I have an HP Omen laptop running Windows 11 64-bit. After using Avast Driver Updater, my audio stopped working following a reboot. The audio icon shows a grey 'x', and the audio bar is greyed out as well. However, audio works fine when I connect my Bluetooth headphones, which suggests the speakers themselves might be the issue. In Device Manager, I see 'Realtek(R) Audio' listed, but there's a yellow exclamation mark next to it. I've tried various troubleshooting steps from different DIY websites, but nothing seems to help. Any advice would be appreciated!
1 Answer
It's strange you used a driver updater if your sound was fine before. First, try rolling back the audio driver in Device Manager. If that doesn't do it, go to the official HP support site and manually reinstall the drivers. If you're still having issues, see if you can find a recent restore point to revert back to. If all else fails, you might need to reinstall Windows. Also, be careful with third-party driver programs; it's usually safer to stick with Windows Update or the manufacturer's website.
I used the driver updater because it updated several drivers, not just audio. I only noticed the audio problem afterward. I uninstalled Realtek Audio, but it just reappears with that yellow warning. I went to the laptop's support site for the drivers, and they seem updated, but no luck. How do I find a restore point to check? Oh, and thanks for the tip about using Windows Update!