Audio went away after i rebooted my pc and hasn’t came back, Red cross on the speaker symbol

Troubleshooting Audio Issues After Reboot: When Your Sound Disappears on Windows

Encountering audio problems after restarting your PC can be frustrating, especially when the sound icon displays a red cross, indicating an issue with your speakers or audio service. If you’ve recently rebooted your computer and discovered that the sound has vanished, this guide will help you identify the causes and walk you through effective troubleshooting steps.

Understanding the Issue

The problem often manifests as no sound output after a system reboot, with the audio icon showing a red cross or an alert symbol. Common causes include muted audio, disabled audio services, driver issues, or hardware conflicts. Sometimes, the issue might be as simple as disconnected headphones or improperly connected peripherals, but if those are ruled out, more in-depth steps are necessary.

Initial Troubleshooting Steps

1. Check Hardware Connections
2. Ensure that your headphones or speakers are properly connected to the correct port.
3. If using USB audio devices, try connecting to a different port.

4. Confirm that the device’s indicators (like LED lights) show it is powered on and functioning.

5. Inspect Volume and Mute Settings

6. Click on the speaker icon in the system tray and verify that the volume is turned up.

7. Ensure the device isn’t muted. Sometimes, the mute setting can be enabled inadvertently.

8. Run Windows Troubleshooter

9. Right-click the speaker icon and select “Troubleshoot sound problems.”

10. Follow the prompts to allow Windows to diagnose and fix common audio issues.

11. Check Audio Services

12. Open the Run dialog by pressing Win + R, then type services.msc and press Enter.
13. Locate services such as “Windows Audio” and “Windows Audio Endpoint Builder.”
14. Ensure these services are running. If not, right-click each and select “Start.”

15. If they are running, try restarting them by right-clicking and choosing “Restart.”

16. Update or Reinstall Audio Drivers

17. Open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start button and selecting “Device Manager.”
18. Expand “Sound, Video and Game Controllers.”
19. Right-click your audio device and choose “Update driver.”

20. If updating doesn’t resolve the issue, consider uninstalling the device and restarting your PC to allow Windows to reinstall the default drivers automatically.

21. Check the Device Manager for Hardware Issues

22. Look for any devices with a yellow warning icon.