Internal speakers not showing in playback devices even after installing audio driver(Windows 8.1)

Try using Windows System Restore (type system restore into the search box) and pick a date from before the problem began.

Thanks Jim,

i think, my warranty was over for laptop. Still i will try restoring it other check point. Btw, what the issue, it might be?

I don't know what the problem is. Another person had a similar problem yesterday and using System Restore fixed it. It might have been caused by a Microsoft update but I have no way of knowing. I also cannot know if the problem you are having is the same one the other person had -- just that the symptoms are similar.

Please clarify the name of your model. Is it an XPS 14 L421X?

Check Windows Audio Service.(type services.msc in the box.) Scroll down to Windows Audio Service in the list and make sure it is running and set to automatic.

it didnt work,as I don't have any restore point, with old dates to restore.   

yes, its XPS 14 L421X? and Windows audio is running as Automatic too.

Look in your Device Manager (type devmgmt.msc in the search box) and see if you have "Sound, Video and game controllers"  like in the screen shot below.

If so, look for either "Realtek High Definition Audio"  or "High Definition Audio Device".

If you have "Realtek High Definition Audio", right click on it and select to uninstall. Put a check mark in the option to delete the files, and then ok. When you reboot, Windows will either install its own native driver or another Realtek driver if there were any other versions on the hard drive. So go back to the Device Manager and check for a Realtek driver. Keep uninstalling & rebooting until Realtek no longer appears under Sound Controllers and "High Definition Audio Device" appears in its place. Then test your audio again.

Jim,

I am able to see only High Definition Audio device only, not any relatek in Device Manager. So i think, i am good in that.

Between, in the settings, it says, No Speaker or Headphones are plugged in.

May be some issues with speakers?

     Hi ViJay,

     Can you provided any more details about the sound problem that diagnostics revealed as "sound card failure?"

      It is such a rare instance that a sound module goes belly up without any signs, symptoms, or indications before hand that it may not actually be the sound hardware. If your machine is out of warranty (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, ASUS, etc etc) the system vendor usually wants to provide a fast answer that will ensure your out of warranty machine will be fixed when you pay for it to be repaired. In this case a new mainboard might not even solve the problem but the Tech Support guy on phone is not a technician. What he knows is that if you pay $330 dollars for a new motherboard it will cover the part and the steps necessary to get it working properly. See my point? Such is the case with ALL Mfg and ALL out of warranty equipment. This isn't specific to Dell and doesn't have anything to do with it's publicly traded shares...which coincidentally are no longer publicly traded. Here's some cool information about that.

     Can you take a couple minutes to describe in further detail 

-when it happened (after an update, after a reboot, etc)

-any strange playback problems like distortion or cutout before failure

-any physical damage to the machine like liquid spillage, dropping, ...is the case body in normal condition 

     All of these things will be helpful in getting the hard factual information needed to make an accurate assesment of the problem.

Tim,

I spoke to Dell Support and did diagnosis on my laptop and found it out, it was sound card failure. As it is integrated with mother board, they want to replace entire mother  board and it cost $330 :(

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Even though Dell will not provide warranty service for a system if VLC player is installed

That is not correct. Tech Support has been denying service to speakers if VLC Player is installed.

In this case the issue is not that the speakers have failed.

Thanks for pointing that out. POST EDITED. Not that it matters anyway...The OP states his SYSTEM is out of warranty.

The reason I did not have you do the audio tests is because there is only one diagnostic tool that can distinguish between failed hardware and failed software. That test is called Dell 32-bit Diagnostics. A couple of years ago Dell stopped including Dell 32-bit Diagnostics in the laptops, and I believed that your model is one of the ones without it. If tech support used some other diagnostic tool to test your computer then their conclusion is not valid (doesn't mean it is wrong though).

If you want to see if you have Dell 32-bit Diagnostics (the name refers to the fact that the diagnostics reside in a separate 32 bit partition on the hard drive -- separate from the 64 bit operating system), then do this.

1. Restart the computer and tap the f12 key as soon as it starts to boot up.

2. Select 'Diagnostic' from the boot menu. The computer will run its pre-boot assessment tests (PSA or ePSA) before Dell Diagnostics starts. During the PSA you will hear some tones through the system speaker but this does not test the other audio hardware. Dell Diagnostics plays an instrumental piece of music complete with drums, so if you only hear some scale tones then you have only run the PSA.

3. Dell Diagnostics should open after the PSA tests, or you should see an option to open it. If you have ever reformatted your entire hard drive then Dell Diagnostics will no longer be there as an option. In that case run it from the Drivers and Utilities (Resource) CD if you have one.

4. Select 'Custom', then the audio tests. (At this point - after you have opened Dell Diagnostic custom - if you can't find the option to select the audio tests that is a symptom of a failed audio chip.)

5. The tests will run. Alternate between using headphones and listening to speakers in case only one signal path is working.
The tests will play some audio and ask you whether you heard it.

6. If you don't hear the music during the test it definitely means there is a hardware failure somewhere in the system. In this case Dell will repair the computer if it is still under warranty.

7.If you do hear the audio during the test but not when you boot back into Windows, that almost always means the hardware is okay but there is a problem with the audio driver or with Windows.

8. Error codes: If you answer 'no' to any question that the test asks you, the test generates an error code that can tell a Dell technician that you answered 'no' to that question.

Dell has other diagnostics now that can test the audio, but they all operate through Windows and the drivers, so if those are faulty the tests can fail even if the hardware is okay. The Dell32-bit Diagnostics is the only one that operates separately from Windows and its drivers.

If you do not have Dell 32-bit Diagnostics then the only other way you can determine for sure if the hardware has failed is to return the laptop back to the factory default settings using Factory Image Restore. If the audio does not work immediately after doing that, then it is definitely because of failed hardware.

In your case you might have wiped the restoration partition when you installed 8.1, but you can use the recovery media you would have made when you first got the laptop and set up Windows.

Jim,

I didnt find any dell 32bit Diagnostics tool, when i did F12. And when i went F12 during Boot, it took me to a diagnostics screen, where it started all diagnostics and i didnt see any option for Audio diagnostics.

So i wonder only option left out is to reset to the factory setting. and check for the same.