MS done did it again: KB5124008 breaks my sound device

M76

M76

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
15,551
KB5124008 auto installed yesterday when I shut down the computer, I wake up today about to start working with some podcast playing in the background, except no sound is coming from my speakers! WTF!

  1. Did I forget to turn on the powered speakers? (Happens once in a while):
    No, they are powered on.

  2. Check if the correct device is selected for audio playback (sometimes windows switches to the monitor HDMI output for no reason) :
    Yes it is switched again to the incorrect output, but wait, the correct device isn't even showing up!

  3. Start panicking: Did my beloved USB DAC just die?
    It is 12 years old after all. I was just shopping around for a replacement just in case, but found nothing offering the same features, except for professional audio gear for thousands of €.

  4. Got to think, what could it be? Check device manager if it even shows up there:
    Yes it does - But with the dreaded exclamation mark, with the absolutely useless error message: "Device cannot start - device data error" - WTF does that even mean?

  5. Calm down, let's see if it works on another USB port
    No, same error

  6. Check for updated drivers
    No, it hasn't been updated

  7. Let's download it anyway and reinstall
    No, the issue still persists

  8. Could the USB cable be the problem? Let's try another just in case.
    Nah

  9. Resignation starts to set in. Let's try to get audio working temporarily by some other means, I can't waste more time on this.
    Might be able to connect from the integrated audio's 3.5 Jack directly to the Amp / Sub. So I dig out a Jack to TS cable.
    -amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F61-MsjMI28L._AC_SL1500_.jpg

  10. But then something at the back of my mind says: What if it is the update that was just installed right as audio stopped working. It's a long shot.
    Of course they fiddled with the windows update section again, can't even find where are the installed updates listed, let alone can be uninstalled.

  11. Consult with the internet, finds where to look, praying yesterday's update can be undone
    Yes, it is one of only 5 updates that show up as unintsallable

  12. Uninstall - KB5124008
    takes ages computer reboots three times

  13. Start panicking again
    thinking about horror stories with windows update getting stuck in a boot loop,

  14. Windows loads finally - but no startup chime
    Bad sign, don't loose hope

  15. YESSSS, audio device is back working normally
    The lack of startup chime was probably the result of windows only recognizing it after the chime was already triggered
Conclusion: FUCK YOU MICROSOFT for putting me through this ordeal, and FUCK YOUR VIBE CODED SECURITY UPDATE!

And this is not even the end of the story, because as I started working windows re-installed the freaking update in the background. I thought I have at least a few hours before it tries to install the update that I JUST YANKED OFF!
But at least it will help shut up the naysayers, because yep, the update broke sound again, and uninstalling it fixed it again. It is double confirmed as the culprit.
 
M76 said:
Conclusion: FUCK YOU MICROSOFT for putting me through this ordeal, and FUCK YOUR VIBE CODED SECURITY UPDATE!
Click to expand...

Your rage seems a bit misplaced. You jump to the conclusion that they just put out some sloppy AI update, but keep in mind that it was almost certainly AI that uncovered most of the vulnerabilities that needed to be patched in the first place. That is why this latest patch set a new record for the number of vulnerabilities that were patched. They didn't release the update just for fun, or just to torture you. Once those vulnerabilities were discovered, would you rather that they patch them, or not patch them?

Also, it's not as if the update "broke sound in Windows". I'm using a sound card that was made in 2008, that had it's last driver update in 2019, but wasn't affected by the update. Who knows why your hokey ass USB DAC was affected. USB audio has always been flaky as hell. If your DAC has digital inputs, and your motherboard has a digitial output, you should switch to your motherboard audio and then run SPDIF from your motherboard to your DAC. This is how I run my external DAC - fed optical digital from my soundcard.
 
GotNoRice said:
Your rage seems a bit misplaced. You jump to the conclusion that they just put out some sloppy AI update, but keep in mind that it was almost certainly AI that uncovered most of the vulnerabilities that needed to be patched in the first place. That is why this latest patch set a new record for the number of vulnerabilities that were patched. They didn't release the update just for fun, or just to torture you. Once those vulnerabilities were discovered, would you rather that they patch them, or not patch them?

Also, it's not as if the update "broke sound in Windows". I'm using a sound card that was made in 2008, that had it's last driver update in 2019, but wasn't affected by the update. Who knows why your hokey ass USB DAC was affected. USB audio has always been flaky as hell. If your DAC has digital inputs, and your motherboard has a digitial output, you should switch to your motherboard audio and then run SPDIF from your motherboard to your DAC. This is how I run my external DAC - fed optical digital from my soundcard.
Click to expand...
Welcome, I expected you.

Screenshot 2026-08-12 095244.png


The ever vigilant defender of billion dollar companies against slightly sarcastic forum posts.
 
M76 said:
Welcome, I expected you.

View attachment 824903

The ever vigilant defender of billion dollar companies against slightly sarcastic forum posts.
Click to expand...

Or maybe we just have different views on whether or not cussing at companies and posting memes leads to productive conversations and outcomes. Maybe Microsoft did do something that, out of negligence or neglect, left your USB DAC as a casualty. The problem could have just as easily been a bad driver released by the manufacturer of your DAC, that finally had it's vulnerability fixed. I'm not seeing any widespread reports of audio issues after the latest update. Why do you think that only your DAC was affected?
 
M76 said:
Welcome, I expected you.

View attachment 824903

The ever vigilant defender of billion dollar companies against slightly sarcastic forum posts.
Click to expand...
Really reminds me of Heatlessun, that guy was such a tool.

Lets face it, Windows 11 is a dumpster fire. Microsoft admitted ITSELF that they have created shitty AI based software and promise to do better.
 
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GotNoRice said:
Or maybe we just have different views on whether or not cussing at companies and posting memes leads to productive conversations and outcomes. Maybe Microsoft did do something that, out of negligence or neglect, left your USB DAC as a casualty. The problem could have just as easily been a bad driver released by the manufacturer of your DAC, that finally had it's vulnerability fixed. I'm not seeing any widespread reports of audio issues after the latest update. Why do you think that only your DAC was affected?
Click to expand...
Do you really expect changing the world on an obscure forum of a defunct website? I think maybe you should re-calibrate your sensibilities if a clearly semi-serious post about a windows update breaking stuff offends you this much.

As if MS had a squeaky clean record when it comes to updates. Usually the question is not whether they break stuff, but what did they break this time.

If the fix breaks all functionality then it's not a fix, is it?
- Hey, I fixed your car!
- But it doesn't even start now!
- Yeah, so you won't have any problems with it.

If they discovered a vulnerability in a driver they should've made an official communiqué that "we found such and such vulnerability in so and so driver - therefore we are disabling it"

I certainly don't think mine is the only one affected. But this type of HW is not very common, and the bug might only occur on a specific HW-SW configuration that I happen to have.
 
M76 said:
Do you really expect changing the world on an obscure forum of a defunct website?
Click to expand...
I'm not trying to change the world but I do believe that there is still value in real people having productive conversations and trying to help each other. I definitely don't feel the need to belittle the very community that I still enjoy being a part of.

M76 said:
I think maybe you should re-calibrate your sensibilities if a clearly semi-serious post about a windows update breaking stuff offends you this much.
Click to expand...
What makes you assume that I'm offended?
 
techie81 said:
Really reminds me of Heatlessun, that guy was such a tool.

Lets face it, Windows 11 is a dumpster fire. Microsoft admitted ITSELF that they have created shitty AI based software and promise to do better.
Click to expand...
Would you believe he lurks in the r/linux_gaming sub under Reddit, and he's still a total tool/Microsoft bot.
 
"Microsoft confirmed that this only affects USB Audio Class 1.0 devices"
so "old ass usb dacs"? didnt someone mention those?
with trying to support such an insane amount of variability in the windows world, there are bound to be glitches....
ms is working on it though.
 
GotNoRice said:
I'm not trying to change the world but I do believe that there is still value in real people having productive conversations and trying to help each other.
Click to expand...
Productive conversations while belittling people having an issue? How do you reconcile that?
GotNoRice said:
I definitely don't feel the need to belittle the very community that I still enjoy being a part of.
Click to expand...
Forums are no longer in style, I don't like it either, just being real.
GotNoRice said:
What makes you assume that I'm offended?
Click to expand...
The tone of your first post. The defensiveness towards microsoft, the belittling and dismissive attitude shown to me.

I was just trying to have fun by dramatizing the events like this, but then you overreact like I was committing blasphemy.
 
M76 said:
Productive conversations while belittling people having an issue? How do you reconcile that?
Click to expand...

You set the tone of the conversation with your cussword filled rant. The only thing I "belittled" was your DAC, which turned out to be the problem after all, and even offered a solution that would have bypassed the USB audio interface.

M76 said:
I was just trying to have fun by dramatizing the events like this, but then you overreact like I was committing blasphemy.
Click to expand...

Cussing in all caps is just "having fun" but me actually trying to address the issue is "overreact". Hmm, ok.
 
GotNoRice said:
You set the tone of the conversation with your cussword filled rant.
Click to expand...
The whole post was deliberately unserious, from the title to the dramatic retelling of the events, to the exaggerated all caps "rant". You ignored all that and took it 110% as if it is dead serious.
GotNoRice said:
The only thing I "belittled" was your DAC, which turned out to be the problem after all, and even offered a solution that would have bypassed the USB audio interface.
Click to expand...
What do you mean turned out to be problem? On the contrary. It turned out to be not the problem at all, since every audio devices using USB audio 1.0 protocol is affected, including new HW that is still produced today. And the solution offered by MS is useless. How do you switch a device to stereo from multichannel that doesn't even show up as an audio output device because the driver cannot load? Besides my DAC is stereo to begin with, so clearly that is not a solution.
GotNoRice said:
Cussing in all caps is just "having fun" but me actually trying to address the issue is "overreact". Hmm, ok.
Click to expand...
I can't help your lack of sense of fun. I was deliberately leaning into the typical anti windows rants. I mean the topic title should've been the first and last clue you needed to figure out how serious the OP is.
 
M76 said:
The whole post was deliberately unserious, from the title to the dramatic retelling of the events, to the exaggerated all caps "rant". You ignored all that and took it 110% as if it is dead serious.
Click to expand...

I don't really care if your post was "deliberately unserious" or not. I feel that my reply was appropriate.

M76 said:
What do you mean turned out to be problem? On the contrary. It turned out to be not the problem at all, since every audio devices using USB audio 1.0 protocol is affected, including new HW that is still produced today.
Click to expand...

"USB Audio Class 1.0" was released in 1998. It's successor, USB Audio Class 2.0 was released in 2006. I'm sure that there are still some $2 dongles from China using v1.0.

M76 said:
And the solution offered by MS is useless. How do you switch a device to stereo from multichannel that doesn't even show up as an audio output device because the driver cannot load? Besides my DAC is stereo to begin with, so clearly that is not a solution.
Click to expand...

My suggestion was to switch from USB to SPDIF, not just because of this issue but because it's simply more reliable in general.
 
Last edited:
This update supposedly breaks File History. I noticed mine wasn't working after installing this update, but logs were last updated at the end of July so it seems to have been broken since then.
 
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