J
Jeff Falkenham
This workaround is in response to this locked thread from 2015 (and the many many many MANY threads like it since then): Windows 10 Volume Problem (Volume Randomly Changes)
There are potential solutions in that thread, but there isn't a consistent 100% fix: some of those solutions work for some people, but for other people NONE of them work.
This workaround will also solve the audio "popping/crackling" issue that happens if you leave audio power management enabled (but you should really just disable it: go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64\PowerMgnt and set "Enabled" to 0)
So, what is the workaround? Well. The issue (at least for me) only happens when you have no sound playing, and then start playing sound. If you have music or another video or etc playing when you open a new video or a new app, the volume will NOT change. So the solution is to just run silence in the background permanently while your computer is turned on. Download a program called Audacity. Generate 10 hours of silence. Go to export -> export audio -> and change the file type to FLAC, and change the compression to maximum (you can use other formats, but from what little research I did, FLAC seems decent for CPU usage compared to others, and won't take up 3 GB of space like a wave file will). Next download a lightweight audio player called foobar2000 (or use an audio player of your choosing - but remember, it will always be running, so you can't use it for anything else). Download the exe, don't get it from the store. Choose the "portable install" which stores all your settings in the install folder and not in the registry. Select a folder that does not require administrator permissions (I used a folder inside my "documents" folder). Do the minimal install (unselect the extra features). Create a shortcut for foobar2000.exe. Open your 10 hours of silence, and set it to loop. In the advanced settings you can also change it so minimizing it sends it to the tray. And if foobar2000 is actually the audio player your normally use: the portable install is standalone, so it should not interfere with your main foobar2000 installation, and they can run alongside each other. Make sure that after opening your 10 hours of silence that you change your Windows volume at least once (tick it up once then down once), or else the first video you open still has a chance of being loud.
tl;dr run 10 hours of silence on loop, permanently, and these sound issues will not pop up.
@Microsoft: maybe this will help you troubleshoot (and fix) the issue. Sound cards do something funky when idling (no sound is playing) and then mess up big time when they start playing sound again (even with power management disabled!). It has been 4 years. You can fix this so I don't have to use this janky workaround...... right? From what I understand, Realtek basically has a monopoly on on-board audio on motherboards, so even if they are partially to blame: to the average consumer with no tech knowledge, it looks bad on you. The average consumer doesn't know who Realtek is. (However, while doing my research I came across at least one person who had this same issue with a Creative sound card - so it might not be a Realtek issue at all. It might be a pure Windows issue).
I hope this helps someone. Installing Windows 10 has been a nightmare.
Continue reading...
There are potential solutions in that thread, but there isn't a consistent 100% fix: some of those solutions work for some people, but for other people NONE of them work.
This workaround will also solve the audio "popping/crackling" issue that happens if you leave audio power management enabled (but you should really just disable it: go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64\PowerMgnt and set "Enabled" to 0)
So, what is the workaround? Well. The issue (at least for me) only happens when you have no sound playing, and then start playing sound. If you have music or another video or etc playing when you open a new video or a new app, the volume will NOT change. So the solution is to just run silence in the background permanently while your computer is turned on. Download a program called Audacity. Generate 10 hours of silence. Go to export -> export audio -> and change the file type to FLAC, and change the compression to maximum (you can use other formats, but from what little research I did, FLAC seems decent for CPU usage compared to others, and won't take up 3 GB of space like a wave file will). Next download a lightweight audio player called foobar2000 (or use an audio player of your choosing - but remember, it will always be running, so you can't use it for anything else). Download the exe, don't get it from the store. Choose the "portable install" which stores all your settings in the install folder and not in the registry. Select a folder that does not require administrator permissions (I used a folder inside my "documents" folder). Do the minimal install (unselect the extra features). Create a shortcut for foobar2000.exe. Open your 10 hours of silence, and set it to loop. In the advanced settings you can also change it so minimizing it sends it to the tray. And if foobar2000 is actually the audio player your normally use: the portable install is standalone, so it should not interfere with your main foobar2000 installation, and they can run alongside each other. Make sure that after opening your 10 hours of silence that you change your Windows volume at least once (tick it up once then down once), or else the first video you open still has a chance of being loud.
tl;dr run 10 hours of silence on loop, permanently, and these sound issues will not pop up.
@Microsoft: maybe this will help you troubleshoot (and fix) the issue. Sound cards do something funky when idling (no sound is playing) and then mess up big time when they start playing sound again (even with power management disabled!). It has been 4 years. You can fix this so I don't have to use this janky workaround...... right? From what I understand, Realtek basically has a monopoly on on-board audio on motherboards, so even if they are partially to blame: to the average consumer with no tech knowledge, it looks bad on you. The average consumer doesn't know who Realtek is. (However, while doing my research I came across at least one person who had this same issue with a Creative sound card - so it might not be a Realtek issue at all. It might be a pure Windows issue).
I hope this helps someone. Installing Windows 10 has been a nightmare.
Continue reading...