My laptop’s internal speakers stop producing sound every few days. When it happens:
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No application plays audio: browsers, Spotify, Discord, system sounds. YouTube shows “Audio renderer error. Please restart your computer.”
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Volume is at 100% and nothing is muted.
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The correct output device is selected.
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Device Manager shows no warning icon. Device properties say “This device is working properly” and the problem code is
CM_PROB_NONE. -
HDMI audio to my external monitors keeps working perfectly the whole time.
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Restarting the Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder services does nothing.
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Disabling and re-enabling the playback device in Sound settings does nothing.
Rebooting always fixes it, and then it comes back days later.
Every guide I can find assumes the driver failed to load (yellow triangle, Code 10, “no audio device is installed”). That is not my case: the driver is loaded and Windows insists the device is healthy.
What is actually failing here, and is there any way to recover it without rebooting?
