Top 4 Fixes for Audio Services Not Responding on Windows 10

Jun. 24, 2022 / Updated by Bessie Shaw to Windows 10

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"Audio services not responding" is a common issue you may encounter when you try to resolve audio issues like the "No Audio Output Device is installed" issue by using Windows audio troubleshooter. It usually occurs after you upgrade your Windows OS to an updated version such as Windows 10 version 1803 (also known as Windows 10 April 2018 Update) or Windows 10 version 1809 (also known as Windows 10 October 2018 Update). If you are plagued by this issue, just take it easy. Here are the top 4 fixes to help you address "Audio services not responding" on Windows 10.

Fix 1. Restart the Windows Audio Service

To address the "Audio services not responding" issue on Windows 10, restarting the Windows Audio service is the quickest and easiest method. Do as follows.

Step 1. Use shortcut keys Windows + R to launch the Run dialog box.

Step 2. Type "services.msc" into the box and hit Enter to run it.

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Step 3. Scroll down to find Windows Audio in the Services window. And then right click on it and select Restart from the pop-up menu.

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Step 4. Double click on Windows Audio and check if its Startup type is set as "Automatic". If no, set it as "Automatic".

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Step 5. Go back to the Services window and locate Windows Audio Endpoint Builder. Right click on it and select Restart from the pop-up menu.

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Step 6. Also double click on it to check if its Startup type is set as "Automatic". If no, set it as "Automatic”.

Step 7. Close the window and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Fix 2. Make Sure the Windows Audio Components Are Running

If the "Audio services not responding" error still exists after you restart the Windows Audio service, you need to check if the Windows Audio components are running. Take these steps:

Step 1. Use shortcut keys Windows + R to launch the Run dialog box.

Step 2. Type "services.msc" into the box and hit Enter to run it.

Step 3. Find the following Windows Audio components in the Services window and check if they are running:

  • DCOM Server Process Launcher

  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

  • RPC Endpoint Mapper

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If any of them isn't running, right click on the not running one and select Start from the pop-up menu to start it.

Step 4. Make sure their Startup types are set as "Automatic".

Step 5. Close the window and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Fix 3. Reinstall Your Audio Driver

If the fixes above don't work, try to get rid of the "Audio services not responding" error by reinstalling your audio driver. To achieve it, you need to uninstall your audio driver first. Do like this:

Step 1. Right click the Start button and select Device Manager to launch it.

Step 2. Scroll down to locate Sound, video and game controllers and double click it to expand it.

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Step 3. Right click your audio device under Sound, video and game controllers (such as the Realtek High Definition Audio) and select Uninstall device from the pop-up menu to uninstall it.

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Step 4. Reboot your computer after uninstalling the audio driver completely. Then Windows will try to reinstall the audio driver automatically.

If Windows fails to reinstall the audio driver automatically, you'd better use a reliable driver download utility like Driver Talent to reinstall your audio driver. It will be much easier than reinstalling the driver manually. Click on the Download Now button below to get this useful utility directly. No virus.

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To reinstall audio drivers with Driver Talent, you can take the following steps.

Step 1. Launch Driver Talent and click on the Scan button to perform a full scan on your computer after uninstalling your audio driver completely.

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Step 2. After the scan, Driver Talent will detect the missing of your audio driver and recommend you to download and install it. Click on the Download button in the right of the audio driver to download it.

Step 3. Click on the Install button to install the driver once the download is completed.

Step 4. Restart your computer after reinstalling the audio driver successfully.

Fix 4. Update Your Audio Driver

In some cases, the "Audio services not responding" error occurs because of the outdated audio driver. Therefore, you can also try to resolve the issue by updating your audio driver. Follow the steps in these posts:

If you have Driver Talent installed on your computer, the update steps will be much simpler. You just need to:

1. Launch Driver Talent and click on the Scan button to perform a full scan on your computer.

2. If your audio driver is detected as updatable, click on the Update button in the right of it to update it.

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3. Reboot your computer after the update is completed.

If all the fixes above can't address the "Audio services not responding" issue on Windows 10, maybe you need to resort to a system restore. Welcome to share your solutions to the "Audio services not responding" issue in the comment section below. If you need further assistance, you can also leave comments below to let us know. More solutions to other audio issues can be accessed in the Sound Issue section on this site.

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