no sound

I just finished at the Malware Removal Forum having a nasty little piece removed from my MBR. They dug out the "root" of the problem, but the chief symptom remains and they suggested I come here to fix it.

I am running Windows Vista 64-bit (factory-installed) on an HP Pavilion dv7-1247cl laptop.

Background: I was web-surfing on Aug. 18 when I had a malware attack that (among other things) muted my sound. The touchpad bar (between my keyboard and the screen) that controls sound on/mute and volume, as well as other playback functions and indicates that the WiFi is on or off (and that's also where the Main Power button is) ... well it seems be working fine: I can touch the speaker button/indicator and it will toggle the on-screen sound icon in the system tray (lower-right corner of the screen) on or mute.

But the indicator light on the touchbar is stuck on RED (mute) and won't go to WHITE (sound on) no matter what I do. And the speakers remain absolutely silent! Even after eradicating the malware that (apparently) originally caused it, this problem persists.

Every diagnostic I've run says everything is working properly, speakers are fine, drivers are up-to-date, etc. Maybe I missed something.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

 

Even though everything appears normal, I'd reinstall all of the chipset and audio drivers.

Do the symptoms change while in Safe Mode?

 

I'm a novice when it comes to computers and there's a lot here that I don't understand. I got through the Malware Removal processes because they basically walked me through every step. I hope you can do the same.

When I start in Safe Mode, even the on-screen sound icon (speaker) indicates "mute" and will not work, saying that "the Audio Service isn't running" and apparently it won't run in Safe Mode.

I tried to get the Device Manager to update the sound device drivers, it responds that they are already up-to-date.

Chipset drivers? How do I find those?

If you want me to un-install and re-install them, I'll need you to walk me through the process.

 

Yes, that is correct: Started and Automatic (Local Service).
And the one below it, Windows Audio Endpoint Builder: Started, Automatic (Local System).

 

I have a couple of suggestions for you:

In regard to uninstalling and reinstalling your audio drivers I think that would be your best bet in this situation. Go into your control panel and then switch to classic view. Go to My System, then go to audio devices...chances are you will see an exclamation point near the audio device with the problem. Click on that and uninstall it and then go to your discover new hardware wizard and click "automatically detect hardware", this should reinstall your audio drivers and the problem (should) be fixed. If the driver file itself is corrupted you can use an alternative such as Realtek which can be found here. If either of these solutions don't work there are a couple more maintenance procedures we can do with your system and they are as follows:

Maybe your malware protection isn't up to date or effective, the BEST, FREE Malware program I use is called Malware Bytes and that can be found here.

Maybe it's your registry that is having issues? There could be broken .dll files which are having an impact on your system and a free registry fixer can be found here.

AS A LAST RESORT I would suggest downloading and running a program called Combo Fix, this is a HEAVY DUTY malware/virus removal program that can and will yank just about ANYTHING suspicious from your machine. The reason I am cautioning you in regard to using Combo Fix is that it is a VERY aggressive solution to your problem and while it should take out any viruses/malware on your computer there may be collateral damage to other files.

If you try the other solutions I have suggested Combo Fix may be a good solution but you should definitely come back to this or another forum before running it.

If all else fails I would backup any critical data and format my system and restore it to original settings.

Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't look into the posters malware thread, I will do more research next time. I know there are a lot of useless malware removal tools out there, just wanted to recommend the best.

 

@TimW --> Yes, I've tried external speakers (plugged into my headphone jack) and headphones as well. Nothing--no change. The mixer display shows the audio pattern moving, but nothing comes out.

And by the way, I did not used ComboFix, as I understand that it is incompatible with 64-bit systems, which this is.

 

How about uninstalling and reinstalling your audio drivers? I really think that is your best bet in this situation aside from formatting your PC.

 

SOUND!!!! Gorgeous, Glorious, delicious, BEAUTIFUL Sound! It is FIXED! :-D

Thank you Jmckeeco84! Thank you TimW! Thank you Caliban (you suggested it first, but I didn't know how)!

It seems the problem was my IDT High Definition Audio CODEC drivers after all, even though the system diagnostics couldn't see the problem. When I deleted that device and its drivers (once I bucked up the courage), and then re-installed the drivers---Thanks for the instructions, Jmckeeco84!---and re-booted to finish the process, the indicator light on the touchpad turned WHITE at last(!) and the sound came ON.

Actually, when I tried to install the "new" hardware, the installer said it couldn't find any new hardware, so I continued on to the manual installation mode and took my best guess on the right version from the list for IDT audio devices. When I hit enter, it went through its thing, then said there was an ERROR and it couldn't install. I thought I was screwed, but remembered I could always return via the System Restore point.

When it re-booted (taking just a tad longer than usual), a balloon appeared near the system tray that said that the driver installation was completed. Then that [blankity-blank] RED light went *blip* and turned WHITE.

Thank you again SO MUCH for your kind patience and time! :wave

 

Congrats man! Glad you solved your problem!