no sound on asus laptop x45a

[Laochef]

no sound from speakers or external, reinstalled realtek sound, still nothing; tried to rollback 3 weeks, march, still nothing

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

What does Device Manager show for "Realtek HD Audio' under "Sound, video & game controllers"?

Any error icons there? Any "Unknown Devices" listed anywhere in DM (large yellow question-mark)?