Sometimes sound issue

[WrkBoot]

My computer (in my sig) has had a "sometimes" sound issue in the last four days. It wouldn't have any volume, I would max out both my computers and speakers to hear anything. Sometimes the sound wouldn't return in for an hour and sometimes it would return five minutes later. After the sounds return its ok for the rest of the day. I first thought it might be the speakers so I tried another set that I know works, no change. Both speakers and computer are two yrs old so you would "think" they wouldn't go to . Has anyone run into this kinda thing and have some insight??


Thanks Barry

 

[JLK03F150]

Is you motherboard the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WIFI? Guessing the speakers are plugged into the back audio I/O, with nothing in between?
There's a new Realtek audio driver dated 12-25-2023 that you might try.

Does turning, twisting, jiggling the audio jack in the audio out of the mobo do anything? Sometimes the contacts can get a little oxidation that may cause connection problems & there are electronic sprays that can clear that up.

 

[WrkBoot]

Yes they are connected to the I/O, the cable goes to the sub and then out to the speakers. I moved the cables around and it didn't change anything. I'm pretty sure I'm up to date with drivers but I'll check.
It seems like it acts up I'm the morning after idling all night.

 

[Nebulous]

Do you update the new drivers by just installing them over the old ones, or do you do a clean install?

 

[WrkBoot]

Nebulous, I did a clean install maybe 4 weeks ago. I was getting errors and losing my internet connection. These things come and go on their own.

 

[Nebulous]

Ratz. So you swapped out cables, updated drivers via clean installs and still issues. Have there been any power outages/ quick brown-outs in the house? I'm sure your home power is protected incase or lightning strikes.

Only way to be sure it's going out, do you have an extra sound card? If not, might have to RMA the board.

 

[Woomack]

I can only add that many AM4 and LGA1200/1700 MSI motherboards have problems with sound. Some had a simple fix by BIOS, some worked fine, and some had hardware issues. I have no idea why it happens, as it's not a matter of a specific batch or model. I had that with MSI X570 Unify and Z690 Unify-X. Support replaced one board, and one was fixed with a new BIOS. My mobos were losing sound, or the sound was quiet, and sometimes I heard buzzing.

I see there is a new firmware for audio from Nov 2023. I also suggest uninstalling all audio drivers and checking if Windows Update installs something. The latest is not always the best. These drivers are weird in general.

 

[WrkBoot]

Ratz. So you swapped out cables, updated drivers via clean installs and still issues. Have there been any power outages/ quick brown-outs in the house? I'm sure your home power is protected incase or lightning strikes.

Only way to be sure it's going out, do you have an extra sound card? If not, might have to RMA the board.

Yeah...It's strange No no power outages. I thought it might be because the computer idles all night but that's not it. I shut it down last night and it doesn't have sound this morning. It's been running since 9:00 and still no sound

I can only add that many AM4 and LGA1200/1700 MSI motherboards have problems with sound. Some had a simple fix by BIOS, some worked fine, and some had hardware issues. I have no idea why it happens, as it's not a matter of a specific batch or model. I had that with MSI X570 Unify and Z690 Unify-X. Support replaced one board, and one was fixed with a new BIOS. My mobos were losing sound, or the sound was quiet, and sometimes I heard buzzing.

I see there is a new firmware for audio from Nov 2023. I also suggest uninstalling all audio drivers and checking if Windows Update installs something. The latest is not always the best. These drivers are weird in general.

I thought it might be a driver but why would the sound return after a while? My drivers are the latest so I might try the driver before that.
This is just a series of things that have taken place and I'm wondering if it is the MB.

 

[WrkBoot]

I googled "computer sound problems" and it came up with a lot of but I haven't found any posts stating that the sound returns after a while.
I'm sure this might be a common occurrence in the computer world but I don't remember having issues like this, maybe I've lived in a sheltered world where my electronics don't lay down.

 

[Woomack]

Update firmware, delete every audio driver - there can be more than one as it's Realtek USB series, and check what Windows Update installs.
OS updates could break something. There are service updates and other things that often install in the background (with other updates).
Some other software can cause that too, when it has access to the device (the list is long).

If you have a spare SSD/HDD, then install OS on the side and check if is any better. It will tell you if the problem is with OS/drivers, or hardware.

 

[WrkBoot]

Here's a question......could the room temperature cause this? My computer is in the basement and when I got down here it was 66 degrees now it's 68 and an hour later the sound is back on we like to sleep in the cold

 

[Woomack]

It shouldn't cause this problem. The temperature range for electronics is quite wide compared to a living environment. If there is no excessive moisture, then ~32°F should still be possible. 66-68°F is nearly perfect for most devices.

 

[WrkBoot]

Update firmware, delete every audio driver - there can be more than one as it's Realtek USB series, and check what Windows Update installs.
OS updates could break something. There are service updates and other things that often install in the background (with other updates).
Some other software can cause that too, when it has access to the device (the list is long).

If you have a spare SSD/HDD, then install OS on the side and check if is any better. It will tell you if the problem is with OS/drivers, or hardware.

I have plenty of SSDs lying around. Do you mean....load a OS without updates?

 

[EarthDog]

I have plenty of SSDs lying around. Do you mean....load a OS without updates?

Without, with, w/e. The point is a new OS to rule out issues that way.

 

[WrkBoot]

I ended up googling sound problems and a lot of showed up. The more I read, the more I saw Realtek name come up. I went to MSI forum and started reading, a lot of posts said it had to do with "MSI center software" and deleting it solved this issue.
I deleted it Sunday and shut the computer off for the night, the next morning the sound was working as it should. Last night I left the computer running all night and it worked right away. Innnnnnteresting

Earthdog, what is without, with W/E?

 

[JLK03F150]

Glad you got it figured out. I was close to saying you should RMA the motherboard. Your other thread from December "random freezing & blue screens" is below in the Similar Threads list. lol

w/e = whatever

 

[WrkBoot]

Yeah....I was thinking the same thing that the MB was lying down. In all the years I've been tinkering with computers I've only had to RMA a video card. It was an EVGA card and it went very smoothly, I hate they left but do understand.

Thanks for the W/E I wouldn't have figured that out

 

[WrkBoot]

Thanks everyone for the help. I wouldn't have thought it would be software that would temporarily stop the sound from working in the morning

 

[Nebulous]

Awesome on getting it back to work again. Glad it wasn't a motherboard issue.

 

[EarthDog]

Same! Glad it's working for you again!!!

Thanks everyone for the help. I wouldn't have thought it would be software that would temporarily stop the sound from working in the morning

Can you elaborate on this? Did you reinstall Windows and now it works or.........................? What, exactly did you do???!!