If No Man’s Sky crashes while entering a world and your AMD, HDMI/DisplayPort, USB, or other audio device disappears afterward, do not assume the game permanently damaged the audio driver. The most useful first test is to restart Windows, restore the audio services, and then—only once—test whether stopping Windows Audio through services.msc changes the crash. If the game loads with Windows Audio stopped, you have identified an audio-endpoint or driver interaction, not necessarily a specific AMD fault.
The workaround is temporary: it removes normal Windows audio and is not a permanent repair. The steps below separate an audio-service problem from a graphics-driver reset, corrupted game settings, overlays, mods, and damaged files.
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What the symptom actually means
“The game disabled my audio driver” can describe several different failures:
- No Man’s Sky crashes to the desktop while loading a save or entering a planet.
- Windows Audio or Windows Audio Endpoint Builder stops or restarts.
- An audio endpoint disappears from Settings → System → Sound.
- The device remains in Device Manager but has an error or cannot be used.
- A graphics-driver reset removes HDMI/DisplayPort audio even though the underlying sound hardware is still present.
- Audio returns after reboot without the game or driver having been repaired.
Check Settings → System → Sound, then inspect Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers and Audio inputs and outputs. Note whether the missing device is Realtek, AMD High Definition Audio, NVIDIA High Definition Audio, Intel Display Audio, a USB headset, or a monitor/TV output. In services.msc, check both Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder. Microsoft lists stopped services, driver problems, audio enhancements, and unsupported formats among common causes of Windows sound failures (Microsoft’s audio troubleshooting guide).
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First: restore audio and establish a baseline
- Restart Windows.
- Confirm that the intended output is selected in Settings → System → Sound.
- Disconnect unnecessary USB audio devices, controllers with audio functions, VR headsets, monitors, and HDMI/DisplayPort endpoints.
- If a device is missing, open Device Manager and choose Action → Scan for hardware changes.
- In
services.msc, restart Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder if necessary. - Play audio in another application before launching the game.
If audio is still missing outside the game, repair Windows audio first. That is a separate problem from the game crash.
Use the Windows Audio test safely
A Steam community report says that stopping Windows Audio through the Services application allowed No Man’s Sky to load, while stopping it through Task Manager did not reliably work because the service restarted. This is community evidence, not an official Hello Games fix (Steam discussion).
- Close No Man’s Sky.
- Press Win + R, type
services.msc, and press Enter. - Find Windows Audio.
- Right-click it and choose Stop.
- Launch the game and test loading into a world.
- When finished, return to the same service and choose Start.
Windows audio will be unavailable while the service is stopped, and the game may have no sound. If the service cannot be stopped or immediately restarts, the test has not isolated the cause.
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Interpret the result
| Result | What it suggests | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| The game loads only with Windows Audio stopped | An audio endpoint, enhancement, format, or driver interaction is likely involved. | Isolate endpoints and audio settings rather than leaving the service disabled. |
| The game still crashes | The audio service is less likely to be the trigger. | Prioritize GPU/Vulkan drivers, overlays, mods, settings, and file integrity. |
| Audio disappears only after the screen flickers or goes black | A graphics-driver reset may have taken HDMI/DisplayPort audio with it. | Investigate the GPU driver and display-audio path. |
| Only one save fails | The problem may be save- or world-specific. | Test another save or a new game if you can reach the menu. |
If stopping Windows Audio works: isolate the endpoint
Restart Windows Audio, then test methodically. Re-enable or reconnect one device at a time, beginning with the speakers or headset you actually use. Leave unused monitor, HDMI/DisplayPort, VR, controller, and USB audio endpoints disabled temporarily.
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- Turn off audio enhancements.
- Turn off spatial audio temporarily.
- Choose a standard format such as 16-bit, 48,000 Hz.
- On the device’s advanced properties, temporarily disable applications’ exclusive control.
- Try another output, such as a USB headset instead of monitor audio.
Microsoft identifies enhancements, unsupported formats, and driver issues as possible audio failure sources (Microsoft’s audio guidance). These tests are reasonable isolation steps, not proof that Hello Games has confirmed a particular cause.
Apply the official PC crash checklist
Hello Games’ PC crash guidance, updated March 28, 2025, recommends addressing common software conflicts before invasive driver removal. Apply these steps with the game closed:
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Verify files and reset generated settings
For Steam, open Library, right-click No Man’s Sky, choose Properties → Installed Files—older Steam versions may say Local Files—and select Verify integrity of game files.
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SteamsteamappscommonNo Man's SkyGAMEDATASHADERCACHE
SteamsteamappscommonNo Man's SkyBinariesSETTINGSTKGAMESETTINGS
SteamsteamappscommonNo Man's SkyBinariesSETTINGSTKGRAPHICSSETTINGSThe game should regenerate these files. Your save is not the same as these settings files, but graphics and possibly control preferences may reset. See Hello Games’ PC performance and crash guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not overlook a graphics-driver crash
HDMI and DisplayPort audio are commonly exposed through the graphics driver. If the GPU driver resets while the game is entering a world, the visible symptom can be a crash, screen flicker, black screen, and disappearance of monitor audio. That does not prove the Realtek, AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel audio component caused the failure.
Ask:
- Did the screen flicker or go black?
- Is the missing endpoint connected through HDMI or DisplayPort?
- Does a USB headset remain available?
- Did the problem begin after a graphics-driver update?
- Does it occur in other Vulkan games?
Vendor release notes have historically documented No Man’s Sky Vulkan issues, including an Intel example, which illustrates why the rendering path must be considered (Intel release notes). That older note does not prove it is the cause on a current system.
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Update, roll back, or clean-install drivers
Update the GPU, integrated-graphics, motherboard audio/chipset, and actual output-device drivers from the manufacturer. Use official sources such as AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel.
- Update first: the least disruptive option.
- Roll back: sensible if the crash began immediately after a driver update, but it may remove newer game fixes.
- Clean reinstall: reserve this for persistent installation conflicts. Create a restore point or backup first; it is more disruptive than a normal update.
- Disable one unused endpoint: useful for diagnosis, but not the same as uninstalling the complete audio driver.
Do not use paid driver-updater utilities or registry “repair” software. Reinstalling the entire game should also be a late step: it is time-consuming and will not repair a Windows Audio or GPU-driver conflict.
What the historical reports establish
The matching 2020 Tom’s Hardware thread reported a crash while entering a world alongside an AMD High Definition Audio failure on Radeon RX 5700 XT and Ryzen hardware. Audio returned after reboot, and other games reportedly worked. Multiple users described similar behavior, but the visible discussion does not establish a reproducible permanent solution (Tom’s Hardware thread).
That evidence does not prove that AMD is universally responsible. It does not distinguish Radeon display audio from Windows Audio, Vulkan, the game build, or a combination of factors. Later Steam reports continued to mention the Windows Audio workaround, but community reports still do not identify one universal root cause. The thread’s “[SOLVED]” label should therefore be treated as its forum label, not proof of a verified cure.
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Collect evidence before making more changes:
- Open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application.
- Look for the faulting application, faulting module, and exception code at the crash time.
- Record whether the display flickered, which endpoint disappeared, and whether stopping Windows Audio changed the result.
- Note the platform—Steam, GOG, or Microsoft Store/Game Pass—plus Windows version, game version if shown, GPU, CPU, RAM, audio device, and driver versions.
- Record whether mods, overlays, VR hardware, monitor audio, or controller audio were in use.
- Capture the game’s crash ID or recent crash dump if available.
Submit the report to Hello Games with a precise reproduction sequence, screenshots, crash dumps, DxDiag, and relevant save files. Its bug-report guidance explains what to include. Do not upload personal information contained in diagnostic files without reviewing it first.
Bottom line
Stopping Windows Audio through services.msc is worth one controlled test because it can reveal an audio-initialization conflict. It is not a permanent fix, and it does not prove an AMD driver bug. If it changes the result, isolate audio endpoints, enhancements, formats, and driver versions. If it does not, follow Hello Games’ crash checklist: remove mods and overlays, update graphics and audio drivers, verify Steam files, reset generated settings, and investigate GPU/Vulkan resets.
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