sigh. Windows Audio service won't start

[j0hnd0e]

i'm using a p5b deluxe motherboard with on-board sound.

my sound was working when i installed se7en, but i had the speakers in the wrong port. fixed that.

the very next reboot, i get a red x over the speaker icon in the system tray. when you mouse over it, it tells you that "the Audio Service is not running." when you left click on it, it tries to fix the problem by starting Windows Audio service. it can't. i'm not suprised. if you right-click on the icon and choose a device to look at, the sound window comes up from the control panel. under both playback and recording, there are no devices shown. instead it says "No audio devices are installed".

now, i think this is the biggest clue: when you go into services, Windows Audio's status is blank, and, strangely, the Startup Type is set to Automatic. all three other dependant services are turned on ( Windows Audio Endpoint Builder, Plug and Play, and, i'm pretty sure, RPC Endpoint Mapper ).

k, when you right-click the Windows Audio service, it starts to, breifly, turn on but quickly shows an error message saying,
"Windows could not start the Windows Audio service on Local Computer.
Error 1079: The account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process."

the same up-to-date drivers are running as before.

i've tried several times to reboot, uninstall and reboot, roll back and reboot, and update and reboot concerning the drivers for the sound device.

i have even unplugged the speakers and turned off soundMAX's help program.

i'm lost.

please and thanks.

 

[torrentg]

I hate to say it, over the years though, I have read about people plugging into the wrong jack and frying the onboard audio in poorly designed mobos. I'm not suggesting that this is what happened here, but it is one of the many possibilities.

Do you have access to any other kind of sound card? PCI, USB, Firewire etc...

Try to install and use that as a test.

Otherwise, how does the device manager look? Is it alright in there?

 

[j0hnd0e]

the device manager is good. everything SHOULD be working as far as that's concerned. i don't have another sound card, but i guess i could figure something out. the card worked after i switched it to the correct plug, so wouldn't it have just not worked then? plus, i'm sure it has to do with windows audio not starting.

thanks for the reply.

 

[Karan]

Hi,

I had a somewhat similar problem. But I fixed it by enabling Onboard Audio through BIOS. Have you tried that?

 

[chev65]

There is a Windows 7 specific Realtek driver for your Asus p5b delux motherboard here.

SoundMAX Audio Driver v6.10.x.6585 for Windows 7 32/64bit released July 31, 2009 WHQL
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/audio/SoundMAXAD1988B_Audio_V610X6585_Win7.zip

There are many more Windows 7 specific drivers for your board here.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Latest BIOS, Drivers and Utilities for P5B Deluxe [/WiFi-AP] Updated September 24, 2009

 

[Duesco]

Oh wow, this JUST happened to me moments ago, except on my Xonar D1.

Let's see if I can fix it. XD

 

[j0hnd0e]

those are the drivers i have installed. those are the same drivers that worked just fine before they just desided to die on me, BUT they seem to be working perfectly as per the device manager. haven't tried the bios deal yet, karan. i'll try that, but i figure that they are on because they seemed to have been turned on before, and i don't know why they would be turned off now...

 

[torrentg]

Don't bother with the BIOS. If it's in the device manager working or not, it means that it's definitely enabled in BIOS already.

 

[j0hnd0e]

ya. ty. didn't think that was the problem.

 

[Duesco]

I did fix it.

By restarting.

I have no idea why that worked.

 

[j0hnd0e]

fixed it. strange solution.

k, Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > right-click Windows Audio > Properties > Log On tab > now...

"Windows could not start the Windows Audio service on Local Computer.
Error 1079: The account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process."

that was the error i was getting.

the difference between my install and my buddy's was the radio button on the Log On tab. mine was set to "Local System account" with no check on the "Allow service to interact with desktop" checkbox. his was set to the opposite radio button corresponding to "This account:". mine was greyed out.

i changed my radio button to "This account:", added "Local Service" to the corresponding field, and cleared out the passwords.

click "Apply" and there ya go... fixed

we are both dumbfounded why this would have been switch during a reboot, but that's all we can think of; a bug in se7en.

thanks, and you're welcome.

 

[sjdesilets]

I get that false error audio service cannot start no audio devices installed.
There are several audio devices in devvice manage. However in safe mode when i click on properties of any, Instead of the status, there is message ...
Status is not available for this device when Windows is running in Safe Mode.

Any suggestions?
If status is not available, does that mean windows does not detect it?

 

[boohbah]

i occasionally see it on my desktop, i click the speaker icon and slide the vol up or down and the red X goes away, the sound works fine, this has been around as a bit of a glitch for ages now ,

 

[e2cico]

Problem with my computer was that somehow the multimedia class scheduler got disabled. It also prevented me from playing some video. I had to go into Services and scroll down to "Multimedia Class Scheduler" and set it to Automatic, and then click on Start. Though I don't speak Tagalog or Indonesian or whatever the heck it was, I saw the picture on this page: Windows could not start the Windows Audio Service on Local Computer | Hacking and Computer Security Resources | SPYROZONE.NET which got me to try it.