs and outputs" missing

Jayhawk714 · Nov 26, 2023

I have no sound on my laptop. I went to Device Manager and the "Audio inputs and outputs" is missing. I also opened up the "Show hidden devices" and it's also missing there. How to I correct this problem. The sound was working great up to about a week ago. As you can see the speaker icon is X'd out.

glasskuter · Nov 26, 2023

What do you see under device manager>sound video and game controllers
Is there a sound driver installed (usually it's Realtek but could be something else) Are there any exclamation point warnings there?
It would help if you could put the model# of your Thinkpad in your specs section or list it here.

Jayhawk714 · Nov 27, 2023

Glasskuter,

I found the Sound & Audio under "view hidden devices". Double clicking on them showed the not connected message. How do I connect them? My laptop is a Lenovo Satellite T15.

glasskuter · Nov 27, 2023

I did find a post over on MS forum from another Thinkpad user with exact same problem, but there was no solution. Then I found this old 2020 thread.
Try his solution listed there. Sound isn't working so you have nothing to lose. From the responses to the article it worked for a lot of people. Create a system restore point or system backup image first.

How to fix “Not plugged in” with Realtek HD Audio on Windows 10

Instructions for fixing the “Not plugged in” message without the Realtek HD Audio Manager.

medium.com

Jayhawk714 · Nov 28, 2023

Thanks, Glasskuter, I will give that a try.

Jayhawk714 · Nov 29, 2023

glasskuter said:
I did find a post over on MS forum from another Thinkpad user with exact same problem, but there was no solution. Then I found this old 2020 thread.
Try his solution listed there. Sound isn't working so you have nothing to lose. From the responses to the article it worked for a lot of people. Create a system restore point or system backup image first.

How to fix “Not plugged in” with Realtek HD Audio on Windows 10

Instructions for fixing the “Not plugged in” message without the Realtek HD Audio Manager.

medium.com

Hi, Glasskuter, no joy on running that file. I tried both the 64 bit(laptop said it could not run that file) and the 32 bit file said the same Bummer. :grrr:

.

glasskuter · Nov 29, 2023

Jayhawk714 said:
The sound was working great up to about a week ago

Look in Windows Update>update history. Were there any driver updates? Only thing I can suggest is use system restore to a point before the trouble began. Restoring a system image is preferred if you have one.