Windows 8/8.1 No Audio – “Endpoint is a duplicate” error message. (Part 2/2

noaudio
So this is part two of a solution that I had to discover on my own after hours and hours of searching for the answer to a problem that had a very obscure solution. [ See Part 1 here. ]

So after the first fix which was repairing the netprofm service in the registry, I was left with no audio.  When attempting to start the Windows Audio service, I got the error very vague message of  “Endpoing is a duplicate.”  So I searched through the services in the registry looking for something in the AudioSrv key that may be causing the problem.  I noticed two keys which were “AudioEndpoingBuilder” and “AudioSrv”.  Everything seemed to be correct except for one thing.

(UPDATE 4/20/2015: For an automatic fix, look below at the bottom of this post for download links and an explanation on my registry exports.  No knowledge of the registry is required.)

For the manual fix and details, read on…

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Services -> AudioEndpointBuilder -> Parameters

Check the ServiceDLL data, on the problem system it was:

%SystemRoot%\System32\Audiosrv.dll

It should be:

%SystemRoot%\System32\AudioEndpointBuilder.dll

There didn’t seem to be any problem with the AudioSrv -> Parameters -> ServiceDLL data as it was already set to it’s correct value of :

%SystemRoot%\System32\Audiosrv.dll

So if yours is off, I would go ahead and change it.

After a reboot of the system, all sound was back and the services were started with no errors.

I have, as of writing this later, come across these combined problems twice now.  The first time took me hours if not a couple days to finally discover these solutions.  The second time I knew exactly what to check.

Both computers where Dell systems.  One was a laptop, one was a desktop.  Both were lower end consumer grade desktops.  Not sure what models.  I don’t really know what software was in common.  I wish I had taken a log of both systems to compare any similarities.  If you end up finding this useful, try to grab some information so we can attempt to track down what is causing this odd change in these two keys.  I have a feeling it may be something to do with the factory image they use when creating these particular problematic systems.  Possibly a bad driver or update that was pre-installed.

Anyways, I hope this helps someone else as it has me on two occasions so far.  Please feel free to comment.

 UPDATED 4/20/2015: I have been asked to provide further information on how to edit the registry.  My stuff on here is for self-help techies with the assumed knowledge of what I know.  However, for those that may need help in editing the registry, I’m attaching registry exports that you can execute to automatically fix the registry keys mentioned in both of these posts.  I’ve included an export of each of the mentioned keys as well as one combined export.  It honestly won’t hurt anything to run the combined file regardless if you only need on or both fixes, but if you prefer to only fix one of them at a time, go ahead and download the individual keys.  To use the downloaded files, just save the REG file to your PC and then just run it like a normal setup file.  You may want to disable your antivirus.  You may also receive a UAC prompt asking for permissions to make changes to your system, you want to be sure to allow this change.  You will most definitely then receive a message from Registry Editor warning you about changing or deleting values in the registry, click Yes to continue.  You should then relieve a message that the registry key was added successfully.  After applying either of these registry keys you will need to reboot your computer.

Keep in mind, after making these registry changes, you may still have issues that this fix just isn’t the root of.  I can’t provide Much else tech support via these forums, but if you have issues running the registry export, then post on here and I’ll try and help you out a bit more with my fix.

Downloads:

222 thoughts on “Windows 8/8.1 No Audio – “Endpoint is a duplicate” error message. (Part 2/2

  1. Thankyou thankyou thankyou! Am a complete computer novice and had been searching for solutions for weeks. Your solution worked perfectly and easily. So grateful!

  2. I don`t know how and i don`t know why but you sir are a genius.. i just bought a new laptop and it began doing this shit and i came across this and it freaking worked! THANK YOU SIR! GIVE THIS MAN A COOKIE

  3. Josh,
    You’re awesome man! i’ve been working on this issue for like 2 days, with no luck. I was about to do a complete new install until i came across your posts. Did both, and it fixed both issues. Thanks a LOT!

  4. Hi,
    I wanted to know would this fix be applicable to a HP Pavillion P62310ea, windows 8.1 64 bit. Having an issue with no sound (duplicate end point), control panel hangs and windows tile icons hang as well.
    Any help would be appreciated.

    1. It would be worth a try. Use my combined registry file to run both fixes. It won’t hurt anything to try it. The registry values are standard values. If they differ on your machine, then they’ll be repaired and it may fix your problem. If your values are already correct, then nothing will be changed and you will likely still be facing the issue and will need to find another solution.

  5. Hi,
    My Control Panel hangs whenever i click on Windows Update . How do i use Combined.reg to resolve the issue ?
    Double clicking on the file opens it in browser window , am unable to download it .
    Please help .

  6. thanks a lot for your helpful solution. I think the reason for this problems is something that’s got to do with windows update. I remember I had the AudioEndPoint problem after I applied a windows update and I had to go through the stress of pinning it down(with a great deal of luck from the error messages I got when trying to start the audio service manually) through the registry. I couldn’t find any solution for the part 1 on this series(which I just read before reviewing this one). I’m on my way to applying the solutions you gave for the first problem. Hope it works for me. I’d like to know how you guys manage to track down problems like this (not based on luck like in most of my cases).

  7. Hallelujah. You are a genius. I have been struggling for months with the sound and control panel on my pc. All the pc guys that I ask about it seemed to make a big issue of it. Like I need a new speaker and I don’t know what else. But thank you so so sooooo much. I was able to sit and do it myself via the Notepad method. Wow what a way to start my new year.

  8. Josh your solution worked brilliantly, thank you so much for the effort you put in. One comment I would make is to expand on the actual method to be used to take advantage of the automated registry updates you created. I had to do some more research to work out how to do it being not very Tech savy.
    For those who might have the same problem: I double licked on the COMBINED link you supplied and it opened in my browser. AT first I thought “what the heck do I do with this” . I highlighted the whole of the data which had appeared including the heading Windows Registry…. etc and clicked Copy. I then went to Windows Accessories and open Notepad. I pasted the copy into Notepad and saved it giving it a name I could remember in Documents. I had to make sure it was save as a .reg file by adding the correct extension otherwise it will save it as some other kind of file. I went to the where the file was stored in Documents and merely double clicked on the file name. Presto! it ran the update to the Registry and when I went in to look in the Registry the changes had been made as recommended. After rebooting the machine I had full access to the Control Panel and the sound was working. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks again Josh

  9. I ran the updated registry fixes automatically but it did not fix the control panel hang problem or the sound problem. I ran regedit and verified the registry keys match your updated keys. I am running windows 8.1 on a Lenovo 13 yoga. I had not booted my system for months so not sure when this problem started. I also checked the AVG virus vault to see if any valid windows files had been marked as a virus and it is empty. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

  10. Thank you!! First time in 1.5 years I’ve seen a working control panel… Might even now be able to update windows 8.1, and then even Windows 10….
    many thanks
    Frank

  11. Thanks for much for these fixes! My sisters computer had both problems, no control panel (except in safe mode) and no audio with the duplicate endpoint error when trying to start the service. Your combined.reg fixed both problems!

    Did you ever figure out what hosed them to begin with? Her computer worked fine when I gave it to her. Malwarebytes did find one PUP so that could have been it for her.

    1. No I have not figured out what causes this issue. It seems to be fairly rare as I haven’t run into it again since this post, but with the amount of traffic this post has received and the number of comments on it, it seems to be helping a lot of people. Glad it worked for you.

      1. I’m wondering if it was a bug as she told me the next morning that her computer had numerous updates that had been installed (I think she said 160+) as well. I couldn’t get sfc to work either, it didn’t bomb but it also didn’t give any indication it was running. I didn’t try sfc after running your fix though as there was no time. I am curious if it fixed that or not, I’ll try it next time I am there.

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