Windows Sound & Audio not working after Update
OK, so we know what you’re going through so don’t fret if you’re one of the persons experiencing problems with sound. Some users might come across an unresponsive microphone, while others could experience popping or cracking sounds when playing back audio.
How to fix microphone issue
It’s a simple fix, really. You see, Microsoft has changed the audio settings layout to the new Windows 10 format, and you know what? It looks great. Because of this change, some computers might show an error, so to fix, just follow the simple steps below. Go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone and make sure “Allow apps to access your microphone” is active. In Windows 11 you will see the Microphone Privacy settings here;
Open Windows 11 Settings > Privacy and security > Microphone.
How to fix cracking sounds
The cracking sound issue tends to happen solely on laptops that are running in battery mode. In this mode, Windows 10 puts the audio driver to sleep at times in a bid to extend battery life. Whenever the user makes an attempt to play audio, Windows 10 then automatically awakens the driver, but in v1803, this tends to cause a popping sound. It’s a minor issue at best with a simple fix, so follow the steps below. Press the Windows Key + R to launch the Run dialog. Type regedit into the box and hit Enter on your keyboard. This should launch the Registry Editor, so once that happens, navigate to the following key:
Locate the key that says: You should now see a series of numbered keys. Open each key until you come across a key with the name, PowerSettings. The next step, then, is to find ConservationIdleTime in the right side and change its value to 0. Ensure that PerformanceIdleTime as well as IdlePowerState too are set to their default value of 0. Do remember to create a system restore point first before making any changes to your system. If you need more help please refer to the following posts:
