Realtek HD Audio Manager is a popular application that lets you change audio-related settings on Windows computers. For many users, Realtek HD Audio Manager was the place to go to improve overall sound quality. However, due to some major changes in Windows 10, the app keeps disappearing and sometimes not working at all. But you don’t have to worry. We did extensive research on Realtek HD Audio Manager and found some easy ways to enable it. Apart from that, I have also shared the simple and easy steps to update Realtek HD Audio drivers both automatically and manually. Having said that, let’s first learn briefly about Realtek HD Audio Manager and then move on to the steps.
Install and Update Realtek HD Audio Manager
Before we start our article, let’s talk about Realtek HD Audio Manager. If you are already quite familiar with the subject, you can skip to the next section.
What is Realtek HD Audio Manager?
Realtek HD Audio Manager is an advanced application that allows you to configure various audio settings. The reason why Realtek HD Audio Manager is so common on Windows computers, Most PCs have a Realtek sound card. Besides the hardware, Realtek also provides an audio driver and a standalone application called Realtek HD Audio Manager to manage the audio configuration.
Now, what exactly does Realtek HD Audio Manager offer? For starters, you can enhance the sound with the equalizer, mixer and different predefined sound profiles. You can even create your custom sound profile. Further, you can enable features such as noise suppression and echo cancellation. The app also lets you enable multi-stream playback; this basically means you can stream multiple audio to different output devices at the same time.
All in all, Realtek HD Audio Manager is an excellent utility and if you are an audiophile, you should definitely use it more often. Now, let’s review some common issues users encounter with Realtek HD Audio Manager and learn how to fix them.
Download Realtek HD Audio Manager for Windows 10
To give you some context, Realtek HD Audio Manager was easily accessible in Windows 7. It was available out of the box and used to sit in the system tray. However, with Windows 10, Microsoft has reduced many additional utilities to make the operating system minimal and lightweight. But long-time Windows users are clearly dissatisfied with it.
If you still want to access Realtek HD Audio Manager in Windows 10, you don’t need to download anything. This is because the app is already installed but hidden from users’ direct access. You can access it here.
Note: While the guide is for Windows 10 PCs, the same instructions apply to Windows 7 users. If for some reason Realtek HD Audio Manager is not working on Windows 7 as well, you can follow the same steps below.
1. Open the C drive or any drive where you installed Windows 10. After that, go to: Program Files -> Realtek -> Sound -> HDA. Here you will find “RtkNGUI64”, open it.
2. Voila, here is the Realtek HD Audio Manager. Now go ahead and configure the music to your liking.
3. Also if you want to use Realtek HD Audio Manager regularly, just right click on “RtkNGUI64” and send to “Desktop”.
If “RtkNGUI64” is not available or if there is no Realtek folder in the OS drive, skip to the next section to fix the problem.
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Fix Realtek HD Audio Manager Missing Error
Most of the time, Realtek HD Audio Manager is missing the sound driver is not installed properly on your PC. So, follow the steps below to install the proprietary Realtek driver for your sound card.
1. Right-click the Windows Start button and Open “Device Manager”.
2. Here, Double click on “Audio inputs and outputs” to expand. Now, right click on “Speaker/Headphone (2- Realtek High Definition Audio)” and click on “Update Driver”. If it shows “High Definition Audio Device” it is the same thing.
3. On the next screen, click on “Search automatically for updated driver software”. Now your PC will find the specific driver online and then install it.
4. After a few minutes, the installation will be completed. Now, Restart the computer and go to Realtek folder as I mentioned in above section and you will find Realtek HD Audio Manager.
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Manually Update Realtek HD Audio Driver
Sometimes, automatic driver update from Microsoft’s server does not work properly. In such cases, you will have to install the drivers manually. remember that this it will also fix any sound issues you were facing including microphone and headphone issues. Having said that, here’s how you can do it.
1. Open Device Manager again and right click on “Speaker/Headphones (2- Realtek High Definition Audio)” or “High Definition Audio Device”. Here, click on “Update driver”.
2. After that, Select “Browse my computer for driver software”.
3. In the next window, click on the “Let me choose from…” option at the bottom.
4. Select “Audio Endpoint” here or “Realtek HD Audio Driver” and click the “Next” button.
5. Finally, the sound drivers will be updated to the latest version.
6. If Realtek HD Audio Manager is still not working, download drivers manually from the Windows Update Catalog. click this connection and download the latest build according to your Windows 10 version. After that, extract the CAB file using WinRAR or 7-Zip.
7. To find the Windows 10 version, press the “Windows” and “I” keys simultaneously and go to System -> the About tab at the bottom -> scroll down and find properties.
8. After downloading the proprietary driver go to step 3 again and then Click “Have Disk”.
9. Click the “Browse” button here and find the extracted CAB folder.
10. Select the first INF file and click the “Open” button. The audio driver will be installed instantly. Now restart your computer and Realtek HD Audio Manager should be in place.
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Alternative Ways to Install Realtek HD Audio Driver
Although we can update the Realtek audio driver from Device Manager, there are other ways to get the job done in a few clicks. For example, you can directly download the audio driver from your motherboard manufacturer’s website. This way you will make sure the sound driver is correct and finally enable Realtek HD Audio Manager. Usually the file is in EXE format, so you just have to run it and install it like a standard Windows application. You need to do some Googling, but that’s it.
If another way Download the audio driver directly from: Realtek’s website. It provides a packaged EXE file with support for Windows Vista to 10 and both 32 and 64 bit. You just need to download the EXE file and run it. Based on your system configuration, the installer will select and install the correct driver. Voila, you have installed the latest audio driver with the built-in Realtek HD Audio Manager. Enjoy!
Best Settings for Realtek HD Audio Manager in Windows 10
Now that we have learned how to enable Realtek HD Audio Manager and fix some related issues, let’s find the best settings for Realtek HD Audio Manager. In this section, we will learn about the various audio configurations you can implement in Realtek HD Audio Manager.
First, let’s make it clear music taste is subjective. Also, the sound quality varies greatly from different sets of speakers to headphones. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all sound profile. The best way to find your sound profile that fits your ear is to adjust the equalizer and find the perfect balance. Having said that, here are some general tips that can help you sound your best.
If you are using a headset with your PC, make sure Stereo sound is enabled. If you’re using speakers, the predefined Rock or Bass profiles do a great job. You can also raise the Treble up a notch, but make sure you find it suitable for your ears. Also, when you use a microphone for video calling or recording, make sure Noise Canceling is enabled. Except that one, always set the frequency to 44100 Hz because it is the most common sampling frequency for all types of media. As a result, you should use Realtek HD Audio Manager more often and tinker with the Equalizer for best results.
SEE ALSO: 11 Best Free Tools to Download and Install Drivers on Windows
Enable Realtek HD Audio Manager and Experience a New Wave of Audio
That was our article on Realtek HD Audio Manager, its problems, solutions and much more. If you want to experience the best sound on Windows, you should seriously use Realtek HD Audio Manager. The app lets you tweak a few sound settings and it makes a lot of difference. If you can’t find Realtek HD Audio Manager, I’ve included an easier and automated method that can fix the app and many related issues. And if the automatic method is not working, of course you can install the drivers manually. So that’s it from us. If you found the article informative, let us know in the comment section below.
