windows 7 audio randomly stops

I'm running the Windows 7 RC and sometimes my sound would stop randomly. For example, I would be listening to something, then the sound would suddenly stop. Even while there is no sound, there doesn't seem to be a problem with the drivers. Usually a quick reboot will fix the issue.

I found the same problem here

Has anyone else encountered this issue? If so, is there something I can do to get the sound back without restarting my computer each time?

Steve

Posted 2009-07-23T07:09:42.310

Reputation: 836

I've encountered the same issue, my speakers will all of a sudden play a loud static noise. Only a reboot will fix it.l Unfortunately I don't know the reason why. I'm hoping you get an answer. – Aaron Wetherhold – 2009-07-23T10:12:42.473

Perhaps installing an OS that isn't in beta would solve the problem. You could also file a bug report to Microsoft. I believe that is the purpose of Release Candidates. – None – 2009-07-23T22:37:29.410

Do you have a creative x-fi card? – Orihara – 2009-07-25T15:51:24.533

Answers

Instead of rebooting, try this:

net stop audiosrv
net start audiosrv

requires admin (elevated) command prompt; works on Vista and Win7.

Jeff Atwood

Posted 2009-07-23T07:09:42.310

Reputation: 22 108

Awesome thanks! For other people, if it wants to stop "Creative Audio Service" you can start it from command line with net start CTAudSvcService after you restart the audio service – John – 2012-07-24T16:02:57.803

There's no way that it's not driver-related, as a reboot fixes the issue. If it was a hardware problem, the reboot wouldn't fix anything at all.

And it has nothing to the with the Windows core, as Windows core communicates with the hardware through the driver software. So there's no need for a reinstall.

A possible explanation might be that the driver software is crashing because of an unhandled error or a memory leak.

TFM

Posted 2009-07-23T07:09:42.310

Reputation: 4 243

You didn't mention what type of sound card you have, but I have found that OEMs (Dell, HP, etc) tend to provide audio drivers that are YEARS old and hundreds of versions back. Try updating to the driver provided by the company that makes the actual sound chip (almost all onboard stuff these days is from Realtek http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/). If you post the actual hardware you have I can give a better link rather than guessing :)

Sean Earp

Posted 2009-07-23T07:09:42.310

Reputation: 184

This is a driver problem. This happened for me in Windows Vista. Basically, the audio chipset driver crashed, leaving me without sound. Either try to find new drivers (and also ask the audio chipset manufacturer about the issue) or try to restart the audio service.

Also, have a look at this similar question on superuser. The question is related to a problem in Vista, but I'm almost certain it's the same thing.

alex

Posted 2009-07-23T07:09:42.310

Reputation: 16 172