It can be frustrating to find the “Audio Renderer Error, Please Restart Your Computer” when trying to watch a YouTube video by one of your favorite creators. Unfortunately, thousands of users come across this situation every day. The issue is extremely common among Windows users, and there are multiple reasons behind it.
Whenever the YouTube audio renderer error appears on a Windows PC, it is due to either of the following reasons –
- Outdated audio drivers on your PC
- There is a temporary issue with the connected audio device.
- When you are using an external audio tuning application.
- If you have audio enhancements enabled on your computer.
Fortunately, there are ways to handle these anomalies on a Windows PC. If you just like many others, are tired of the YouTube audio renderer error popping up out of nowhere, this post is for you! Keep reading as we explore multiple fixes to the “Audio renderer error please restart your computer” error on your PC.
5 Ways to Fix YouTube Audio Renderer Error on Windows
Fix 1 – Restart Your PC
The first fix lies in the error itself. The prompt often appears genuinely when all the services are not properly available on your PC. If the error appeared just after you turned your device ON, there are chances that the audio service on your PC could not initiate properly. Hence, the best thing you can do is restart your PC.
Fix 2 – Unplug & Reconnect Your Audio Device
You might have noticed that the YouTube audio renderer error usually appears when using an external audio device. For instance, when you have connected a headphone or a speaker to your PC, the probability of this error is higher. This is because sometimes the connection has a glitch in it.
The best way to handle this situation is to unplug the connected device. Now, if it is a wired device, simply remove the connection. Whereas if you are using a Bluetooth speaker/headphone, you can either turn the Bluetooth Off and on or simply disconnect the device and reconnect it.
Fix 3 – Re-Enable Your Primary Audio Device
Taking the Fix-2 one step further, you can disable the audio device entirely and re-enable it to remove any sort of glitch in the same. Here’s what you need to do –
Step 1 – Go to the Start menu and search for Device Manager.
Step 2 – Open the Device Manager from the search results to find all the installed devices.
Step 3 – Spot your primary audio device under the Audio inputs and outputs
Step 4 – Select the primary audio device and right-click on it to find the Disable Device option. Click on it to disable it.
Step 5 – Refresh the PC, return to the same device, right-click on it again, and enable the device.
Reload the YouTube video and check if the error is resolved. If not, move to the next fix!
Fix 4 – Update Audio Device Drivers
The Audio device on your PC uses a set of drivers to interact with the operating system. These drivers are created and regularly updated by the manufacturer. If you are facing the Audio Renderer Error, Please Restart Your PC error while using YouTube. Chances are that these drivers have not been updated.
To update audio drivers on your PC, you can follow these steps –
Step 1 – Go to the Start menu and search for Device Manager.
Step 2 – Open the Device Manager from the search results to find all the installed devices.
Step 3 – Spot your primary audio device under the Audio inputs and outputs
Step 4 – Right-click on the device, and you may find the Update Driver option. Click on the same.
Step 5 – This will trigger the Driver Update Utility on your PC. Click on the Search for automatic updates when asked whether you have a driver file available. Keep clicking next until the process is over.
Just to be sure, you can restart your computer after the driver is updated.
For many users, carrying out all the 5 steps mentioned above can be typical. Not to mention, repeating these steps every time a connected device malfunctions is not feasible. So what can be done? Well, having a better way to update drivers and keep them regularly updated can solve all the issues on your PC. Fortunately, we have just the application you are looking for!
Advanced Driver Updater is a tool that specifically allows you to update the drivers on your PC in just a few clicks. Here’s how you can use the application on Windows –
Step 1 – Download the Advanced Driver Updater using the link below.
Step 2 – Click Start Scan Now to fetch details about your PC’s outdated drivers.
Step 3 – Once the scan ends, click Update All and finish the updates. If you are re-directed to the purchase page, you can use the trial version and update only one driver at a time. You will have to upgrade to the paid version to update all drivers at once.
The best part is that it finishes updating all outdated drivers instead of just one. Not to forget, you do have a feature to schedule scans for the same. If you are looking for a better way to resolve issues like YouTube audio renderer errors and stay away from them in the future, this is the application for you!
Fix 5 – Disable Audio Enhancements
If the outdated drivers were not the cause for the Audio Renderer issue, it may be the Audio Enhancements causing the trouble. Removing these enhancements manually might help. Here are the steps you can take –
Step 1 – Go to the Start Menu and search for Sound Settings.
Step 2 – Hit Enter to open the Sound Options on Windows.
Step 3 – In the Sound options, click on More Sound Settings under Advanced options.
Step 4 – From the pop-up window, select the playback device that you are currently using.
Step 5 – Next, double-click on the device to open its properties. Navigate to the Advanced tab in the opened dialog box.
Step 6 – Make the following changes in the Advanced Tab of properties.
- Uncheck the Hardware Acceleration
- Uncheck the Enable Audio Enhancement options
Step 7 – Once you have made the changes, click OK to save them.
Reload your YouTube tab and check if the audio renderer issue is resolved.
That brings us to the end of this post. In most cases, a refresh or a restart of the system is enough for the error to be resolved. However, it can get extremely difficult for a user when these two basic fixes are useless. Fortunately for you, there are other fixes that we have listed above. Use them and comment on which method helped you the best.
If you are worried about the reliability of these fixes, they are all tried and tested, so you are clear on that front! Thanks for reading. Good luck!
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