[Troubleshooting] No Sound, Audio Noise, or Audio Stuttering After an Update
Answer
After running Windows Update or manually updating the drivers, you may experience no sound from the speakers, audio stuttering, or abnormal noise. This may occur because the audio system requires multiple drivers, including Realtek, Nahimic, and Intel Smart Sound Technology (ISST), to work together. Version conflicts or communication errors during the update process may therefore cause audio issues.
To resolve the issue, we recommend performing a complete clean installation by following the steps below.
This article applies to all MSI products.
How to perform a clean installation
- Go to the MSI official website and download the latest Realtek audio driver, Nahimic application, and ISST driver applicable to your model (depending on the model).
- Open “Apps & features” and “Device Manager,” and completely uninstall all currently installed audio-related software and drivers.
- Reinstall the Realtek audio driver, ISST driver, Nahimic software, or DTS audio software in order, as applicable.
For detailed instructions, please refer to the following links:
- [How To] Reinstall the Audio Driver and Related Software on an MSI Notebook
- MSI® HOW-TO clean install audio drivers on DTS platform
- MSI® HOW-TO clean install Realtek,Nahimic,ISST drivers & software on MSI Notebooks
FAQ
Q: Why did my MSI notebook suddenly lose sound? Does this indicate a hardware failure?
A: In most cases, this is not caused by hardware failure, but by a software conflict. It mainly affects MSI notebook users who have recently installed Windows automatic updates or manually installed incompatible drivers.
Q: Why can updating a single driver cause the speakers to stop working?
A: Modern notebook audio systems use a multi-driver architecture. Audio output depends not only on the Realtek driver, but also on the Nahimic audio enhancement software and ISST driver. If the version of any component does not match, the drivers may not communicate with one another correctly, resulting in abnormal audio output.
Q: Why is a clean installation recommended?
A: Installing a new version over the existing one may leave behind old configuration files or corrupted registry information. A clean installation process consisting of uninstalling, restarting, and reinstalling is required to ensure that all related drivers operate correctly on the same version baseline.