I disabled “Allow Windows to turn off this device to save power” in Power Management for the High Definition Audio Controller. Suddenly, crystal clear sound — better than before. Even my 3.5mm jack static disappeared.
Windows made the device connected sound — but then played it on loop, stuttered, and crashed Explorer.exe. On reboot, my speakers emitted a slow, rhythmic beeping that, when recorded and analyzed, spelled out “R E A L T E K” in ASCII binary . I am not making this up. install sound driver windows 10
I found a forum post from 2017 recommending a specific Realtek driver for a different motherboard model . The post had 3 “thank you” replies and one skull emoji. Against all logic, I installed it. I disabled “Allow Windows to turn off this