Symptoms
After you unplug a USB audio device such as a microphone or headphones on a Microsoft Windows Vista-based computer, there is no longer any audio playback. For example, if you unplug USB headphones to hear the speakers, there is no audio playback from the speakers.
Cause
This problem occurs because the playback graph does not detect that the USB audio device has been removed. Therefore, the playback graph still tries to render audio for the device that has been removed. When this occurs, you experience the problem that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.
Workaround
To work around this problem, stop and restart the media player or restart the computer after every time that you unplug a USB audio device.
Note When you stop and restart the media player or restart the computer, the audio project is reloaded. When the audio project is reloaded, the playback graph is rebuilt to render audio for the audio device that is currently plugged in.
Status
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
Microsoft regularly releases software updates to address specific bugs. If Microsoft releases a software update to resolve this bug, this article will be updated with additional information.
More Information
Related Information:
Troubleshooter: No audio in Windows
Music and sound help with Windows 7
