MP3 playback was still working but games would not launch anymore stating that no audio devices could be found. A check of the sound hardware in the Control Panel was positive. The audio hardware was listed and reported as working properly.

Next step was to check whether the Windows Audio service was up and running. This was done by pressing [Windows R], typing [services.msc] and hitting [Enter]. The Windows Audio service was set to automatic but not started. That was strange but was solved easily by right-clicking the entry and selecting the [Start] entry from the context menu.

The Sound properties were showing the screenshot above stating that no audio device was installed on the computer. The message “There Are No Active Mixer Devices Available” disappeared after starting the Windows Audio service.

Update: Some Windows users have noted that the workaround or fix described above did not work when they tried to resolve the “there are no active mixer devices available” error message.

Another option to troubleshoot the issue is to go into the Device Manager (Start->Control panel -> system -> Hardware -> Device Manager ) and see if one or several of the PC’s audio devices have exclamation marks next to them. If that is the cause you could visit the manufacturer’s website and download the latest sound driver for the device. Install the new sound driver and restart the computer afterwards to see if it resolves the no active mixer error message.

Check out the comments below for additional tips on resolving the issue.

To change the Vista audio output users have to right-click the speaker icon and choose Playback Devices from the options. There they have to right-click on the playback device that they want to use right now and set it as the default audio device in Windows Vista. They also have to close and reopen any program that was using the old audio output if they want to hear the sound on the new output.

Vista Audio Changer steps in and provides an easier way to change the default Vista audio output in just two clicks. It provides a list of all audio devices which can be easily selected from the program interface.

It still misses a few features that would make it even more handy, like placing shortcuts on the desktop or providing hotkeys to select the default vista audio device faster.