Windows 10 VM losing audio

Hi guys, I'm lost in regards to solving my Windows 10 VM from losing audio, which uses an AMD 5450 card to the TV.

Note: If there is an el cheapo card that fixes this (nvidia?), I would go buy one and not worry about digging deeper, please advise.

A fresh Windows 10 VM install with AMD drivers installed and it'll work fine. I've been able to update Windows and reboot etc. However if I take the VM down, and start it back up... audio is permanently gone (No audio device). Also found if I connect to VM via Remote Desktop, then back to VM (on TV), the same audio condition occurs (goneskies).

I haven't been able to fix this by uninstalling all drivers etc. The Windows VM does not detect any audio device (e.g. uninstall all AMD drivers, and reinstall... HDMI driver not offered because no audio devices).

I have backup image of the VM with audio working, which I have been using to restore and start over each time it occurs.

I did read somewhere on here about MSI audio tag, which I verified on my card as + which means enabled.

Trying to virtualise my HTPC is proving to be frustrating because of this 

Hi guys, I'm lost in regards to solving my Windows 10 VM from losing audio, which uses an AMD 5450 card to the TV.

 

Note: If there is an el cheapo card that fixes this (nvidia?), I would go buy one and not worry about digging deeper, please advise.

 

A fresh Windows 10 VM install with AMD drivers installed and it'll work fine. I've been able to update Windows and reboot etc. However if I take the VM down, and start it back up... audio is permanently gone (No audio device). Also found if I connect to VM via Remote Desktop, then back to VM (on TV), the same audio condition occurs (goneskies).

 

I haven't been able to fix this by uninstalling all drivers etc. The Windows VM does not detect any audio device (e.g. uninstall all AMD drivers, and reinstall... HDMI driver not offered because no audio devices).

 

I have backup image of the VM with audio working, which I have been using to restore and start over each time it occurs.

 

I did read somewhere on here about MSI audio tag, which I verified on my card as + which means enabled.

 

Trying to virtualise my HTPC is proving to be frustrating because of this 

I've heard good things about the NVIDIA GT720 which looks around the $44 range.

That said, please check Windows device manager and check this for me:

Go to Device Manager. Click in menu "View -> Resources by type". Expand "Interrupt request (IRQ)" node of the tree. Scroll down to "(PCI) 0x... (...) device name" device nodes. Devices with positive number for IRQ (like "(PCI) 0x00000011 (17) ...") are in Line-based interrupts-mode. Devices with negative number for IRQ (like "(PCI) 0xFFFFFFFA (-6) ...") are in Message Signaled-based Interrupts-mode.

Trying to switch device to MSI-mode.

You must locate device`s registry key. Invoke device properties dialog. Switch to "Details" tab. Select "Device Instance Path" in "Property" combo-box. Write down "Value" (for example "PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4397&SUBSYS_1609103C&REV_00\3&11 583659&0&B0"). This is relative registry path under the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\ ".

Go to that device`s registry key ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum \PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4397&SUBSYS_1609103C&REV_00\3&11 583659&0&B0") and locate down the subkey "Device Parameters\Interrupt Management". For devices working in MSI-mode there will be subkey "Device Parameters\Interrupt Management\MessageSignaledInterruptProperties" and in that subkey there will be DWORD value "MSISupported" equals to "0x00000001". To switch device from legacy- to MSI-mode just add these subkey and value.

Before adding these key and value (or changing "MSISupported" to "0x00000001" in case subkey and value already exist) you have to perform safety steps like doing backup (creating system restore point at least).

That said, please check Windows device manager and check this for me

I've also looked at that previously. Unless I'm reading it wrong, it's already set..?

MessageSignaledInteruptProperties

(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)

MSISupported REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)

That said, please check Windows device manager and check this for me

 

I've also looked at that previously. Unless I'm reading it wrong, it's already set..?

 

MessageSignaledInteruptProperties

 

(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)

MSISupported REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)

Ok, it looks set right.  We will soon be patching QEMU to version 2.4 which includes some updates for resets on AMD Bonaire and Hawaii series GPUs, which yours may belong to.

Ok, it looks set right.  We will soon be patching QEMU to version 2.4 which includes some updates for resets on AMD Bonaire and Hawaii series GPUs, which yours may belong to.

My 5450 is Cedar, so waiting for that would be wishful hoping.

Apart from trying OVMF (Which you can't change once installed anyway), I'm not sure what else to do other than switch GPU 

I chose 5450 because I thought others were successfully using it.

I have used a 5450 and 6450 in testing, but I haven't done extended audio testing.  If I can recreate your issue with cedar, I can contact the project maintainer for help.  Just know that the patching process won't happen overnight because it will require upstream changes in QEMU to handle this quirk.

I too have had success with the 5450, but I am not using HDMI audio, but I have the drivers loaded.  I am using the MB audio.

I too have had success with the 5450, but I am not using HDMI audio, but I have the drivers loaded.  I am using the MB audio.

I'm using a Supermicro server board, no onboard audio available.

I know you didn't specifically ask this so I apologize in advance if this annoys you. I have been using a Turtle Beach micro II USB sound card to get audio on my Win 10 VM. Win 10 found the drivers automatically so that was great. I know getting hdmi audio is probably preferred but for $25 it will get the job done.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/product-detail/sound-cards-accessories/audio-advantage-micro-ii/31

I know you didn't specifically ask this so I apologize in advance if this annoys you. I have been using a Turtle Beach micro II USB sound card to get audio on my Win 10 VM. Win 10 found the drivers automatically so that was great. I know getting hdmi audio is probably preferred but for $25 it will get the job done.

 

http://www.turtlebeach.com/product-detail/sound-cards-accessories/audio-advantage-micro-ii/31

Just adding that I'm experiencing the same issue as the OP and will start troubleshooting tonight. I haven't verdified MSI yet.

Adding another sound device will not work in HTPC applications like mine where I run HDMI to an AVR and rely on that AVR for switching, decoding, etc. S/PDIF Does not support the same formats as HDMI.

I know you didn't specifically ask this so I apologize in advance if this annoys you. I have been using a Turtle Beach micro II USB sound card to get audio on my Win 10 VM. Win 10 found the drivers automatically so that was great. I know getting hdmi audio is probably preferred but for $25 it will get the job done.

 

http://www.turtlebeach.com/product-detail/sound-cards-accessories/audio-advantage-micro-ii/31

Just adding that I'm experiencing the same issue as the OP and will start troubleshooting tonight. I haven't verdified MSI yet.

Adding another sound device will not work in HTPC applications like mine where I run HDMI to an AVR and rely on that AVR for switching, decoding, etc. S/PDIF Does not support the same formats as HDMI.

Same card as well?

Note: If there is an el cheapo card that fixes this (nvidia?), I would go buy one and not worry about digging deeper, please advise.

I've heard good things about the NVIDIA GT720 which looks around the $44 range.

Just to add note to this thread, I had plenty of issues with my Asus HD5450 in Windows, even with the rom passed to it (more reboot/lockups than audio, but I never got to audio testing because of the issues).

Surprisingly it worked flawless in OE as is, no rom needed.

Now if you just pick up a GT 720 for ~$30 (they pop up on eBay regularly) you'd be watching your media and eating popcorn! 

Just to add note to this thread, I had plenty of issues with my Asus HD5450 in Windows, even with the rom passed to it (more reboot/lockups than audio, but I never got to audio testing because of the issues).

Apart from audio disappearing, on what appears to be triggered events, I'm having no issues at all.

Surprisingly it worked flawless in OE as is, no rom needed.

I've ruled out OE as a viable option. I require, at the minimum, a browser with Youtube and Netflix support. As far as I'm aware the folk over at OE don't give 2 hoots about Netflix, or proper browser support. The level of stubbornness is equivalent to Plex refusing to implement Live TV despite it being one of the most frequently requested features. I digress, back on topic.

Now if you just pick up a GT 720 for ~$30 (they pop up on eBay regularly) you'd be watching your media and eating popcorn! 

Is this card proven to work? Can't see any available that are cheaper than a new GT 730 here in the land down under.

For under $100 I could get new GF210 ($30ish), GT610 ($40ish) or GT730 ($80ish).

Same card as well?

Nvidia here... turns out Windows renamed the GTX 770 HDMI Audio to a more generic "High Definition Audio". Could not figure out why my AVR wasn't listed until I found the HDMI unseated...  :'(

Connected to the AVR, the listed bit depths and sample rates are there. Music & youtube work. Only thing I haven't tested is bluray.

Just to add note to this thread, I had plenty of issues with my Asus HD5450 in Windows, even with the rom passed to it (more reboot/lockups than audio, but I never got to audio testing because of the issues).

 

Apart from audio disappearing, on what appears to be triggered events, I'm having no issues at all.

 

Surprisingly it worked flawless in OE as is, no rom needed.

 

I've ruled out OE as a viable option. I require, at the minimum, a browser with Youtube and Netflix support. As far as I'm aware the folk over at OE don't give 2 hoots about Netflix, or proper browser support. The level of stubbornness is equivalent to Plex refusing to implement Live TV despite it being one of the most frequently requested features. I digress, back on topic.

 

Now if you just pick up a GT 720 for ~$30 (they pop up on eBay regularly) you'd be watching your media and eating popcorn! 

 

Is this card proven to work? Can't see any available that are cheaper than a new GT 730 here in the land down under.

 

For under $100 I could get new GF210 ($30ish), GT610 ($40ish) or GT730 ($80ish).

I have Zotac GT730 x1 pcie that works here, but I'm not sure if I tested it with a windows VM. Only use it for an Openelec VM and the sound works.

Is this card proven to work? Can't see any available that are cheaper than a new GT 730 here in the land down under.

 

For under $100 I could get new GF210 ($30ish), GT610 ($40ish) or GT730 ($80ish).

I have a thread talking about it here with multiple people having success. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=41742.0

I'm currently using it in Windows 10, and have tested under 8.1 pretty extensively.

I have not had good luck with the G210, works better with passed rom, but still locked up vm at the end of driver installation. However once the driver was installed after I booted again, it seemed reasonably solid. I still wouldn't recommend it.

I had this problem and could only solve it intermittently by loading audio drivers. Would always come back.

I've give up on win 10 vms due to persistent and ongoing issues;

-Audio loss as per this thread

-Frequent black screen on boot

-Inability to upgrade without reverting to 1 cpu

-Seriously degraded video when watching TV in any PVR front end

I spent today reverting to 8.1 and all is well in the world again.

Peter

I had this problem and could only solve it intermittently by loading audio drivers. Would always come back.

 

I've give up on win 10 vms due to persistent and ongoing issues;

-Audio loss as per this thread

-Frequent black screen on boot

-Inability to upgrade without reverting to 1 cpu

-Seriously degraded video when watching TV in any PVR front end

 

I spent today reverting to 8.1 and all is well in the world again.

 

Peter

I have not experienced these issues whatsoever in Windows 10 using a GT720. I watched a 3 hours football game yesterday using Mythtv Docker and Kodi,  then watched am MKV and finished it off with some SlingTV viewing. I experienced no issues..  Updates and patches have been applied with 2 cores assigned (not the upgrade from 8.1, that was done with single core).

Just wanted to say that your experience is not universal.

I had this problem and could only solve it intermittently by loading audio drivers. Would always come back.

 

I've give up on win 10 vms due to persistent and ongoing issues;

-Audio loss as per this thread

-Frequent black screen on boot

-Inability to upgrade without reverting to 1 cpu

-Seriously degraded video when watching TV in any PVR front end

 

I spent today reverting to 8.1 and all is well in the world again.

 

Peter

 

I have not experienced these issues whatsoever in Windows 10 using a GT720. I watched a 3 hours football game yesterday using Mythtv Docker and Kodi,  then watched am MKV and finished it off with some SlingTV viewing. I experienced no issues..  Updates and patches have been applied with 2 cores assigned (not the upgrade from 8.1, that was done with single core).

Just wanted to say that your experience is not universal.

Thanks for sharing. We definitely make it very clear on our website and wiki that GPU assignment is not universally supported.  It has gotten to the point where a very large array of devices are supported, but there are still corner cases being worked on in both the kernel (VFIO) and QEMU.

Things have dramatically improved though since over a year ago when we started down this path.  Now we are at the point where almost any AMD/NVIDIA GPU can work, but there are some issues with certain guest operating systems. This will improve even further over time.

The trade offs of using a VM with a GPU compared to a traditional desktop are more than worth it.  Situations like meeps are definitely things we want to see get resolved, but all in due time.  I'd hope his view is the same as mine:  using unRAID with his GPU on a win 8.1 VM is far better than buying/building a completely separate physical machine just for the purpose of using Windows 10.  And for that cost, I would tell him to take that money and just buy a more compatible GPU.

I had this problem and could only solve it intermittently by loading audio drivers. Would always come back.

 

I've give up on win 10 vms due to persistent and ongoing issues;

-Audio loss as per this thread

-Frequent black screen on boot

-Inability to upgrade without reverting to 1 cpu

-Seriously degraded video when watching TV in any PVR front end

 

I spent today reverting to 8.1 and all is well in the world again.

 

Peter

 

I have not experienced these issues whatsoever in Windows 10 using a GT720. I watched a 3 hours football game yesterday using Mythtv Docker and Kodi,  then watched am MKV and finished it off with some SlingTV viewing. I experienced no issues..  Updates and patches have been applied with 2 cores assigned (not the upgrade from 8.1, that was done with single core).

Just wanted to say that your experience is not universal.

Thanks for sharing. We definitely make it very clear on our website and wiki that GPU assignment is not universally supported.  It has gotten to the point where a very large array of devices are supported, but there are still corner cases being worked on in both the kernel (VFIO) and QEMU.

 

Things have dramatically improved though since over a year ago when we started down this path.  Now we are at the point where almost any AMD/NVIDIA GPU can work, but there are some issues with certain guest operating systems. This will improve even further over time.

 

The trade offs of using a VM with a GPU compared to a traditional desktop are more than worth it.  Situations like meeps are definitely things we want to see get resolved, but all in due time.  I'd hope his view is the same as mine:  using unRAID with his GPU on a win 8.1 VM is far better than buying/building a completely separate physical machine just for the purpose of using Windows 10.  And for that cost, I would tell him to take that money and just buy a more compatible GPU.

@bungee91

My Set Up was rock solid as well on the Insider Previews but when I attempted to update to the release version, the problems started.

@jonp

You know I've been a major advocate of VMs on unraid, running up to 5 simultaneously with 4 using GPU passthrough. However, since the move to KVM it's been problematic for me. I've had to revert to standalone machines for two of the systems as they were just not reliable as HTPC instances used by the whole family.

I've also had significant trouble with audio. On separate occasions I've passed through pro grade audio (a multi-channel PCI audio card and a firewire audio interface) and in both instances, was plagued by persistent noise, pops and/or dropout - even after optimising the OS for audio. (same hardware in physical machines had not trouble whatsoever.)

Now, I'm still flying the flag. I have a rock-solid Win7 VM that has all my tuners passed through and is the core of a whole-house PVR system. I also have a Win 10 workstation VM with an AMD R9 200 that seems very solid but this other Win 10 VM is trouble with a capital T. Giving up on it and going back to 8.1.

Looking forward to the day when everything just works.

Peter

I had this problem and could only solve it intermittently by loading audio drivers. Would always come back.

 

I've give up on win 10 vms due to persistent and ongoing issues;

-Audio loss as per this thread

-Frequent black screen on boot

-Inability to upgrade without reverting to 1 cpu

-Seriously degraded video when watching TV in any PVR front end

 

I spent today reverting to 8.1 and all is well in the world again.

 

Peter

 

I have not experienced these issues whatsoever in Windows 10 using a GT720. I watched a 3 hours football game yesterday using Mythtv Docker and Kodi,  then watched am MKV and finished it off with some SlingTV viewing. I experienced no issues..  Updates and patches have been applied with 2 cores assigned (not the upgrade from 8.1, that was done with single core).

Just wanted to say that your experience is not universal.

Thanks for sharing. We definitely make it very clear on our website and wiki that GPU assignment is not universally supported.  It has gotten to the point where a very large array of devices are supported, but there are still corner cases being worked on in both the kernel (VFIO) and QEMU.

 

Things have dramatically improved though since over a year ago when we started down this path.  Now we are at the point where almost any AMD/NVIDIA GPU can work, but there are some issues with certain guest operating systems. This will improve even further over time.

 

The trade offs of using a VM with a GPU compared to a traditional desktop are more than worth it.  Situations like meeps are definitely things we want to see get resolved, but all in due time.  I'd hope his view is the same as mine:  using unRAID with his GPU on a win 8.1 VM is far better than buying/building a completely separate physical machine just for the purpose of using Windows 10.  And for that cost, I would tell him to take that money and just buy a more compatible GPU.

 

@bungee91

My Set Up was rock solid as well on the Insider Previews but when I attempted to update to the release version, the problems started.

 

@jonp

You know I've been a major advocate of VMs on unraid, running up to 5 simultaneously with 4 using GPU passthrough. However, since the move to KVM it's been problematic for me. I've had to revert to standalone machines for two of the systems as they were just not reliable as HTPC instances used by the whole family.

 

I've also had significant trouble with audio. On separate occasions I've passed through pro grade audio (a multi-channel PCI audio card and a firewire audio interface) and in both instances, was plagued by persistent noise, pops and/or dropout - even after optimising the OS for audio. (same hardware in physical machines had not trouble whatsoever.)

 

Now, I'm still flying the flag. I have a rock-solid Win7 VM that has all my tuners passed through and is the core of a whole-house PVR system. I also have a Win 10 workstation VM with an AMD R9 200 that seems very solid but this other Win 10 VM is trouble with a capital T. Giving up on it and going back to 8.1.

 

Looking forward to the day when everything just works.

 

Peter

Meep, drop me a diagnostics on your system so I can get more info on the specific devices you are working with. Audio issues with GPUs tend to be with AMD and HDMI and also primarily Windows based guests.  Nvidia and HDMI (Windows or otherwise) seems to be fine, although there are some things like the msi audio fix we have in the wiki.

I think that longer term, we will see this get better and better and eventually, to the point where everything just works the same as it does with a physical hardware system.

If things worked better for you under Xen, I'm sorry to hear that KVM isn't the same for you yet.  I still think the switch to KVM was the right decision. VFIO seems so superior to the Xen project equivalent and is definitely getting far more development. Xen also has proven to be very problematic and slow to release improvements.  While certain setups for certain folks may have been better, the wider world will see more valid configs with KVM than Xen.  Remember, with Xen, we literally had no one able to pass through an NVIDIA GTX GPU.  That was a pretty big miss. [emoji50]

Just a tiny update on this...

I've been running unRaid 6.1.0 with media drivers since release and I haven't lost audio using the same AMD 5450 as in my original post.

The two things I've avoided are: a) force shutdown the array and b) remote desktop into the vm.

I'm also having these issues using my Turtle Beach PX22. I get sound a few seconds, and then it's gone.

"Native" video streaming from web also stops. Is h264 / hw acceleration causing these problems? Running latest 6.1.6