---
title: ‘No Audio Output Device Is Installed’ — Vista Error
date: 2009-03-05
topics: Windows problems
---

So, just tonight, my laptop suddenly decided it had no sound. The speaker icon
in the tray had a red •color["red"]{X} over it and hovering over it produced a
little error message: “No Audio Output Device Is Installed”. This is of course
surprising since I’d had audio before, and no service packs or new drivers had
been installed anytime recently (they were all up to date already). A look
inside Device Manager confirmed that I did in fact have drivers installed and
they were working properly. A little searching confirmed that this issue was not
uncommon. I finally tried the first likely fix I found, buried in [this CNET
post](http://forums.cnet.com/5208-12546_102-0.html?forumID=133&threadID=246671&messageID=2481071),
and it worked. Essentially, the problem is the result of some kind of conflict
between the modem and sound card drivers. I uninstalled both drivers in the
Device Manager (do not select the option to “remove from system” or anything
like that if given the choice) and restarted the machine. After the restart,
Windows found the both devices and automatically reinstalled the drivers for
them, and everything was working perfectly. Yay!