Dell XPS 8900: Audio Service Not Running in Google Chrome / Sony Movie Studio Platinum

Hi everyone!

Firstly thank you so much for reading this thread, as this issue has been driving me mad all day.

I have a Dell XPS 8900 which has been running great aside from a HDD error about six months ago. Upon replacing the HDD I have had no problems with the desktop computer until today.

My computer was operating perfectly last night, but today I've been having an infuriating issue with audio. I would like to point out that I made no changes to my computer prior to this problem occurring; I turned on the PC this morning and it's been causing me a headache ever since.

The problem

Here's the problem: when I try to play a YouTube video in Google Chrome or attempt to load a video project in Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13.0, the speaker in the corner of my toolbar tells me that the Audio Service Is Not Running.

Clicking on the speaker brings up the Windows 10 troubleshooter which appears to fix the problem. However, loading a video on YouTube in Google Chrome or booting Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13.0 causes the Audio Service to stop running again.

Assuming that I repair the Audio Service and don't load Google Chrome or Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13.0, I can play videos and music with full sound from my HDD using the bog-standard Windows 10 Groove Music or Film & TV apps. Both work without a hitch.

What I've tried

In order to solve this I've tried:

• Resetting Windows 10 to factory settings and reinstalling both Google Chrome and Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13.0. It didn't work.
• I've tried uninstalling the Realtek High Definition Audio Driver and downloading the latest version from the Dell website. It didn't work.
• I've tried running Dell diagnostics on my soundcard, which it passed.

Please help me because I'm tearing out my hair here! I had no problems with this last night, and then I wake up this morning to find this issue without making any changes to the system settings.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance.