Try changing the audio quality in the game options.
If you drop the volume to zero with different categories of sound, or test each individually, is it a particular type that has this issue (music, effets, etc) or all sound?
Try changing the Windows sound quality settings (right click the volume icon in the task bar, select Sounds, in the Playback tab right click the default device and select Properties, then switch to the Advanced tab, etc).
If possible, try changing the default audio output in Windows (integrated audio, for example).
If you are using speakers, do you have headphones you can try, or vise versa?
Check the configuration of the speakers / headphones in Windows.
- Right click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select 'Playback devices'
- In the Playback tab, right click the 'Default Device' (with a green checkmark) and select 'Configure Speakers'
- Make sure the 'Audio channels' configuration matches your speaker/headphone setup; press the 'Test' button to hear sound effects played on each speaker, while the corresponding speaker in the 'Speaker Setup' window is highlighted. You can also click directly on the speakers in the picture to hear the test sound effect on that speaker only.
Are you shutting down all non-essential programs before starting the game?
With D:OS EE a couple of people had sound problems with the Razer Synapse program running in the background (one with Razer Kraken headphones had it cut out completely after a few minutes, while another with a Razer keyboard and mouse was getting sound stuttering).
Do you have the same problem with the Classic version of the game?
Try exiting out of the Steam client, if applicable, and starting the game directly from the '..\SteamApps\common\Divinity Original Sin 2\DefEd\bin\EoCApp.exe' program file, by right clicking and running as administrator (or '..\Divinity Original Sin 2\Classic\EoCApp.exe' for the original release).
Try right clicking the executable, select Properties, switch to the Compatibility tab and check off the 'Override high DPI scaling behavior' option (set it to Application), maybe run as administrator and disable fullscreen optimization, and set a Win 7 or 8 compatibility mode.
Have you tried lowering the graphics settings and resolution, or switching to Windowed or Fake Fullscreen display mode, to see if that would make a difference? Windowed mode should at least be more convenient while troubleshooting.
Try doing a clean boot and then test the game. Click Start, or hit WinKey-R, type in msconfig and hit enter; in the General tab, click Selective Startup, uncheck Load startup items (if required) and leave Load system services and Use original boot configuration options checked. Next, click on the Services tab, check the box to Hide all Microsoft services, then click the Disable All button (maybe make a note of which are currently enabled/disabled), then click OK and reboot the computer.
Run msconfig again to switch back to the normal boot configuration.
Check for updated drivers, and Windows updates in general.
Have you tried playing any other, similarly demanding DirectX 11 games recently?
Especially if you have other sound issues, you may want to try checking your system files:
- click Start, type cmd into the search box, right click Command Prompt and select run as administrator.
- type the following command and hit Enter
sfc /scannow
When that is done, type exit and hit Enter, then reboot your computer.
For more details, see:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/kb/929833
