Sound has stopped working; failed to play test tone; format not supported by the device (Vista x64 Ultimate)

Question

I can no longer hear any sound from my speakers/headphones. This happened suddenly yesterday without any hardware changes or noticeable software updates.
-- The sound is not muted and the volume is set to full.
-- In the device manager, my SigmaTel HD Audio device has no warnings or errors.
-- I can't find any related messages in the Event Viewer.
-- The primary audio device is selected as the default for playback. The mixer shows my media player as being mixed properly to the device.
-- In the sound control panel, under Playback > Speakers/Headphones > Properties > Advanced:
 - I get the error message "failed to play test tone" when I try to Test my Default Format (dvd quality)
 - I get the error message "format not supported by the device" when I try to change my Default Format
-- Note that unlike others who have similar problems, I'm not joined to a domain
I've tried
*  rebooting
*  uninstalling and reinstalling the driver for the sound card
*  "disable all enhancements" in the sound control panel
(http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/windowspro-audiodevelopment/thread/b09e43ba-3ffa-4a45-9593-8eee686f124a/)
*  looking in the registry for some registry key (not found)
(http://www.consumingexperience.com/2009/04/failed-to-play-test-tone-no-sound-on.html)
Computer details
Dell XPS M1530
Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 with current updates
SigmaTel driver version 6.10.0.5866
**Update**
I followed the following steps:
    * using regedit, go to HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\WMI\AutoLogger\Audio and change the “Start” value from 0 to 1.
    * Reboot the machine
    * Try to play an audio file.
    * Post a link to the generated log file which you can find in: %WINDIR%\system32\LogFiles\Audio
but don't know where to post the resulting AudioSrv.Evm.001 file. It's also not human readable and I can't find what utility parses it for reading.
**Another update**
Still can't read the EVM. logparser 2.2 can't parse it.
Found this thread which interested me but isn't applicable to x64 (I think):
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/mediafoundationdevelopment/thread/94cdc662-e974-43de-8feb-6eb156924347
**YAU**
Dell confirms it's an OS issue after troubleshooting with me for a couple of hours (wow)
Is there a way to look at this EVM file _without_ installing the Windows Driver Kit??

Answer 1

Hi,
Thanks for posting in Microsoft TechNet Windows Vista Forum.
Upon your description, I see that you have done a lot of research and tests. Unfortunately, none of these troubleshooting works.
Based on my experience, this issue related to "failed to play test tone" can be related to several reasons. It also includes hardware defect. I am confusing why Dell confirms that the issue is related to Operating System. Could you let me know what operation Dell had troubleshot with you?
Meanwhile, here I just provide more troubleshooting except what you performed. If it doesn't work, I may also need to recommend that you contact Dell for support.
1. Microsoft has released a Hotfix to troubleshoot related to "Failed to play test tone".
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930883
2. Make sure that these services are started.
Windows Audio
Multimedia Class Scheduler
Remote Procedure Call
Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
3. I noticed that this issue occurred not long ago, I may need to suggest that you perform a System Restore to the previous restore point when the computer without any problem.
System Restore
==============
1)     Please click on Start and choose All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then Windows Backup.
2)     Click Restore on the left pane.
3)     Choose Basic Restore.
4)     Follow the wizard and click Next.
5)     If you would like to restore everything in the backup, we can check the box “Restore everything in this backup” on the top of the window.
6)     We can also browse and choose certain files and folders to restore. Then, click Next.
7)     Then choose the folder to save the recovered files and click Next.
8)     When we see a “Restore is complete!” message, click Finish.
Meanwhile, as I know, I'm afraid that there is no other way to look at EVM file except Windows Driver Kit. Maybe there are some third-party software that out of my mind can look at EVM files, you may need to perform more research on Internet.
Hope this helps. Thanks.