No Sound in Steam - Browser and (Some) Games! Help!

[Bosun]

Hi all,

For about 3 months now, I've had no sound in Steam, either watching videos of trailers on the store page, or in several *but not all!* of my games.

I have sound EVERYWHERE ELSE IN MY SYSTEM. Movies, games outside of Steam, system sounds are ALL THERE.

It is JUST STEAM.

I've tried the following:

Uninstalled, then deleted all local references to all steam games, and clients.
Re-installed them
Updated audio drivers for Realtek
Uninstalled drivers for real-tek to auto-reinstall upon start up.
Checked to make sure default audio devices was correctly set
Checked to ensure default audio device was correctly set to stereo (no change there)
Tried plugging audio into different ports.
Tried rolling back Windows updates
Tried running Malwarebytes, Adaware, Rkill, and a several other programs for malware. Quarantined any files found
Re-installed Net Framework 4
Ran Steam as Admin
Ran games as admin
Ran BOTH as admin

Uninstalled any audio control devices for mixing or music making
Unplugged every peripheral and restarted (all usb connections)
Booted Windows in safe mode, rolled back updates. Reinstalled
Re-installed Steam. Again. For the 50th time.

Nothin, absolutely nothing, has worked.

I have sound for everything else, except Steam-related things. I cannot play my games. I have no idea what changed.

If anyone knows, prize of the century, because I'm legitimately stumped.

Running:
Win 10 Home 64
Intel 7 Core
ASUS Z170 Gaming MB
Heckin tons of RAM
GTX 1080 NVidia card

[Bosun]

bump

[LanzelotLXXI]

I have the same problem. I tried more or less the same posted above without any fix.

I think is a problem related with a recent windows 10 update....but it's too late to uninstall it :-/

[Bosun]

I sincerely hope that my only option is not to ditch windows and get a Mac or swap over to Linux...

Is there anyone using Win 10 that isn't having this problem? Surely this is fixable

[otakuscott]

I came on here looking for help on the same issue! When I load a game, sound will play for a split second before cutting out. I thought it had to do with the fact I've been playing Steam on my TV, but now I don't know.

[otakuscott]

Also, I get sound in Big Picture Mode but once I start a game, nada.

[Bosun]

Do either of you know which Windows Update was the culprit?

[Gr4K]

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/adjust-volume-for-individual-programs-windows

[Bosun]

Originally posted by NP • Group4K:

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/adjust-volume-for-individual-programs-windows

NP, Steam does not show up, neither do the games, in the Volume Mixer. The solution in the link regards the standard windows volume mixer, or changing it's style to the old Win 7. This link does not address functionality of the program, just, essentially, the skinning for it. The Volume Mixer itself remains the same, and the fact that the games, nor Steam, show up in the mixer for me to adjust, is probably a symptom of the problem.

I'm guessing there is a registry key that needs adjusting, but it isn't the one that re-skins the modern volume mixer back to it's Win 7 roots. It's more likely one having to do with telling Steam, itself, or the games, that an audio device exists. They clearly are not recognizing what Windows has as Default, and individually, I don't know how to point each individual program to a specific device.

How do you tell Steam to play off of a specific device? I know for VLC player, you can swap audio devices. I want to do that for the games and for Steam. I think that may solve the problem.

[Bosun]

Are there any real Steam Reps who can give support for this? I have tried everything under the sun that anyone has so far suggested.

I've been through device manager and managed devices with a fine-tooth comb. I've installed drivers, uninstalled them, re-installed them. I've checked defaults. I've validated files. I've re-installed everything except the sanity I've lost trying to solve this problem.

The sound simply isn't there. It's there every where else on my system. It's there for every other program.

I will pay you, Valve. I will pay you to talk on the phone about this. I will pay you to do a live remote session with my PC. I will pay you to come here and help troubleshoot it.

I just want my games back. ::Sigh:: Help me, Obi-steam-valve-nobi. You're my only hope.

[otakuscott]

It sucks because I can't hear Duke Nukem's one-liners now.

[Bosun]

Finally got my sound back. I had to revert back to a version of Windows from last year via an old installation media I had, and ported over an older version of Steam and my games from my laptop (that hasn't updated in a while.) After that, I have sound, and have since updated everything and still have it. To be clear, for some reason, I had to do both of these, get it back. It makes no sense.

For the record - I still have no idea what kind of incompatibility caused it.

[GodZzamazzu]

finally

[Alphascoutx[TCX]]

I am using Win 10 I'm fine with CS GO and Ravenfield

[Crazy Tiger]

Do you guys have windows updates set to automaticall update drivers? Could be some trouble with an updated audio driver, for example.

[Bosun]

Crazy Tiger -

Strangely, it wasn't the audio driver specifically - because I individually rolled back audio drivers first. Both for nVidia and for Real-Tek/Motherboard. I tried them individually several times.

Something deeper in Windows, almost as if the games and Steam were trying to direct audio to a device (hardware) that wasn't there. Why they weren't updating, and why windows wasn't changing, I don't know.

I just know that I rolled Steam and the games back to older versions from a laptop, didn't work. Rolled Windows back into last year, and it did.

Updated from there, and it works.

Somewhere along the way, something got corrupted, and it really messed with Steam.