[yanathin]

So this may be more of a Windows issue than an XBMC issue, but I feel like XBMC HTPC users would have the best knowledge on how to fix this. Long story short, I have an HTPC hooked up to a Denon receiver. I keep the HTPC running all the time but obviously turn the receiver + tv on / off when I want to watch something. The problem I'm having is that if I turn the receiver off, Windows thinks that the device doesn't exist anymore. Then when it comes time to turn it back on, Windows doesn't recognize the receiver and it's disabled in the sound devices. This usually happens after waiting an hour or two of the receiver being off. Strange thing is, the receiver should automatically be detected if the display is working because both run over the same HDMI cable (I'm connecting it to a GeForce 210 via HDMI for both audio and video). Is there any way to prevent Windows from trying to "auto-detect" these sound devices and just keep it set to the receiver, even if it's off? Thanks in advance!

Side note: What should I have my audio device set to in XBMC? Wasapi, DirectSound or Primary Sound?

[DDDamian]

Not to my knowledge no. If Windows loses the handshake it does not always re-establish it. I assume the HDMI audio device is selected as the default device?

For audio quality I recommend Wasapi - much better sound quality & passthrough capabilities.

[yanathin]

Yeah, it's selected as the default, and I disabled all other sound devices so it has nothing to switch to. Not sure what to do... I have to restart my computer (or log off / on) every time this happens so it picks it up again.

[sialivi]

Sometimes you can avoid having to reboot by pressing winkey+p a couple of times to cycle through the different multimonitor setups. This can sometimes restore the audio, but not always, and it's highly inconvinient when dealing with a dedicated HTPC.

I really wish there was some 3rd party app that allowed you to force a new handshake and monitor the results.