>The things that might work better nowadays (sound is a somewhat fixed issue?) work inconsistently (`pulseaudio -k`) and for some people might not work at all.
"pulseaudio doesn't work" meme in 2020, lol.
Windows audio is a completely solved problem, right? Let's see some web search results for variations of "windows audio problem":
>In this case I would look to reinstall the manufacturer audio drivers as they have probably been replaced by Windows 10 built in drivers.
>ok after testing this on several games the sound is noticeably better but not completely normal should i download another driver ?
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Some lets-players I watch regularly complain about how W10 updates break their audio capture / microphone settings. They work around it by uninstalling the update and trying as hard as possible to not let it be reinstalled automatically.
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Like I said, not only are there problems, but nobody knows how to figure out what the problem is. Just "run the built-in troubleshooter" (which both clueful and clueless Windows users will tell you rarely fixes anything), "update your drivers", "install Windows updates", "restart your computer".
When I have issues with OSS on Linux, I have logs with filenames and distinctive error messages, publicly viewable sources that I can correlate the logs to if I want to, and forums of other people who can do that if I don't. If it's an absolutely novel problem, I can contact the authors of the code and have a high expectation of getting a response. If it's an issue that needs a fix, I can track the progress and release of the fix.
And before you say "I don't have any of these problems with audio on Windows", I too haven't had any problems with pulseaudio for the almost 10 years that I've used it.
If you are arguing that Windows audio is as troublesome as Linux audio, I think you'll find a lot of people willing to debate you.
The windows troubleshooters will fix the things they are designed to fix. They're just powershell scripts with a wizard-style interface. I've had them fix many networking issues on certain computers reliably. I haven't ever had an audio problem on Windows that wasn't caused by me, so I've never needed to run an audio troubleshooter for audio.
Windows has log files too, you just need to know where to look. Usually event viewer will have what you need, but sometimes you'll need to run a diagnostic that generates logs, or you'll just need to know where the logs are.
Saying "Windows troubleshooters never work" will often lead to someone never trying Windows troubleshooters, which only reinforces the idea that they never work.
None of them are perfect, of course, and none of them will fix any given problem, but I always try them first, even if I have low hopes for success. Sometimes I am surprised. Sometimes I have to find a fix for myself.
Troubleshooters never worked for me as well. It's hard NOT to try a troubleshooter, because it's suggested by Windows on every occasion, but after I've discovered that "troubleshooting" in Windows terms means "first try restarting the service, then try restarting the computer, then try reinstalling windows" then indeed I've stopped trying them completely.
I mean, if the user doesn't change system settings at all and uses external drives for their cat pictures then reinstalling the system isn't such a bad advice. The problem is that if someone uses Linux, then this person isn't satisfied with this style of system usage.
"pulseaudio doesn't work" meme in 2020, lol.
Windows audio is a completely solved problem, right? Let's see some web search results for variations of "windows audio problem":
>Then... I called Dell. Spent FOUR HOURS on the phone last night, resetting/restoring operating system. Not fixed.---
>3. Verify that all Windows Updates are installed>6. Fix your audio drivers
>9. Restart Audio Services
>11. Restart to apply installed updates
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>In this case I would look to reinstall the manufacturer audio drivers as they have probably been replaced by Windows 10 built in drivers.>ok after testing this on several games the sound is noticeably better but not completely normal should i download another driver ?
---
Some lets-players I watch regularly complain about how W10 updates break their audio capture / microphone settings. They work around it by uninstalling the update and trying as hard as possible to not let it be reinstalled automatically.
---
Like I said, not only are there problems, but nobody knows how to figure out what the problem is. Just "run the built-in troubleshooter" (which both clueful and clueless Windows users will tell you rarely fixes anything), "update your drivers", "install Windows updates", "restart your computer".
When I have issues with OSS on Linux, I have logs with filenames and distinctive error messages, publicly viewable sources that I can correlate the logs to if I want to, and forums of other people who can do that if I don't. If it's an absolutely novel problem, I can contact the authors of the code and have a high expectation of getting a response. If it's an issue that needs a fix, I can track the progress and release of the fix.
And before you say "I don't have any of these problems with audio on Windows", I too haven't had any problems with pulseaudio for the almost 10 years that I've used it.