Sound driver: Acer Aspire M M5-481PT, Windows 8.1, 64 bit

Acer Aspire M, Windows 8.1, 64 bit

Issue: High Definition Audio Device status: "this device cannot start. (Code 10) {Operation Failed} The requested operation was unsuccessful
Description: I noticed no sound from my machine following an automatic windows update on Nov 3
Strategies attempted to date (none have worked):
1) Uninstalled the device from Device Manager and re-started computer
2) "Updated" the driver software from Device Manager. Message shows: "the best driver software for your device is already installed."
3) Logged in to acer support -> drivers and manuals from acer.com and downloaded the audio driver for my machine: Date: 2013/10/11; Version: 6.0.1.7032; Vendor: Realtek. Attempted to install and received the message: ""install realtek HD audio driver failure !!" error code 0x00000002"
4) Ran a malware scan and removed two malicious programs. Re-attempted all of the above and no change in results.
5) Restored the systems from before the Nov 3 update and still had a Code 10 error. No earlier system restore dates are available.

Thank you for any thoughts or inputs at this point.

Accepted answers

All comments

Tom2019

Hi @adam90aspirem

I request you to run the Play audio troubleshooter and check if it helps.

Click Start.
Type Troubleshooting in the search bar and press “Enter”.
In the “Troubleshooting” window, click on “View All” on the left pane.
Click on “Play audio troubleshooter”.
Click on “Advanced” and then click on “Run as Administrator”.
Click “Next” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the troubleshooting process.

Method 2:

Try updating the Audio drivers via Device manager check if the issue persists.

Follow the steps to update the audio drivers:

Press Windows key + X key and click Device Manager.
Expand the Sound, Video and game controllers.
Right-click on the Sound card and click on Update driver software.
Restart the computer and check.

"Hit Like or Accept if its Helpful"

laurent_14

Hi adam90aspirem,

What model do you own exactly?

adam90aspirem

Thank you for the replies.

Tom2019, I have already tried both methods. Note that I do not have a start menu - it's 8.1 that I'm using. When I run the audio troubleshooter the recommendation is to reinstall device driver. When I select "apply this fix," it shows "troubleshooting has completed. Troubleshooting was unable to automatically fix all the issues found. you can find more details below: Problems found: High Definition Audio Device has a driver problem - Not fixed (red x icon)"

Tom2019, for method 2 when I seek to update the driver, I receive a "the best driver software for your device is already installed" message.

Laurent_14, I have an M5-481PT.

Thank you for trying to help!

adam90aspirem

Do you all think upgrading to Windows 10 would be possible or helpful in this situation?

billsey

A better option before going to drastic measures is to uninstall the affected drivers fully, then reboot and reinstall. If you just try upgrades the old, corrupted files are left behind. Fire up Device Manager using the search function of your Charm bar and do the uninstall from there.