[HELP] Razer Blade 16 (2024) - Realtek audio driver crashed and won't reinstall
Device: Razer Blade 16 (2024) | RZ09-0510x | i9-14900HX | RTX 4090 OS: Windows 11
Hi everyone,
I had an audio issue where sound only worked in the browser (YouTube) but not in games (Rogue Core) or Steam voice chat. While troubleshooting, I found that my Realtek Speakers were set to "Not allowed" in Windows audio settings. After clicking "Allow", the Realtek driver crashed completely and stopped working entirely — no audio anywhere anymore.
What I've tried since:
- Restarted Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder services
- Uninstalled Realtek audio device via Device Manager (with driver removal)
- Tried manually installing Realtek drivers — installer could not find a matching device
- Checked hidden devices in Device Manager — Realtek visible but greyed out, cannot be enabled
- Checked Windows Update and optional updates — no audio driver available
- Razer support page for Blade 16 (2024) has no audio drivers listed
- System Restore is disabled on this machine
Now there is no audio at all and the driver won't reinstall.
Does anyone know how to fix this?
Thanks in advance!