By john 
The audio troubleshooter runs and reports a fault it cannot repair: audio services not responding. The Windows 10 audio services not responding message explains why there is no sound but judolbet88 not how to restore it.
Sound in Windows relies on background services that pass audio from programs to the hardware. When those services stop or hang, every app goes silent together.
Restarting them is simple, and working out why they stopped prevents the fault from coming back.
What Might Be Causing It
The audio services can fail for these reasons:
- The Windows Audio service or one of its dependencies has stopped.
- The audio driver crashed and took the service down with it.
- A recent update or audio enhancement software caused a conflict.
- System files are damaged.
Third-party sound “enhancer” apps supplied with some laptops are a regular source of these conflicts.
Start With These Basic Checks
Restart the services manually.
- Restart the PC and test the sound.
- If it is still silent, press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
- Find Windows Audio, right-click it, and choose Restart. If Restart is unavailable, choose Start.
- Do the same for Windows Audio Endpoint Builder and confirm that Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is running.
- Double-click each audio service and set Startup type to Automatic.
Sound often returns the moment Windows Audio restarts.
Going a Step Further
If the services stop again or will not start, repair the driver and system.
- Open Device Manager, expand Sound, video and game controllers, right-click the audio device, and choose Uninstall device. Restart so Windows reinstalls it.
- Install the current audio driver from the PC manufacturer’s website.
- Uninstall any add-on audio enhancement software as a test.
- Open Command Prompt as administrator and run sfc /scannow, followed by DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth.
- Use System Restore to return to a date when sound was working, if a restore point exists.
On the Log On tab of the Windows Audio service, the account should read Local Service. If it has been changed, select “This account” and enter Local Service with blank password fields.
A Word of Caution
Do not disable or alter other services while in the Services window. Changing dependencies such as RPC can stop Windows from working at all. System Restore does not remove personal files, but it may uninstall programs added after the restore point.
The Bottom Line
Unresponsive audio services can usually be restarted in seconds. If they keep failing, a fresh driver and a system file check deal with the underlying cause, and sound stays working after the next reboot.