We encountered an issue with a few users in our company regarding the loss of audio inside of a Virtual Desktop.
Environment
XenDesktop 5.5
Virtual Desktops – Windows 7 32-bit Virtual Desktops
Client Workstations – Windows 7 Thin PC (Although this issue was also persistent on a standard client running Windows 7)
Receiver 3.3
Issue
Randomly throughout the day, usually between 4-6 hours after launching a desktop session, users would report that their audio would not be working. Sometimes it would happen while they were playing sound and sometimes it would happen while no sound was being played at all (sound would be out the next time they tried). I was able to replicate this problem on our Windows 7 Thin PC’s as well as a standard install of a Windows 7 Desktop.
Solution
I could not find much surrounding the issue until I stumbled across a Microsoft HotFix addressing an issue with sound in Windows 7. (Link) It references that the issue is for USB sound devices, however, after applying it to multiple machines, the issue was resolved.
Although this is a private hotfix, the downloads can be found (here) for 32-bit and (here) for 64-bit
Alternatively, the issue also can be resolved by restarting the “Windows Audio” Service on the local client or disconnecting and reconnecting to the desktop. Unfortunately this is not a “fix” for most people.
***Note***
With the release of Receiver 3.4, there is mention of a fix that involves audio not working.
“Audio might become unavailable while playing Flash videos without the HDX MediaStream for Flash feature enabled.” Source (#46)
I have not yet tested whether this is the same issue or if the new receiver solves the problem as well.
