How to fix "there no active mixer devices available" error message in Windows

Posted on October 11, 2007 at 4:42 pm

I recently worked on a client’s computer that was giving them the error “no active mixer devices available” whenever they clicked on the volume icon in their task bar. This problem came up out of nowhere and it was almost of if the computer never had sound before! In the Sound and Audio Devices applet in Control Panel, everything was grayed out and there was a message saying “No audio device” under the Volume tab.

greyed out

Upon checking under the Hardware section via the System Properties, we found a couple of yellow exclamation points next to Multimedia Audio Controller. Now this issue would have been easy to fix if the computer had a separate sound card installed and would have simply involved downloading and re-installing the latest drive for the card. Sometimes the driver becomes corrupt and the sound disappears. In this case, just go to Dell, HP, or your manufacture’s web site and download the audio drivers.

However, if your sound card is integrated into your motherboard, you’ll have to re-install the motherboard sound drivers. This is a little trickier because you need to first find the make and model of your motherboard. You can figure out the model of your motherboard in three ways:

1. Open the computer and find the sticker or embedded name of the manufacturer. Be sure it’s not the maker of the chipset, as that will not help.

2. Everest software – a free app that will help you identify your motherboard.

3. Belarc Advisor – Another nifty little app that will give you a crap load of information about your computer including the motherboard.

Once you have the model information, you’ll need to perform a search for the number or try to go to the web site of the maker. Find your driver, install it and restart the computer. You should now have your sound back!

Any questions, post a comment!

[tags]no active mixer devices available, sound gone, no sound, no audio device, i have no sound[/tags]

» Filed Under Computer Tips

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87 Responses to “How to fix "there no active mixer devices available" error message in Windows”

  1. khan said on :

    sir there is same problem in my system showing that there is no active mixer device,what should i doo, pls reply me soon.
    thank you.


  2. Khalid said on :

    When i start media file. no mixer device is fornd is shown
    How do i install active mixer device
    Help me


  3. malditha said on :

    i have the same problem like khan..pls…help me my cpu

    spec=intel(R) celeron(R) D CPU 3.06GHz


  4. zeny said on :

    i have the same problem like khan.plzzzzz help me im in the tension


  5. karuna said on :

    i had a problem of active mixer device is not available. please send a correction report


  6. bhushan said on :

    i have the same problem and i have tried your solution but its not working please help me.
    thanks.


  7. yadanar said on :

    pls help me~ i have the same problem…


  8. Veronica said on :

    Bless you, bless you, bless you!!!! This fixed the exact same problem I was having as stated above. Thank you so much!


  9. vakil said on :

    sir there is same problem in my system showing that there is no active mixer device,what should i doo, pls reply me soon.
    thank you.


  10. sas said on :

    there is same problem in my system showing that there is no active mixer device,what should i do, pls reply soon.
    thank you


  11. munesh said on :

    i am also having the same problem as khans having
    could you please help me


  12. jepoy said on :

    how to fix a no playback devices / no audio..pls help me


  13. Priya said on :

    I found another solution that seems to work for my computer. I had this message popup, but then I opened wimamp and my sound worked just fine. weird. so I did what this guy suggested, and it seemed to fix the problem. sweets!

    “Hi. I had the same problem and found the answer elsewhere. What you have to do is start the Windows Audio Service. For some reason it gets stopped. Here’s what the post said:

    Go to Start –> Run, and type in services.msc.

    A window will pop up with a list of services. Scroll down to Windows Audio. Right-click
    and click on Properties.

    Make sure that “Startup type” is set to automatic. Also, make sure, under “Service
    status,” start is selected.

    Hope this helps! Good luck.”


  14. Kaiser said on :

    thank u soo much priya this is indeed the easiest and best way to correct “There are no active mixers available” ERROR. I know it say to make sure and install the sound driver, but sometimes the driver has been installed and you still get the “NO ACTIVE MIXERS” ERROR MESSAGE. To save Time and a whole lot of stress just follow PRIYA’S instructions and i swear That u’re Problem will vanish. THANX PRIYA for u’re help Once Again.


  15. phyllis said on :

    I have the same issue, no mixer available,however everything seem to be set right. except under sound device in-system information i see-status error, can you help?


  16. lykita said on :

    i have the same problem with my computer at work. i found all the information on my computer at the website you suggested. not sure what to do next…….please help …..
    thank you


  17. Destiney said on :

    thank you


  18. minakshi said on :

    hey priya
    thank you soo much…
    i got the solution from you..


  19. juju said on :

    i try everything here, but nothing is working so if yall can help me out that will be cool.


  20. Kurush said on :

    Hi. I had the same problem and found the answer elsewhere. What you have to do is start the Windows Audio Service. For some reason it gets stopped. Here’s what the post said:

    Go to Start –> Run, and type in services.msc.

    A window will pop up with a list of services. Scroll down to Windows Audio. Right-click
    and click on Properties.

    Make sure that “Startup type” is set to automatic. Also, make sure, under “Service
    status,” start is selected.

    Hope this helps! Good luck.


  21. Kaiser said on :

    does anyone know why everytime i install nero 8 i cant use the nero vision. Everytime i try to burn my disc it asks me to register with nero.com or buy the full version. I’ve tried several different nero 8 and same thing everytime. Anytime i use nero vision and am getting ready to burn onto dvd a box pops up asking me to download the full version from nero.com
    I’ve used it in the passed and had no problems like this. I even installed it on my friends computer and it worked fine. only on my laptop and im using windows xp sp2. any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.


  22. Kaiser said on :

    for all u guys that are having problems with “No Mixer devices” try following these steps.

    How To Fix: “THERE ARE NO ACTIVE MIXERS” Error

    Sometimes after installing your sound driver with the updated version (If offered by the manufacturer) you still find that Error “There Are No Active Mixers”. In other words you don’t have sound when u try to play a music cd. or mp3 file or a movie etc. You then proceed by checking the Device manager to see if there are any devices installed under SOUND,VIDEO AND GAME CONTROLLERS Tab or for othes the “Multimedia Audio Controller” Tab and they are! This is where most people get confused, fustrated and just don’t know what to do anymore, in other words you just GIVE-UP. Well I have a quick and easy way to fix the problem instead of gooogling the problem and going through hundred of fake, time wasting, stress creating sites. I promise that if u follow these steps u will be okay. REMEMBER Use These Step Only after u have installed the Proper Sound Driver and your still not getting any sound other than that annoying BEEP when try to listen to something and the ERROR “There Are No Active Mixers” APPEARS.

    STEP #1:
    Go to Start –> Run, and type in services.msc.
    A Window will pop up with a list of services.
    STEP #2:

    Scroll down to “Windows Audio” Click Once and then Right-Click when the Pull Down Menu appears Click on PROPERTIES (at the bottom)

    STEP #3:
    Another window will pop up Under The GENERAL TAB Make sure that “Startup Type” (Half Way down the Page) is set to Automatic.(Another Pulldown Menu, you choose Automatic)

    Step #4:
    Right underneath the “Startup Type” there is “Service Status,”
    and it has 4 buttons bellow it. Only 1 should be black and that is the START Button CLick ON IT. Now It Should Read Service Status: Started

    Congratulations you know have sound test out a music cd. or music file and you will not be dissapointed I Promise.
    Special Thanx to Priya who helped me help all of you fix your Audio Mixer Problem!!!

    Moe Sobh
    London, ON.


  23. Qsbaby said on :

    I have had that problem 4 long time and i have try everything everyone has sad and I still have the problem “No audio device,No mixer device” i know it has been along time,and yall are not there but can someone help me?


  24. Piggy said on :

    thx by the way this really worked


  25. Piggy said on :

    hey you guys go to start -> run -> type services.msc -> scroll down to see windows audio select start on it by right clicking it


  26. Shailendra Kumar said on :

    Hi,

    I tried above mentioned priya’s solution but it didnt help me as i selected automatic, but in service status all the four options are in grey status, i am still getting no mixer device availabe pls help me sort this problem out


  27. Patty said on :

    I know this was posted a while back but it still helped me! Thank you very much.


  28. Devendra said on :

    Hi Priya,,

    Thanks a ton .. that solved my problem as well. .!!!
    I didnt know that there is a service for controlling audio .. !!!

    Thanks
    Devendra phadnis


  29. pratap said on :

    thanks very much priyaaa

    I solved the “no active mixer devices available” issue in no time!


  30. sultan said on :

    sir there is same problem in my system showing that there is no active mixer device,what should i doo, pls reply me soon.
    thank you.


  31. Mitch said on :

    I have read your instructions, but it still does not fix my problem. When I go to the audio properties and look at the status it says it is ‘started’. The 4 buttons below are all grayed out as well. What is the problem?


  32. Einas said on :

    I had the same problem, some applications like messenger for example used to play sounds and alerts normally .. then stopped…and i had the same error msg “no mixer devices available …”

    I started the “windows audio”service and Voila ! it’s up and running again :D

    Here’s how to do it :
    go to start , run , type : services.msc
    check the list for the “windows audio ” service , right click > properties > start type : automatic
    and again : right click > start

    hope it works for u :)


  33. Amrish Puri said on :

    Hey kids here is the solution.

    Here’s how to do it :
    go to start , run , type : services.msc
    check the list for the “windows audio ” service , right click > properties > start type : automatic
    and again : right click > start


  34. smiffyb2k9 said on :

    thank you soo much dude you’ve helped a lot (with the windows audio service is how i fixed my problem) cheers man you’ve saved a lot of time :)


  35. Julia said on :

    Thank you sooooooo much, like everyone else i had tried everything but looking up on Google “mixer devices”. Thank God I got that idea and thank you very much :)


  36. Nee said on :

    Hey guys,

    I had the same problem on my computer and none of these solutions helped. Turns out that I may have deleted my audio driver when I was cleaning up my computer. Even if you didn’t, I’d recommend trying the following. Go to the website of your computer (HP, Dell, Gateway, etc) and go to the downloadable drivers. Download the appropriate audio driver for your computer (you’ll probably have to put the serial number to find the right one). Once you’ve downloaded, installed, and then restarted your computer, the sound should work again.

    Good luck!!


  37. Soumik said on :

    Thanks a lot Priya!!! Couldn’t figure out what was wrong. That solution was so easy and my sound is back now!


  38. Bamboo blue said on :

    Hi thanks for the services tip on this prob..started the sound up nicely..i’ve been pondering over the no mixer error for about 3 days now (intermediate user) never seen this prob before, thought it might have been caused by malicious software as i gained some at about the same time that corrupted a couple of files, uninstalling and replacing audio drivers did not fix the issue. still not sure what is causing the device to stop ( around 5-10 mins after win start up) but at least have sound again yay thanks


  39. jewels said on :

    i tried pressing start and my start button doesnt have the option to click run so i cant get further than the start button! im going crazy please help me!!


  40. NEERAJ said on :

    whenever I try to start the audio service, a message stating “could not start the window audio service on local computer. error 109: the pipe has been ended” is shown! I m still having the same problem, help me.


  41. Basant said on :

    In some cases like mine, the Window Audio service is already in automatic start mode, but still it gives the “there no active mixer devices available” error. What I did to sort-out this is from System -> Hardware -> Device Manager, against the audio related devices with yellow “?”, updated the driver from right-click. This installed the driver from microsoft website and fixed the issue. Otherwise, I think you can also try the window driver recovery cd though I have not tried that.


  42. Jay Ponce said on :

    I have the same problem but what I’ve noticed is that when I reboot my computer the sound goes back and my machine plays audio well and after quite sometime it goes back to its problematic state once again. I am currently using DeepFreeze software to set my machine to go back to its original state after i reboot. Is this problem associated with any form of virus like a trojan or a malware?


  43. Roflkid said on :

    Even when i do this, i still got the same “no active mixer devices” problem!


  44. Ashu said on :

    Thank you so much for posting it works for me great :)

    Priya said on : September 27th, 2008 at 2:15 am

    I found another solution that seems to work for my computer. I had this message popup, but then I opened wimamp and my sound worked just fine. weird. so I did what this guy suggested, and it seemed to fix the problem. sweets!

    “Hi. I had the same problem and found the answer elsewhere. What you have to do is start the Windows Audio Service. For some reason it gets stopped. Here’s what the post said:

    Go to Start –> Run, and type in services.msc.

    A window will pop up with a list of services…..”


  45. danny said on :

    Hey can anyone help me with “no active mixer devices” please?? I tried 2 go 2 run, then type in services.msc, then scroll down to windows audio, then click right click then propeties, then click on automatic, then start and then clicked ok and now i still got the problem :

    im dying here without any sound :(

    plsss get back ASAP, cheers


  46. sydney peter said on :

    the post from PRIYA worked…no more active mixer problem! thanx


  47. masai said on :

    guys, is there any website where i can download all hp laptop drivers for free? all drivers?


  48. MARY said on :

    Dude you making this hard. I have a Dell, and i have this problem from time to time. All that i require to do is turn off the computer and turn it back on. And the audio is back.


  49. MARY said on :

    This is a fast solution you all should try before intalling or re-inistalling anything.

    Instructions to turn on the driver:
    pchell.com/support/no_active_mixer_devices_available.shtml

    Good luck!


  50. armor said on :

    I found another solution that seems to work for my computer. I had this message popup, but then I opened wimamp and my sound worked just fine. weird. so I did what this guy suggested, and it seemed to fix the problem. sweets!

    “Hi. I had the same problem and found the answer elsewhere. What you have to do is start the Windows Audio Service. For some reason it gets stopped. Here’s what the post said:

    Go to Start –> Run, and type in services.msc.

    A window will pop up with a list of services. Scroll down to Windows Audio. Right-click
    and click on Properties.

    Make sure that “Startup type” is set to automatic. Also, make sure, under “Service
    status,” start is selected.

    Hope this helps! Good luck.”

    THANK YOU SO MUCH MAN, I’LL KEEP THIS ALIVE


  51. Kayla said on :

    I restored my computer and now I have no sound. I click on the sound and it says “no active mixer devices”. I tried going to “run” and trying it the way others were told from the above comments and it didnt work for me. What should I do??? Thank you!


  52. Manu Sharma said on :

    Thank you so much PRIYA…. Had similar issue and got it solved in seconds… Thanks again..


  53. stryder said on :

    Priya- thanks… helped me fix the no active mixer devices problem!


  54. sharia said on :

    thanks Priya . Your tips helped fix my “no active mixer devices” problem. May god bless u!


  55. Jaiko said on :

    Here’s a little advice. I tried this a long time ago and the best solution for me was to start from scratch. Make sure you backup all your files and then perform a reformat!


  56. Heinrich said on :

    thanks a lot bro! I’m been getting “no active mixer devices available” error for a long time! this helped a lot =)


  57. Jonathan Priest said on :

    Hi,

    The services.msc solution doesn’t work – it’s already on the settings everyone tells me they should be on.

    Any other recommendations?


  58. yana said on :

    I would like to thank you for the good advice , my problem is solved , thx a lot! I followed the steps and found audio drivers and installed them. It’s nice that there are good people on line , ready for help …no more “active mixer devices” problem!

    Thank you ! :)


  59. Matt S said on :

    Having same error. Tried services.msc – everything was enabled. I get the windows sounds, but when I click on the volume, I still get the “there are no active mixer devices” … I also tried to look up the motherboard for integrated audio drivers (quanta) but cant find any. What works? Please help.


  60. Sam said on :

    The services.msc solution does not fix my sound problem


  61. Arturo Belmont said on :

    Ok so i did what you guys told me to do, but when i check to see if the voume icon is on the task bar, but its not there. Can sum one please help me? I followed the instructions step by step and still doesnt works =(


  62. kumar said on :

    Thanks, this fixed my no active mixer devices available error!


  63. benatton said on :

    When I open a media file, I get a message that no active mixed devices are installed. How do I install an active mixer device? Help me


  64. Ashiq said on :

    Hey guys I applied all solutions and it too me a few hours, but then I got the same “no Active Mixer devices available” error. I want to solve this problem permanently. Anybody has any idea? I use Compaq EVO D310 Desktop P.


  65. Raghav said on :

    Hey priya, I already tried the tip you mentioned but that did help me… I’m still getting the no active mixer devices available error. any other suggestions plzzz


  66. Yvette said on :

    I did everything it told me to do but when I go to windows audio service, it says– service status: started. So it has already started and still doesnt work…what can i do?


  67. NARENDER SHARMA said on :

    When I open a media file, I get a message that no active mixed devices are installed. How do I install an active mixer device? Help me

    Narender Sharma


  68. Lesa ODaniel said on :

    Thank you soooo much. I tried all these other things from other forums, but this was the only thing that worked – went to get the sound driver for the motherboard. Now my sound is back – can’t thank you enough.


  69. Markus said on :

    Ahhh thank you for explaining this clearly! I’ve had this stupid “no active mixed devices available” error for such a long time and none of my tech kids could figure out how to fix it. You did! Thanks.


  70. jayz chan said on :

    i happened to remove my audio device in the control panel and then that problem “no audio device” started. how can i have my sound back? anyone here can suggest me of what to do? I’m so bored using computer without a sound.


  71. Augustine Thompson said on :

    Having problems with my sound, could this be the problem?


  72. Joycee said on :

    @PRIYA – hey! THANK YOU SO MUCH ! WOOOOO! I GOT MY SOUND BACK IN WINDOWS!


  73. gwyn said on :

    thanks so much!!! this has been really helpful. God knows how many sites and forums i’ve visited just to solve my problem. Only this solution worked! nice job! all smiles!!!


  74. mcclellan969 said on :

    My computer got a serious virus that took over the whole computer, after finally getting my antivirus program to scan on boot,it cleared it but then I had no sound. I kept getting “there are no active mixer devices available”. After trying several things with no avail, I found this site, and followed the steps in post 13. It worked, and I now have sound again. THANK YOU!


  75. jamie said on :

    i did the steps like Priya said but my start and other tabs are grayed out


  76. AMAR NATH said on :

    sir, I am still getting the no active mixer error even after trying your solution. please help.


  77. morri said on :

    Hey out of nowhere I got this error message too, but I still hear sound (like the windows error message sound etc, and also skype. only thing I am not hearing anymore is internet sounds like youtube videos or flash application sounds.


  78. morri said on :

    lol I know the problem now I think, I was stopping it via task manager because it was eating too much ram lol (for some reason) and therefore i stopped it there.


  79. jowellhermina said on :

    it seems that its not working for me. i had post 13 already as a solution but its not the answer in my case. is there another solutions? thanks a lot :)


  80. alan said on :

    @priya thanks mate looked at this site after hours of frustration and followed you suggestion, problem solved in less than 2 mins. many hours spent on the net this is a new one to me and greatly appreciated. site bookmarked ill back here for sure lots of good info Thank you… gone to watch a video yay!.


  81. Seema said on :

    Hi,

    I too enountered this problem sometime back. services.msc solution was not helpful as the settings were as they should have been. Here is what worked for me.

    Right click on ‘My Computer’ -> Select ‘Manage’ -> Go to ‘Device Manager’ -> ‘System Devices’ -> Right Click on ‘Microsoft UAA Bus Driver for High Definition Audio’ -> Select Uninstall -> Re-Install all the drivers again.

    This should work.


  82. juang said on :

    For me, I just searched for “Free Realtek AC97 Audio Driver Download” to install new one. Found it here: brothersoft.com/realtek-ac97-audio-driver-download-65159.html. Download it and then install it.


  83. laksha said on :

    hey, iv tried everything, priya’s solution didnt work as well… still the same msg “there are no active mixers availble”.. wat do i do.. i dnt know wat my computer model is and what is my chip’s model… can any1 help me step wise and in detail plllllllllllzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… ill be very very thankful.. bcz i cant solve this problem…:(


  84. sethi said on :

    There are no active mixer devices available. To install mixer devices, Go to Control Panel and Other Hardware, and then click ADD HARDWARE.”


  85. thienlh said on :

    Thanks you verry much. Not getting this error anymore.


  86. Kathleen Wilson said on :

    Hello, I went to control panel printers and faxes, there is no printers and hardware. even when i click on add new hardware it still does nothing. i have no sound. i have no mixer device installed this is what my system say’s. i went in and restarted windows audio click apply and ok still nothing. please help me in simple terms.


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