XPS 8940, refuses to recognize Realtek Audio Drivers/MaxxWave

Question

A few days ago my 8940 updated various drivers, including the audio driver through Windows Update. After the update, the quality went way down and it sounds like a very old tv. Looking through the drivers, my headphones and speakers no longer say Realtek, they're just generic USB AUDIO. So I rolled back to the old drivers and that bricked the machine. I had to erase everything and start over as Windows no longer booted, even to safe mode. Now today, everything's reinstalled, but the audio is still terrible and using a generic microsoft driver.

I installed the newest Realtek driver (6.0.9228) and MaxxWave (3.0.74) from the Dell website and restarted. The drivers under the device manager won't acknowledge that Realtek is installed, and MaxxWave opens, gives an error along the lines of, "update to newest version" and closes itself. I uninstalled them, restarted, and installed the previous driver (6.0.9008), and device manager still won't acknowledge that one now, either.

JF1981 · Answer

Same problem here, can't fix it

RoHe · Answer

Version of Windows?

Was any of these updates a BIOS update?

Try this:

Power off and unplug power cord from rear of PC
Disconnect all audio output devices (speakers, headphones, headset)
Press/hold power button on PC for ~30 sec
Reconnect power cord and boot
When you get to desktop, manually set a System Restore point to be safe.
Open Device Manager and click View>Show hidden on toolbar. If there are any "Unknown" devices listed anywhere in Device Manager, right-click and Uninstall
Uninstall Realtek in Device Manager too
Exit Device Manager
Without rebooting, download and install the previous Realtek driver, 6.0.9008.1, A02
Reboot and see what's listed for Output options on the Windows Sound screen. Select Realtek if offered on the dropdown list
Assuming Realtek can be selected, plug in front speakers and wait to see if Waves pops up to ask what was installed. Select the best option from its list. Then, if you have rear speakers, plug them in next and wait for Waves to ask. And if you have a subwoofer, plug that in last and wait...
Next open the Waves control panel, click Playback, move the Equalizer slider to ON, and confirm/change the settings. Then click the Dimension icon on Waves home screen and configure there too.
When you're done, save the profile on the Waves Playback screen by clicking the disc icon. Don't use any of the "pre-set" Waves profile names. Give yours a different name. And you can save multiple profiles, each with its own name. Last one used is usually the one loaded automatically at next boot.

Dan Matthews · Answer

Hi Ron!

Recently bought a Dell XPS 8940 with Windows 11 Pro. Got it all set up and noticed the sound was not working well with my headset and the mic was not working well at all. After scouring various boards, trying various things, uninstalling and reinstalling the RealTek Audio drivers, and rebooting probably a couple of dozen times, I came across your entry and I think the big difference was the unplugging of the headset. Apparently, Windows does not like it when you reinstall audio drivers whilst the audio equipment is plugged in!

This worked for me and I am currently enjoying sounds and talking on my headset on my new Dell computer. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I shall name my first grandchild after you and my people shall sing your praises until the end of time...

RoHe · Answer

@Dan Matthews  Glad I helped you, but please don't get carried away with any of those other things you said...!  🤪

XPS Desktops

XPS 8940, refuses to recognize Realtek Audio Drivers/MaxxWave

Was this post helpful?