No sound at all when opening Audacity

[Makoren]

Hi,

So I've wanted to download Audacity to start editing the audio I record for YouTube videos. But I've come across a major problem... there's absolutely no audio on the computer after opening Audacity. By this I mean, even if I open a YouTube video or Soundcloud there's no audio, and the effect persists after closing Audacity. The only way to put the audio back to how it should be is to restart the computer.

I'm playing audio through my headset, which is the Plantronics RIG Gaming Headset, which is connected via USB.

I'm not sure what other info I should give, if there's other info I need to add please tell me.

[kozikowski]

no audio on the computer after opening Audacity

No playback audio in the headset, or no playback audio in the soundcard?

See if the Audacity Device Toolbar Playback is set for your USB headset. If it's not, the computer may be trying to play music to your soundcard rather than the headset.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/device_toolbar.html

Koz

[Makoren]

I've tried every single playback setting I have, here's a picture of them. "Speakers (RIG Dolby Game Audio)" is my headset:
http://i.imgur.com/UzGdiVK.png

Also, the problem persists after Audacity is no longer running, so I doubt it's anything to do with the settings.

[steve]

Also, the problem persists after Audacity is no longer running

What about before Audacity is running? Is the headset working then?

[Makoren]

Yep, 100% certain that it's working properly before Audacity opens, and 100% certain the audio shuts off the second Audacity opens. Already tested this by playing a YouTube video in the background as I opened Audacity.

[Gale Andrews]

Are you using Audacity 2.1.2 from http://www.audacityteam.org/download/windows?

Do your headset and built-in audio device have drivers meant for Windows 10?

Have you looked in Windows Sound at what are the default playback devices before and after launching Audacity? Most browsers can't choose their playback device and just use the Windows default.

Have you tried shutting down the "Ws" audio device? Is that "Wondershare"? That device could be interfering and in any case Wondershare is generally regarded as malware.

If you ever need to record the sound of a YouTube video, download the video (use your favourite search engine to find out how), install FFmpeg, then drag the videos into Audacity.

Or record using Windows WASAPI loopback in Audacity: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tuto ... tml#wasapi.


Gale

[Makoren]

"Have you tried shutting down the "Ws" audio device? Is that "Wondershare"? That device could be interfering and in any case Wondershare is generally regarded as malware."

I tried doing a few experiments with this, it's interesting...

At first I tried disabling the Ws playback device in Windows Sound, and it worked. But, after disabling the Ws recording device, it just gave me the same problem.

After restarting I went back to just having the Ws playback device disabled, and only the left side of my headset worked after opening Audacity. Unplugged the headset and plugged it back in, no sound at all.

So this device is definitely interfering, but I have no clue what Wondershare is and I don't think I've ever chosen to download such a thing... What can I do?

[Gale Andrews]

this device is definitely interfering, but I have no clue what Wondershare is and I don't think I've ever chosen to download such a thing... What can I do?

When you install any application you should look at the options carefully. It is common that a default installation may install other unwanted applications that the application's author has been paid to offer.

Always look at the custom installation options which should give you a way to install only the actual application itself.

From where you are now, I would suggest the obvious. Right-click over the Windows logo bottom left and choose "Programs and Features" to uninstall unwanted applications. If you do have Wondershare, uninstallation may not remove all registry entries and background services, so you may have to go further. There should be information online about this.


Gale

[Makoren]

Update, I've deleted any source of Wondershare and TunesGo off my computer, restarted my computer, and made sure the program is completely gone, but the problem I'm having is still occurring.

Do your headset and built-in audio device have drivers meant for Windows 10?

How do I check this?

[Gale Andrews]

I've deleted any source of Wondershare and TunesGo off my computer, restarted my computer, and made sure the program is completely gone, but the problem I'm having is still occurring.

Have you been through background processes in Task Manager and checked the Windows Registry? You can find information online about what to check for, depending on what applications you actually had.

Also, install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and run the fullest anti-virus scan. Malwarebytes is good at getting rid of traces of unwanted applications.

Do your headset and built-in audio device have drivers meant for Windows 10?

How do I check this?

Assuming it is a branded computer like Dell or Lenovo, go to their site to look up Windows 10 drivers for your specific computer model.

Go to the Plantronics site or ask them about your headset. There are surround sound drivers for RIG here http://www.plantronics.com/us/support/software/archive/ but they are probably not relevant. Is there a RIG control panel in the Windows Control Panel? If so, you should definitely look at all the settings there.

Again, make sure the headset is default playback device in Windows Sound. Most web browsers will only use the default device. When you launch Audacity and the web browser loses sound, does the headset still work in Audacity?


Gale