Consider the following:

• You use software to render/play audio via the DirectSound API (for example: DDK tool Graph Edit)
• On Vista or Windows 7, via a driver testing tool (or manually) you uninstall and then reinstall audio drivers such as “High Definition Audio Device” (HDAudio) several times
• You attempt to render/play the audio stream again to a non-default DirectSound device (for example – DirectSound:Speakers as opposed to Default DirectSound device)

When the stream is attempted to render to a non-default DirectSound device, you may receive the following error:

“These filters cannot agree on a connection. Verify type compatibility of input pin and output pin.

Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is available, or the hardware is not responding. (Return code:0×80040256)”

You have a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. You examine the playback devices on the Playback tab in the Sound dialog box after you start the computer. Then, you notice one or more of the following issues:

• Some audio devices are missing.
• The status of some audio devices is “Not plugged in.”

Notes

• This problem typically occurs for HDMI devices that are set to be the default audio device.
• This problem may be resolved if you restart the computer.

Consider the following scenario:

• You use Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac 2.0 to make a terminal server session to a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition or Windows Vista x64 Edition.
• You enable the audio redirection feature on both the server-side computer and the client-side computer.

In this scenario, the audio redirection feature does not work after a terminal server session is made. If you use the same Macintosh client to connect a terminal server that is running Windows Server 2008 x86 Edition, the audio redirection feature works.

Consider the following scenario:

• You install hotfix 960044, hotfix 959458, or the latest service pack on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.
• You connect the computer to a multimedia device over a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connection.
• The HDMI input on the multimedia device does not support the Windows Media Audio Pro (WMA Pro) format, the DTS audio format, or the Dolby Digital format.
• DTS Audio, WMA Pro, and Dolby Digital are not selected on the Supported Formats tab in the Sound item in Control Panel.
• You play media files whose audio is encoded in the Windows Media Audio Pro format, the DTS audio format, or the Dolby digital format.

In this scenario, you cannot hear any sound from the multimedia device.

The MIDI application that uses the inbox universal serial bus (USB) audio driver crashes after a high rate of MIDI events occur on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.

You record audio by using the Sound Recorder application and a microphone in Windows Vista and windows XP. Even though the input volume settings are the same, when you play back the audio files, the volume of the audio file recorded in Windows vista may be lower than that in windows XP.

A hotfix is available for Windows Vista that addresses excessive power use during sleep or hibernation. This problem presents the following symptoms.

Symptom 1
If you put the computer to sleep or into hibernation when it is running on AC power, the high definition (HD) audio controller continues to use power. Additionally, even after the computer transitions to DC power while the computer is asleep or in hibernation, the HD audio controller still uses power. This behavior persists even though you disable the “Allow this device to wake the computer” option in the HD audio controller properties.

Symptom 2
After you disable the “Allow this device to wake the computer” option in the HD audio controller properties, the Wake on Ring feature still wakes the computer from sleep or hibernation.

Even after you apply hotfix 949514 on the computer, you still experience this problem.

Windows Vista service packs update several system files and device drivers. When Windows Vista service packs are installed, some older drivers are reinstalled. When these drivers are reinstalled, audio problems may occur. This article lists the device drivers that are known to cause problems when you install Windows Vista service packs. It also provides information about how to update your drivers.

This article is intended for intermediate-to-advanced users. If you are a beginner-level user who is trying to troubleshoot an audio problem that was triggered by the installation of a Windows Vista service pack, or for more information generally, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
948481 How to troubleshoot sound problems that you experience after you install a Windows Vista Service Pack

On a Windows Vista-based computer, you have Windows Media Center TV Pack for Windows Vista installed. When you use a video playback application other than Windows Media Center to open a Windows Media Center TV recording (.wtv) file that contains more than one recorded audio track, the audio may not be played. Or, the wrong audio track may be played by the application.

This problem may also occur if you burn the .wtv recording file as video to a CD or to a DVD and then try to play the video disc.

Consider the following scenario:

• An audio-related application manages a full duplex audio device in Windows Server 2008 or in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) Terminal sessions. This audio device supports audio recording and playback.
• This application performs audio recording and then exits.
• This application tries to perform audio playback.

In this scenario, the application experiences an error and cannot perform audio playback. You must disconnect and then reconnect the Terminal session to recover from this problem.