Troubleshoot sound problems on Windows with Boot Camp

Summary

After installing or updating Windows on a Mac using Boot Camp, you may notice that you no longer hear sound through the headset or internal or external speakers.

Cause

This issue can be caused by outdated or corrupted drivers and other software.

Resolution

To resolve the issue follow the steps in the methods starting with method 1. If method 1 does not resolve the issue, go to the next method.

Method 1: Update to the latest version of Boot Camp

Tp download and install the latest update for Boot Camp, follow these steps:

Scroll until you find the latest Boot Camp update for the Mac system you’re running.

Follow the on screen instructions to download and install the latest software update for Boot Camp.

Reboot your Mac.

Important: If you’re using Windows XP or Windows Vista, Boot Camp 4.0 does not support these versions of Windows.

Method 2: Install the latest version of your audio drivers

Install the audio driver from your Mac OS disk or download the latest version of the audio driver from Apple.

Option 1: Install the drivers from you’re Mac OS disk

Start your Mac and boot into Windows.

Insert your Mac OS installation disk.

a. If the installer window doesn’t appear automatically, click the Start button, click Computer.
b. Click the drive that contains the Mac OS disk.
c. Double-click the Boot Camp folder.
d. Double-click setup.exe.
e. Click Install.

Follow the on screen instructions to install the drivers.

Reboot your Mac.

Option 2: Install the drivers from Apple’s website

Start your Mac and boot into Windows.

Open Internet Explorer and go toApple Support.

Scroll until you find the latest audio drivers for the Mac system you’re running.

Follow the on screen instructions to download and install the latest audio drivers for your Mac.

Reboot your Mac.

Method 3: Download and install the latest Realtek drivers.

To download and install the latest Realtek drivers from the manufacturer’s website, follow these steps:

In the Download Search box, type drivers, and then click the Go button.

Click the software title that matches your current Realtek chipset.

For more information, see your computer’s documentation.

Select the site that corresponds with your Windows operating system.

Follow the on screen instructions to download and install the latest drivers.

Method 4: Repair the Boot Camp drivers.

To repair the Boot Camp drivers, follow these steps:

Repair the Boot Camp drivers.

Start your Mac and boot into Windows.

Insert your Mac OS installation disk. If the installer window doesn’t appear automatically, click the

a. Start button, click Computer.
b. Click the drive that contains the Mac OS disk.
c. Double-click the Boot Camp folder.
d. Double-clicksetup.exe.

Follow the onscreen instructions to repair the drivers.

Reboot your Mac.

Method 5: Reinstall your sound drivers.

To reinstall your sound drivers, follow these steps:

Boot your Mac into Windows.

Open Device Manager.

a. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
b. If you don’t see a System icon, click Switch toClassic View in the left hand pane of the window.
c. Double-click the System icon.
d. Click the Hardware tab.
e. Click the Device Manager button.

ForWindows Vista or Windows 7.

a. Click the Start button.
b. Type device manager In the Search box and then click Device Manager.

Double-click Sound, video and game controllers.

Double-click the audio device.

Click the Driver tab.

Click the Uninstall button.

If prompted, restart Windows.

Insert your Mac OS installation disk.

If the installer window doesn’t appear automatically, click the Start button, then click Computer.

Click the drive that contains the Mac OS.

Double-click the Boot Camp folder.

Follow the onscreen instructions to install the drivers.

Reboot your Mac.

Method 6: Reinstall Boot Camp.

To uninstall and then reinstall Boot Camp Services follow these steps.

Step 1:

Click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then click Uninstall a program.

Click Boot Camp Services, and then click Uninstall.

For Windows Vista:

Click the Start button, click Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Programs and Features.

Click Boot Camp Services, and then click Uninstall.

Click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.

Click Boot Camp Services, and then click Uninstall.

Step 2:

If prompted, reboot Windows.

Insert your Mac OS installation disk.

Click the Start button, and then click Computer.

Click the drive that contains the Mac OS disk.

Double-click the Boot Camp folder.

Restart your Mac.

More Information

For additional help, ask questions or read other posts on Answers.

Question: Q: No Audio Boot Camp Windows 8

I’ve Installed Windows 8 using Bootcamp, and installed all the drivers on the boot camp folder, but I have no sound.

I wiped the partition, reinstalled and still no sound.

I have also gone on the realtek website, downloaded drivers, still no sound.

Under Device Manager, there is a yellow warning for the Realtek Driver and the High Definition Audio Driver.

It says»The device cannot start.(code 10)

The request is not supported»

I have been trying to fix this for three days now. In that time I have uninstalled, reinstalled, updated dozens of times, and been googling all that time for solutions. I am about to pull the plug

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 7, 2013 11:46 AM

Helpful answers

Found one solution that works after working through a bunch that didn’t.

The audio drivers that come with the latest boot camp don’t work to produce sound even though Windows is reporting that the device High Definition Audio is working.

The task is to update the device driver using the driver from Cirrus Logic which can be found at

First unzip the drivers to a file folder of your choice that you will need to remember as you will need to point to it later, e.g. c:\users\yourname\Cirrus_Logic

Next find the audio device in device manager. Can use Search Settings «device», select «update device drivers» or «device manager» and find «Sound, Video, and Game Controllers». Under this item, you should see a High Definition Audio device that is working properly., Right Click on it and select «Update Driver Software», then «Browse My Computer for driver software», then navigate to or paste the folder path into the location window. Click Next, and it will start looking for drivers in that folder/path.

It should find the drivers and complete the installation and when it is done your sound device should now be named «Cirrus Logic». Be patient at this step, it can take a few minutes.

Must reboot computer at this point and then sound through speakers or audio jack should be working!

Question: Q: Audio not working on Windows 10 installed on external SSD running on iMac

I installed Windows 10 (April 18 update) on external SSD drive that can be selected on the iMac’s startup. Run the Boot Camp Windows Support Software and everything is fine, Apple mouse & keyboard, except audio is missing. Windows 10 Device Manager app does not show any problems with the drivers such as yellow triangles or red crosses. In fact, when a video is played the green volumen bars in the audio device driver properties move but there is no sound at all.

• iMac is the latest 2019 model.
• Windows 10 is up to date according to Windows update app (had to use April 18 update as start version since the installation does not work with October 18 version).
• Drivers are update to date according to Windows.
• Installed Windows 10 on external SDD following these instructions: https://blog.macsales.com/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive, https://medium.com/@svenkirsime/install-windows-on-the-external-ssd-hdd-for-your-mac-5d29eefe5d1, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=910Y1hLreRc&t=117s.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Apr 19, 2019 1:38 AM

I had the same problem as you with a 2019 27” iMac with Windows 10 (1809) on external SSD with no sound to speakers or headphones. After a lot of Google searches I started to suspect a problem with the High Definition Audio Device (not the AMD one, if you have one) in the Device Manager (Sound, video and game controllers) due to it using a standard Microsoft driver. One search result mentioned replacing the driver with the one in the Cirrus folder from the BootCamp drivers (WindowsSupport/$WinPEDrivers$). After confirming the driver in the Cirrus folder is a High Definition Audio driver, I did an update of the driver in Device Manager and pointed it at the Cirrus folder for the location. I got confirmation that the install was successful and the sound started working (no reboot).

I had assumed that running setup (more than once in my case) in the WindowsSupport folder would install all the drivers necessary, but clearly I was wrong.

Question: Q: No audio in windows 10

Ok here is a good one.

I am building some MacBooks with windows only for a few friends.

I am doing A1278 versions.

I am maxing out the Ram and installing an SSD in as well for them.

So i used the factory HD to make sure windows 10 would install correctly and work correctly. This was on a A1278 with 2.4 core 2 duo. Nvidia chipset graphics. I installed boot camp and everything works correctly. So i pulled out that HD and swapped in an SSD and installed windows with bootcamp and done all good.

I got a 2nd A1278 with 2.3 i5 processor intel chipset graphics. I put that same test HD in with windows 10 on it and it installed everything correctly and everything worked with that mac’s version of bootcamp. The sound works correctly.

So I installed an SSD and installed windows 10 on it. And I cannot figure out how to get the audio to work at all. I keep getting fault code 10. I have tried everything i know and I can’t get it to work at all. And i know its not a hardware issue. I can’t figure out how to get the right drivers on there for it to install correctly.

What can i do to fix this issue.

Posted on Apr 2, 2017 7:27 PM

All replies

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So I installed an SSD and installed windows 10 on it. And I cannot figure out how to get the audio to work at all. I keep getting fault code 10. I have tried everything i know and I can’t get it to work at all. And i know its not a hardware issue. I can’t figure out how to get the right drivers on there for it to install correctly.

Did you check the Device Manager for any unknown devices? Did you install the SSD on the Intel GPU Mac or the nVidia GPU Mac? Did you install Windows on the SSD from scratch using BC Assistant?

Apr 2, 2017 7:57 PM

I used a factory drive the non ssd and installed windows 10 without boot camp. Just installed windows 10 straight with booting off the disc. And fresh install on the Nvidia chipset laptop. Then ran all windows updates and installed the boot camp installed and everything worked correctly.

Then I took that same drive and put it into the intel chipset and then installed the boot camp for that laptop version and everything works correctly.

The platter hard drive is for testing only.

Then I put a fresh SSD into the intel laptop and installed windows 10 like I did the other hd and updated to latest updates and then installed boot camp and everything by sounds works. I tried to update chipset to latest version.

If I’m correct it needs to install the high depth audio controller before it installed the speakers and mic and stuff like that and I can’t get it to install correctly.

Apr 3, 2017 7:02 AM

On the Mac where Audio does not work, can you run msinfo32 and check the BIOS Mode value?

Apr 3, 2017 7:14 AM

It’s not a bios issue. It’s a driver problem. It works fine with one hard drive and not the other so it’s deff a software issue.

Apr 3, 2017 7:59 AM

If you install W10 using UEFI, Audio on the A1278 will not work. This is why we need to check what is the mode of the installation. Bypassing BC Assistant usually creates a problem because the installation type is chosen incorrectly. If there is no hardware exposed, drivers do not work.

Apr 3, 2017 8:36 AM

What do you mean UFEI? Well I installed windows 10 the same way on each hard drive. The only difference was that it was in thr Nvidia chipset first before it went into the intel chipset laptop. But both were installed the same identical way as far as the OS is concerned.

I don’t think BC matters because it works on that one hard drive. I don’t want OSX on it at all. I ran the BC installer once I had windows up and going.

What do you think about installing windows 8.1 then if the driver works then upgrade to windows 10.

Apr 3, 2017 9:20 AM

What do you mean UFEI? Well I installed windows 10 the same way on each hard drive. The only difference was that it was in thr Nvidia chipset first before it went into the intel chipset laptop. But both were installed the same identical way as far as the OS is concerned.

There are two types of Windows installations. EFI and BIOS. EFI does not work correctly on Macs older than late 2013 models. Macs prior to late 2013 require BIOS otherwise Audio does not work. This is achieved by creating a Hybrid MBR using BC Assistant. If you do not use BCA, it is a guessing game on which type is installed. This is why msinfo32 will show you what type of the installation it is.

There are differences in Audio when installed on a nVidia (discrete GPU) Mac vs a Intel-only Mac (integrated GPU). W10 has no Apple-certified drivers on Macs older than 2012 Macs. Generic drivers must see hardware correctly to work. If you are moving hard disks around between these two models, you are creating issues for yourself.

I don’t think BC matters because it works on that one hard drive. I don’t want OSX on it at all. I ran the BC installer once I had windows up and going.

The BC Driver installer is unrelated to BC Assistant . BC Assistant downloads the correct BC drivers based on Mac Model identifiers. If you do not use BCA, you must create the appropriate disk partitions and MBRs as necessary, before you install Windows.

What do you think about installing windows 8.1 then if the driver works then upgrade to windows 10.

If W8.1 is supported on your model and you have the correct disk partitioning structures, then you can start with W8.1 otherwise you will need W7 (or WXP) and upgrade it to W10.

See the following links for supported versions of Windows on Mac hardware.

Here is an example of a W10 installation on a 2012 Intel-only MBP.

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *512.1 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_HFS OSY-MBP13 380.3 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 131.0 GB disk0s4

sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 62260/255/63 [1000215216 sectors]

#: id cyl hd sec — cyl hd sec [ start — size]

1: EE 0 0 2 — 25 127 14 [ 1 — 409639]

2: AF 25 127 15 — 1023 250 4 [ 409640 — 742676624] HFS+

3: AB 1023 250 5 — 1023 1 27 [ 743086264 — 1269536] Darwin Boot

*4: 07 1023 2 5 — 1023 121 5 [ 744355840 — 255858688] HPFS/QNX/AUX

Notice the Cirrus Audio devices and the BIOS Mode shown in the following image. Audio works.