Windows Audio service stopping

Question

I have a user whose audio keeps cutting out on his Lenovo X1 Carbon 20A7. I've written a simple .bat file to restart the Windows Audio service, but this is only a temporary measure.

So far we have done every update known to Lenovo and Microsoft, including a BIOS update.

I've also had the motherboard replaced (which solved the issue for about 3 weeks).

This has had 6 people edit it now, either help or move on please!

Solution

I don't think I have an answer to your case. In my case, the Windows Audio Service was being stopped / stopping, by the Windows audio "Diagnose the problem" tool.

I restarted the computer, ensured Windows Audio was set to run "Automatic" and I manually ran Windows Audio service. After doing these, the Windows audio diagnostics ran clean and detected no issues.

But still, no sound!

I have a dock for my laptop. I un-docked and re-docked and then sound started working. Oops!

Just posting in case it could help someone else.

EDIT

Here I am 2 weeks later with the same problem. My services.msc (aka Windows Services Manager) shows that the "Windows Audio Service" is stuck at "Stopping" status. I couldn't "Stop" the service nor "Restart it", so I followed these instructions . I'm paraphrasing:

1. In Windows Service Manager get the name of the service (in my case, the name of Windows Audio Service is Audiosrv
2. Open a command prompt: Use sc queryex {name_of_service}; in my case it was: sc queryex Audiosrv; note the Process ID
3. Open a command prompt in admin mode, and kill: Use taskkill /f /pid {process_id}

Comments

[RJFalconer]

Not much to go on. What's the motherboard? Is the user using a dedicated sound card? Is the PC on a surge-protector? Is the PSU old/low-quality? Fluctuations in electricity supply frequency can cause sound cut-outs. Is it the sound that's cutting out or the audio service that's stopping?

[Lelantos]

@RJFalconer sorry thought I put that in there, have updated now, it's a laptop X1 Carbon 20A7

[Smeerpijp]

Did you check the eventviewer for relevant events?

[Lelantos]

yeah nothing special or audio related the occasional USB issue but not in the same time frame as the audio outages.

[RJFalconer]

Is the problem that the audio service stops, or does the sound cut out for another reason and restarting the audio-service fixes the problem? (Btw superuser and the other stack-exchange sites all operate with an emphasis on community moderation; it's common for your question to be edited for tags/tone/clarity. It's nothing personal)

[Lelantos]

@RJFalconer no issue with your edits (and i've used this site for a while just my points fluctuate due to bounties etc) but some of the edits were BS designed to just gain them some points. ANYWAY. I can't be sure as the audio can be from any source and it cuts out. All I know is the only remedy atm is to restart the audio service.

[RJFalconer]

Does the problem replicate when they are plugged in to mains supply? If not, I'd assume it's a dying battery. It could also be some 3rd party software (like custom sound mixer often provided by hardware manufactures) crashing the service; you could try uninstalling all Lenovo drivers and using just the MS ones. What is the user doing when sound cuts out? Music player, flash youtube player, gaming?

[Lelantos]

The user can be doing anything there is no consistency between actions and the sound cutting out. The laptop is also always plugged into the power. I can't see any 3rd party software that would interfere with the audio service.