Audio Issues after Windows 10 Update - Red X on Audio in system tray

 I'm going to work backwards

This is the link to the fix   This here this is the link

If like me you are reading anything and everything (including this small business Blog) all you really want, at this point, is the answer!  But do come back and read my whole saga on the problems I had with this Audio Issue !! What caused it and how I eventually found the right answer.  (By complete chance!!)

This is part 2 of 2

 

A Day or so after I updated the Anti-Virus I noticed that there was a red X, like the one above on the audio in the system tray.  I assumed that it was a Driver issue and looked in device manager.  There was a yellow exclamation mark on both the audio devices showing that there was a problem.

First I tried the Windows 10 trouble shooter.  It does often happen that a device gets put out of whack by updates or significant application changes additions etc. 

This did not work

I tried updating the drivers, both letting Windows do its thing and by trying the manual options.  Find on My PC and Have Disk and so on.

This did not work

I tried going to the source for the drivers, Realtek and Intel and installing them from the correct sources.  Ie Realtek site and Intel site.

This did not work.

I asked my trusted assistant (Google) and read many, many long and drawn out threads, about the problem, which had occurred it seems as early as 2018 due to updates.  All sounds reasonable.

Many pages and many different and weird and some not so wonderful fixes later I’m still looking at the same Audio not working icon

And it still was not working.

After many days…..

And Many many fruitless searches I hit on a solution to my problem.

I have since cleaned my browser and unless the planets align the same way as they were yesterday afternoon and I comb my hair into exactly the same messy exasperation I may never be able to find that page again…

It involves the registry key: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96c-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}

And its entry on the UpperFilter

The value should be ksthunk and in my key was someother jumble of letters apparently relating to the now defunct Kaspersky.

I deleted the random letters after ksthunk rebooted and Eureka, gawd bless me Mary Poppins and By George it worked.

Trigger restarted, wriggled about a bit on start up and suddenly the red x was no more.

As always, I wish I could find the source, as regular readers will know, I like to give credit where credit is due and it definitely is in this case.  It was a forum post as there was discussion on the letters included in the value and I’m sure they said that the KSTHUNK came back on reboot after being deleted and it was the random letters that was the issue.  

This is the Microsoft Answers site that gave the fix that helped me.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/audio-driver-not-working-after-windows-10-update/edbdd93f-e614-449e-b3bf-52663add6462

Worked for me

The fixes I read, all went through describing the obvious, drivers, troubleshoot, reinstall, check windows updates,  who are very useful to the standard user but not necessarily for the more technical who try all those methods as standard and have read pages and pages and pages of the same.   But as it turns out, for me it was a Microsoft Answers thread that gave me my solution.

This is actually Part 1 of 2

This installment is where the story really starts!

Its been a while since I reported anything of note on the Blog or indeed anything at all, but I’m still here, even if I’m mostly unable to get out and about to do any real work for the time being.

I have been exploring the creative side of life with a bit of Cooking, Bread, sour dough and cakes and stuff and a bit of sewing, masks and bags and other stuff.  Obviously along with the new normal of some home-schooling the junior Lamas and getting out for exercise with Lamas Dog.

Every year about this time I have to update the Anti-Virus for Lamas Design, which includes Lamas Junior Laptops, a couple of desktops, Triggers-broom, and the network Managers devices.

This year both the Juniors were at home for this.  An inset day.  The rare few days they have been at school this year and they still have inset days, (shrugs and shakes head).  I gave them instructions, fully update their laptops, do the housekeeping required, (disk clean, restart, etc) uninstall the existing security, disk clean, restart.  Install the new one.

Despite my attempts to make them a bit aware of the housekeeping required for a laptop, it does not get done on a timely basis.  So the task that should have taken a couple of hours at most took the pair of them all day!  Trigger was done and dusted in an hour.  So was the other desktop PC.

The Network Managers PC took a while and then would not restart, but that’s another story. Its working now!

But…But…But.. I hear your say, are you not a Kaspersky Internet Security user?   Well yes I was, but this year the price of BitDefender was cheaper than Kaspersky and my reservations were always to do with the parental control of BitDefender.  Junior Lamas are not 6 anymore!! They are teenagers and have all sorts of other issues, but computer security is something I can now discuss with them and they can make sensible choices.

Lamas Dog
 finds this statement mildly amusing!

I

It eventually got finished by both of them.  They still complain about the slowness of their laptops, despite me suggesting various options, the amount of apps starting with the system for instance.

The point of this blog post was to share my Eureka moment.

But I don’t want to put the fix at the end here because someone looking for the answer like I was, is not going to want to read the rambling Ronnie Corbett anecdote above, and it may only be one of the fixes that they try and for them it is unsuccessful.  And I know how that feels.

So the story of TriggersBroom and its Audio issues is really the beginning of this blog post.

Windows 10 - May 2019 update 1903

With the new round of Windows 10 updates happening soon, Lamas Design is waiting.

Waiting for the update!  Waiting for the clients to call and say : "It started to update and then it came up with a picture of Grumpy Cat/dancing unicorns/Blue Screen/Automatic repair/crazy frog/(Insert problem here)..

I know which one I would prefer.

RIP Grumpy Cat 😢

I don't often get comments on this blog.  In fact, I think it is only read by one or two people as an alternative to sleeping tablets and the occasional desperate person looking on page 22 of a google search for a solution when they have tried everything else!

Imagine my surprise today when I received a comment telling me how much they enjoyed the blog.  They also included a bunch of links which led to scam websites.  No thanks - deleted.  I have email accounts to collect spam I don't need it here as well!!

The first PC has been updated, TriggersBroom, my workhorse that has recently been upgraded to a board with the Z270 chipset.  Downloaded and installed within a couple of hours without much assistance or interference from me.  That is obviously the way i like it to happen.  

My laptop however, is a slightly different kettle of fish. I did an extra special clean up on it yesterday. Including, disk cleanup, virus check, malware removal, although most of this is done on a very regular basis anyway.  It still took hours to download, install and then, subsequently, fail.  

It gave me various different error codes and in the end I have given up for the time being. The error codes as usual mean very little and do not give a clear indication of what the problem may be.

Watch this space for further updates.





   

Housekeeping!

Look at your computer in the same way you look at your home. 

You like your home to be clean and tidy and everything is where it should be, household running smoothly, everyone has a clean shirt etc.

Keep your home this way takes a bit of regular housework, dusting, vacuuming or sweeping, washing, cleaning and so on.

If you want your PC to run well you will need to do similar tasks.  

• Regular Antivirus scans with up to date software.
• Malware and spyware removal with up to date software
• Disk defragmentation
• Disk cleanup
• Driver updates. 
• Make sure system restore is running

Most of these things can be automated.  Most of these things can be done with free software.  Sometimes you can find software that is both!

One of the most important things is (Here it comes, you've been expecting this one) is a back up!

And yes - I heard the collective groan.  

The times I've heard Will I loose all my pictures? or some version of that. 

Back up of data is imperative.  Disks are not infallible, but unlikely to all go down at the same time.  But you know all of this, you have been told this time and again.

What is also as important is a system image.  Windows can do this without additional software.

You spend ages installing all your software, putting all the serial numbers away in that safe place (I always think of the room of requirement when he hides the Potions book, because "Safe Place" I can never remember exactly where it is!!)

And then Microsoft gets involved and gives you updates, some minor, some major, and that is when it starts becoming a problem.  Minimise the problem by performing the housekeeping.

If you have a system image there is a very good chance that your system can be restored to its former glory with little fuss if a system has a backup.  

I hate it when I have to return a system to a client with just a bare copy of Windows 10 and their data.  Obviously I put AVs and stuff on as well, but it does not look the same as it did and nothing is where they left it.

If you would like some help or recommendations please contact me.  My advice costs nothing, a system rebuild is so much more expensive in many ways.

Have a good weekend all. 

1803 update - WiFi Slow

The April Microsoft update is now available.  Update to version 1803.
I have now updated a couple of the Lamas HQ systems, including mine and the Network Managers'.

The systems I have updated so far have happened apparently successfully.  (fingers crossed or your superstition of choice!)

When I say successfully, I mean that the system has done the update and rebooted and then has gone on to work.  No reboot loop or blue screen equivalent, Automatic repair loop or such like.  There are different degrees of successful!

What I have noticed is that my laptop internet connection is slower than a slow thing going slowly.

A major update like this is usually followed by a Disk Clean-up and a driver update and maybe a malware, rootkit and full virus scan to just complete the job.

The Driver update, didn't make any difference.

I found a website that gave some ideas about post 1803 installation but it suggested installing a driver updater that a) gave me exactly one scan then started demanding money to go any further and b) is showing up on Malwarebytes as (Surprise!) a Potentially Unwanted Program!  So it was an Advert rather than an informational piece.

Malware scan found the PuP as above, and the brilliant and marvelous resources on  BlackViper detail the services required to run Windows 10 without any extraneous stuff.

It was still the same after the services check.

The Ethernet adapter works fine and is giving a realistic and proper speed.
An external wifi dongle, once installed and operational, gave a sensible wifi speed.

Lamas HQ systems have a third party security application installed, which includes both AV and Firewall.  So, the Windows Firewall is disabled.

It appears that disabling the Windows Defender Firewall was my error.  Once I changed the Windows Defender Firewall service from Disabled to Manual, my internal WiFi started working as it should giving more than 10mbps closer to 50!

Windows updates again

I recently received a text message from a friend -

Just using XXXs laptop. AV isn’t working. Its saying its snoozed so unprotected. Don’t know whats happened but do you know how to unsnooze it?  AV will not open via the desktop or settings.

I replied to this with my standard "reboot the system and report back" text.  Yep, the old “Turn it off and Turn it on again” routine that IT professionals have been relying on for years.

The reply she sent me a bit later was

 “THAT WORKED. FAB! Thanks xx”

Most of the issues seen recently here at Lamas HQ have been update related.

A Wifi not connecting properly or sound not working.  Minor annoyances which, on their own are not too terrible and may not always be either noticed or dealt with.  Over time this will lead to vulnerabilities.

Current Windows 10 systems are mostly laptops. 

How do you turn off your laptop?

Very often all I do is close the lid at the end of the day, which is not actually turning it off just sending it into hibernation or sleep or suspended (or whatever it is currently named)  Windows 10 does minor updates and these are not obvious until a full reboot is performed.

Perhaps the reason IT pros use the Turn it off and Turn it on again routine is because it still works more often than not and it also brings the system back to normal and allows Windows to sort itself out.  I have noticed that a lot of other service providers use the same thought process.  Freeview tv box, cable tv box, all the service calls all start with turn it off and unplug it for 30 seconds.  Now reboot. 

Windows 10 update 1709

Windows update 1709 has been hitting systems recently and in some cases hitting hard.

I am sitting in the workshop on a Saturday evening with not just one, but two systems on the workbench.  Pretty crowded in here at the moment, what with the laptop as well, but what were knees made for if not to perch ones laptop on!

One of the systems updated to 1709 and that was the last thing it did!!

The user account would not work and kept logging into a temporary account.

I backed up all the data and after several futile attempts to fix it without the nuclear option it I had to reset.  Not only that, the reset would only do the "clear everything including trash your data" option!

The second one that arrived on the bench today, was looking like it was going to be the same end result but fortunately, a restore of a previous registry backup worked.

It was presenting with a continuous Attempting Windows Startup Repair, and everything you try just takes you back to Attempting Windows Startup Repair!

This is an explanation and a how to - and as always much more eloquent than I would be.

Here is a You Tube video that gives a really good explanation

The other one I have seen recently is the 0x800706d9 error.

OH NO not the old 0x800706d9 error I hear you cry!

That one means that if you are using a 3rd party firewall you need to activate the deactivated Windows Firewall because it wont work without it.

Enable and start the Windows Firewall in Services, update Windows components, stop and disable the Windows Firewall.  Job done. (this was on the Network Managers Laptop and would have been a red alert if I could have been bothered to change the bulb!
However, I didn't deactivate the other firewall!  It seemed to work ok.)

If I get any further 1709 update errors I will add them and their end results here.