My audio signal is missing, and the playback unit isn't showing up in the sound settings menu.
My audio signal is missing, and the playback unit isn't showing up in the sound settings menu.
I recently acquired some new components for my system: an ASUS z170-a motherboard, an Intel Core i7-6700k processor, and two 16GB DDR4 RAM sticks. Overall, everything functioned well except for one problem. My computer usually powers off at night and wakes up the next day. When I did that, it sometimes failed to recognize my WiFi card, and other times a restart resolved the issue—sometimes I had to power it down first. Last night was similar. Frustrated by these hiccups and having already tried swapping PCIe slots, I thought about updating the BIOS.
KEY POINT 1: The BIOS update seemed necessary since many versions were outdated. After applying the update and restarting, things appeared normal—until now. Suddenly, no sound came out as expected.
KEY POINT 2: Using the built-in HDMI output to send audio to my receiver caused problems. It would indicate device usage but didn’t show where the signal was going or why I couldn’t hear anything.
KEY POINT 3: I tried disabling and re-enabling the Intel display audio device through Device Manager. Pressing the disable button caused the computer to freeze, then restart, and my receiver disappeared from the sound control panel.
KEY POINT 4: After uninstalling and reinstalling drivers, I went into Device Manager, searched for hidden devices, and removed all Intel Display Audio entries. The system booted into safe mode using DDU, but I couldn’t find anything related to Intel audio or graphics.
I’m exhausted from these repeated failures. I’ve had minimal sleep lately and am currently away from home. I attempted a full shutdown and reboot, but nothing changed.
I tried connecting the HDMI cable to my GTX 1080, which would have been simpler than altering my existing NVIDIA surround setup. That was a hassle I didn’t want to risk unless absolutely necessary.
Also, Intel Display Audio supports a broader range of frequencies and formats compared to NVIDIA, which is why I prefer it.
TL;DR: After updating the BIOS, the audio through my HDMI output stopped working properly. Even after removing and reinstalling drivers and trying to disable the audio device in Device Manager, my receiver isn’t showing up in the Sound Control Panel. Please help—I’ll check again when I’m home and have a chance. Thank you!
It seems like you're experiencing a problem with your motherboard.
You're likely dealing with a hardware issue involving the motherboard or Windows software. If it's the former, you may need to roll back to a previous BIOS version or explore advanced troubleshooting steps. For the latter, consider more severe fixes depending on your system's requirements.
Unless there’s something specific about Linux I don’t grasp, I couldn’t generate audio on that system. However, during testing I managed to rearrange connections and connect the HDMI cable to my AVR via my GTX 1080, which allowed me to produce sound. This confirms the HDMI cable and AVR function correctly. After that, I attempted a BIOS rollback, but it didn’t resolve the issue. Now my choices are: dig deeper into debugging (while being flexible about the audio frequency target), rely on my GPU for audio/video output to the AVR, explore a different motherboard, or go beyond just upgrading the board.
1. This could lead to more frustrating nights and discomfort, but might pay off in the long run and be free.
2. My GPU currently supports two HDMI ports (both busy) and two DP ports (available), plus one DVI-D port (busy). I connect my three 1080p monitors to the DVI and VGA inputs. They’re outdated, but they work for my needs. I need advice on a DP-to-DVI adapter—preferably active or passive—and something widely available quickly.
3. I’m uncertain about what to look for in a replacement motherboard that would avoid similar problems.
4. The most expensive option is certain, though I’m open to it as a final step.
Otherwise, after further adjustments, I can’t even display Intel Display Audio in the device manager under “Sound, video and game controllers.” Still, my PC recognizes the AVR and sends video, but not sound.
I checked more error codes and messages after some research. I found a tip about power cycling the PC—uninstalling a faulty device, shutting it down, holding the power button for a minute, then unplugging it for a few minutes before trying to boot again. It really helped, and my sound is now working perfectly. I’m just glad it worked and can now enjoy my PC without worries.