Computer not playing sound windows 7

Check your cables, plugs, jacks, volume, speaker, and headphone connections. Try these steps Check your speaker and headphone connections for loose cords or cables.

Make sure the mute setting is not turned on, and try turning up all the volume controls. Remember some speakers and apps have their own volume controls.

Be sure to check them all. Try connecting your speaker and headphones to a different USB port. If your cables and volume are OK, see the next sections for additional troubleshooting.

Check to make sure your audio devices aren't muted and haven't been disabled. To update your audio driver automatically In the search box on the taskbar, type device manager , then select it from the results. To uninstall your audio driver In the search box on the taskbar, type device manager , then select it from the results.

Restart your PC. This restart will automatically prompt your PC to reinstall your audio driver. To use the generic audio driver that comes with Windows In the search box on the taskbar, type device manager , then select it from the results. To roll back your audio driver In the search box on the taskbar, type device manager , then select it from the results. Restore your PC from a system restore point When Microsoft installs updates on your system, we create a system restore point in case problems arise.

Many updates require you to restart your device. To check and see if you have installed updates pending and need to restart Save your work and close all open applications. Select one of those restart options to apply the updates Need help with Windows Update?

If restarting doesn't help, see the next section for additional troubleshooting. If you have microphone issues, make sure your privacy settings are configured properly. Need more help? Join the discussion. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help. Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. If you are using typical computer speakers or headphones analog sound devices , make sure Speakers is selected.

This is the most common sound setup for a desktop computer environment and includes many types of headphones, desktop speakers, 5.

Many monitors with built-in speakers also support a speaker connection using a separate audio cable connected from the computer to the monitor not an HDMI connection. If you want to send all sound from the computer to digital speakers or a stereo digital device, make sure the playback device labeled with Digital Output is selected.

With the default Playback Device selected, click the Configure button. Click the Test button to send sound to each speaker, or click an individual speaker to send sound to it. If sound is missing from all or one of the speakers, or if the configuration type was changed, continue with speaker setup by clicking Next.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the speaker setup. Step 4: Checking speaker connections Use these steps to make sure you have the speaker cables connected to the correct sound connectors. From the Windows Sound window, select Speakers , and then click Properties.

The Speakers Properties window contains a list of color-coded connectors that corresponds to each pair of speakers.

Use this information to determine which connector goes with the speaker pairs that you are using. L R green, Line Out is for the front left and right speaker pair the green connector, usually labeled Line out.

C Sub black is for the Center or Subwoofer speaker. Make sure each speaker cable is connected to its corresponding connector on the back of the computer. The colors shown in the Speakers Properties window match the connector color on the computer. If you have 5. Then match the speaker cable to the connectors on the computer using the colors shown in the Speakers Property window. If any speaker cable connection changed, check for sound again using the steps in Set default speakers and test.

Play a sound. If sound problems continue, check for sound from plugged-in headphones. Step 5: Checking for sound from headphones If there is still no sound, check for sound output using headphones. Two types of headphone connectors are available on HP computers. One supports only sound to the headphones, and the other supports sound to the headphones and the use of a microphone. The connectors are marked with symbols next them. Connectors on the computer marked with a headset only, , support output sound only and work with a standard three-pin headphone or a four-pin headphone, for sound.

Connectors on the computer marked with a headset with a microphone, , support sound and the use of a microphone when used with a headset with a four-pin plug and a microphone. To hear sound , either plug may be used with either connector. Using a four-pin plug that is capable of supporting a microphone in a three-pin connector allows sound to be heard , but the microphone does not work because the computer's three-pin connector does not support a microphone.

Find and unplug all audio cables from the back of the computer. Plug headphones directly into the speaker out connector on the back of the computer. The speaker out connector might have a symbol of a speaker or a circle with an arrow pointing out, or it might be labeled as OUT. Test for sound in Windows. Double-click the volume icon in the taskbar, and then click the volume control slide in the Volume Mixer.

Each time you click the master volume slide bar, you should hear a beep sound through the headphones. If you hear sound through the headphones, the sound hardware on the computer is working, and the issue is probably related to the speakers or speaker cables. Disconnect the headphones and reconnect the speakers.

When done, test again for sound using the same steps as above with the volume control slider. If sound still does not work correctly after reconnecting the speakers, try replacing the speaker cable if possible , or speaker fuse and test again. If you cannot hear sound through the headphones, make sure that you are connecting the headphones into the correct connector, and try again. If there is still no sound, continue to the next step when you are sure the headphones are connected to the correct audio connector on the back of the computer.

Side speaker out. Step 6: Restoring the audio driver in Windows 7 Sound files and settings that become changed can cause sound problems. Restore the audio driver to reset audio settings for the sound hardware and reinitialize the sound configuration in Windows. To resolve this, update the audio driver. See Update the audio driver. Use the driver recovery process to restore audio drivers for the original sound hardware using the following steps:.

On the Hardware Driver Reinstallation welcome screen, click Next. Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great.

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Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Make sure the volume isn't muted. Locate the speaker icon to the left of the system clock, which is usually at the bottom-right corner of the screen. If you see an X beside it, your PC's volume is muted. If your keyboard has volume buttons, press the Mute button the speaker with an X—usually F1 to unmute the speaker, or just press the Volume Up button usually F3 several times until the volume increases.

You can also increase the volume by clicking the speaker icon and then dragging the corresponding slider up Windows 10 or to the right Windows Use the sliders to adjust the volume levels for apps. If the volume is turned down for the app that's trying to play audio, raising the volume should resolve the issue.

If you're using Windows 11, you'll also see a section in the Volume Mixer for "Output device. Check the volume on your physical speaker. If you're using an external speaker or headset that has its own volume controls, make sure the volume is turned up on the speaker itself. Check the connection to your speaker or headphones. If you can't hear audio from your speakers or headphones, make sure you've plugged them into the correct port not the microphone port!

If the speaker requires a power source, such as being plugged into a wall or USB port, double-check to make sure that it's powered on. If your external speaker is a part of a multi-speaker system, double-check that all components are turned on and properly connected. Using a Bluetooth speaker? Try disconnecting from it, placing it back into pairing mode, and then reconnecting.

Make sure the audio input is correct. Many audio issues are caused by Windows playing audio through the wrong device. For example, Windows may be trying to play audio through an external speaker instead of your built-in speakers. Click the volume icon on the taskbar once with the left mouse button, and then click the audio device you want to listen through.

If you don't see a Bluetooth speaker or device you're trying to listen through as an option, you may need to reconnect to it. Restart your computer. Before proceeding to another method, try to reset your audio by restarting your computer.

If your computer loads up with the sound is fixed, you needn't continue. Method 2. Open the Audio Troubleshooter. The Audio Troubleshooter can fix just about any problem that's related to sound on your computer. Type audio troubleshooter. Click Find and fix problems with playing sound. Click Next on the troubleshooter.

Now a list of audio devices will appear. Select a device and click Next. Once you click Next , the troubleshooter will check for issues with that device. Repair any issues found by the troubleshooter. The troubleshooter will prompt you to allow certain changes to be made, such as re-enabling an audio device or turning off sound enhancements. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the troubleshooter.

Method 3. Open the Control Panel. As a technical writer for Driver Easy, April writes articles related to various tech issues, including Windows computer problems and game errors.

She's never happier than when her articles help people solve their problems - whether they're Windows errors and blue screens to network errors and faulty hardware. When she's not writing, she likes reading literary novels and poetry. To install Driver Easy Click. April Cai Last Updated: 4 months ago. Check to see if there is sound.