Speakers no longer recognized after 23H2 update

allan · Jan 10, 2024

Just updated to 23H2. I have a set of Logitech speakers connected which Windows no longer sees (they do not show up in Ctrl Panel - Sound). It DOES see and use the speaker in my monitor, but that's not the one I want to use. This happened immediately after the upgrade. Everything looks good in device manager. It's a relatively new HP desktop with 32 Gb ram. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

bobkn · Jan 10, 2024

I suggest visiting the Sound control panel. You may need to change the default device.

You may get better advice if you fill in the PC's details ("My Computer").

allan · Jan 11, 2024

Thanks, but as I said, the speakers do not appear in the control panel applet. As for PC specs, they really aren't relevant to this issue, but again as I said, high end HP desktop with 32Gb ram, SSD, HD, etc. The issue isn't the specific computer, it's that the latest W11 update somehow caused these speakers to "disappear".

Rollback_Jockey · Jan 11, 2024

Have you tried unplugging the audio system and the reconnecting?

wiganken · Jan 11, 2024

allan said:
Everything looks good in device manager

But have you tried updating drivers?

allan · Jan 11, 2024

I have unplugged and reconnected - no joy.
I have tried updating but most recent drivers appear to be installed.

bobkn · Jan 11, 2024

allan said:
Thanks, but as I said, the speakers do not appear in the control panel applet. As for PC specs, they really aren't relevant to this issue, but again as I said, high end HP desktop with 32Gb ram, SSD, HD, etc. The issue isn't the specific computer, it's that the latest W11 update somehow caused these speakers to "disappear".

Sorry. Reading comprehension failure.

Does the audio controller still appear in Device Manager? If so, does it have an exclamation mark?

jvickers · Jan 11, 2024

Have you tried uninstalling the update to see if that corrects the issue?

allan · Jan 11, 2024

I'm not uninstalling a major feature update, but thanks anyway. I guess for now I'll live with the tinny monitor speakers and continue looking for a fix. Thanks for trying.

allan · Jan 11, 2024

bobkn said:
Sorry. Reading comprehension failure.

Does the audio controller still appear in Device Manager? If so, does it have an exclamation mark?

Again, please read my first post.

bobkn · Jan 11, 2024

allan said:
Again, please read my first post.

Oh, darn. This is a new low for me.

Semi-random suggestion: uninstall the onboard sound in Device Manager. You could check the box to try to uninstall the drivers as well. You can then re-install under the Action menu drop down, or by restarting the PC.

I'd argue against "As for PC specs, they really aren't relevant to this issue". I presume you're using an onboard audio device, probably Realtek (or one of the Realtek devices rebranded by the motherboard maker), but inquiring minds want to know. The more information you provide, the more random troubleshooting suggestions you'll receive. One might be the right one.

allan · Jan 11, 2024

I should explain - I'm not looking for random suggestions. I'm technically competent - on staff on several Windows support sites. This is an odd one for me though and was just wondering if anyone had run into the same issue and had a fix. Thanks for your concern though - much appreciated.

Disk4mat · Jan 11, 2024

I had a similar problem after the update. My sound went from realtek card with ext speakers, to the built in speakers of my lg display. I had to go into device manager and disable Realtek Audio even though there was no ! or issue. Then re-enabled it. Went into windows settings > system > sound and was able to select my realtek. Ext speakers came back and never had to reboot.

I also had my NVidia card get wonky. Nvidia CP wouldnt open. Low FPS and resolution. Used the same procedure above and it quickly restored settings and the Nvidia CP was working.

I wish I knew what the update did to cause these issues. A couple of updates in the past have also done this to me.

allan · Jan 12, 2024

Disk4mat said:
I had a similar problem after the update. My sound went from realtek card with ext speakers, to the built in speakers of my lg display. I had to go into device manager and disable Realtek Audio even though there was no ! or issue. Then re-enabled it. Went into windows settings > system > sound and was able to select my realtek. Ext speakers came back and never had to reboot.

I also had my NVidia card get wonky. Nvidia CP wouldnt open. Low FPS and resolution. Used the same procedure above and it quickly restored settings and the Nvidia CP was working.

I wish I knew what the update did to cause these issues. A couple of updates in the past have also done this to me.

Thanks for that - it made me realize that the Realtek Driver is not in Device Manager. I imagine it was before so I just tried to install it, but I get a "installation of this device is forbidden by system policy" error. I made the appropriate change in gpedit (disabled "prohibit non-administrators....), but still no joy (btw, I am the only user and it is NOT part of a company domain - it's a personal computer). I'm at a loss as to how to force the install of the realtek driver.

Disk4mat · Jan 12, 2024

Im only asking this Q because you didnt mention it. There are two other policies you may need to change.
“Prohibit user installs” and “Prohibit removal of updates”... The last one may be required if the driver install is attempting to remove the existing driver files.

I found a good page with several possible fixes. If nothing else, you can use it as a check list of what you have tried vs the other remaining options.

andrew129260 · Jan 12, 2024

Are the logitech speakers usb or audio jack? Are they wall powered?

allan · Jan 12, 2024

Disk4mat said:
Im only asking this Q because you didnt mention it. There are two other policies you may need to change.
“Prohibit user installs” and “Prohibit removal of updates”... The last one may be required if the driver install is attempting to remove the existing driver files.

I found a good page with several possible fixes. If nothing else, you can use it as a check list of what you have tried vs the other remaining options.

That is a good link, thanks. Unfortunately, nothing there worked.

andrew129260 said:
Are the logitech speakers usb or audio jack? Are they wall powered?

Thanks, but that's really not relevant. I need to be able to install the Realtek Driver. But to answer your question, before I realized the driver was absent, I did try several pairs of speakers - both usb and powered.

Rollback_Jockey · Jan 12, 2024

allan said:
Thanks for that - it made me realize that the Realtek Driver is not in Device Manager. I imagine it was before so I just tried to install it, but I get a "installation of this device is forbidden by system policy" error. I made the appropriate change in gpedit (disabled "prohibit non-administrators....), but still no joy (btw, I am the only user and it is NOT part of a company domain - it's a personal computer). I'm at a loss as to how to force the install of the realtek driver.

It may be quicker to make a new temporary profile and try installing drivers, if that works it may highlight that you have other issues.

allan · Jan 12, 2024

Thanks, but again - everything was fine until 23H2 yesterday. I can always roll back to pre-update, but I'm sure the problem will recur when the update is reinstalled. Again, the only issue is installing the realtek driver. I do appreciate the responses.

glasskuter · Jan 12, 2024

I would first try enabling the hidden administrator account and attempt to install the Realtek driver using that account. If that works, you may have some account corruption in your account. If that didn't work, I would try a repair install. There's a good chance you went into the 23h2 update with file corruption of some kind OR the 23h2 update corrupted something..