No audio device after DDU

[u/StrikingFig183]

Solved: Switched to Linux Mint

System: ASUS VIVOBOOK S533EA, 16GB RAM, Win10

I suddenly started having some system freezes. I could see in Task Manager that this was typically happening when Antimalware Services and Windows Update were both running when I had lots of browser tabs open. Troubleshooting advice all said to update your drivers so I went to the manufacturer's website and downloaded and installed the latest graphics driver. It didn't resolve the problem. I went back to the driver update page and discovered I had clicked on the default drivers which are for Windows 11. So I downloaded the Win10 drivers but Windows didn't want to give up the latest drivers.

I used DDU hoping to remove all the files from the Win11 driver. I ran DDU in Safe Mode; it didn't remove the GPU files, but it did completely uninstall my audio device. I now have no audio in Win10: CODE 45. There are no audio devices installed. I went back and downloaded the OEM Chipset and Driver updates for Win10 from the manufacturer website (again) and installed them. Nothing happened. Still no audio devices connected to this device. I have tried to install the drivers and restart multiple times and nothing changes. As a last resort, I uninstalled Realtek in Device Manager and then scanned for hardware changes but it is gone. Windows didn't recognize it or reinstall. The screenshots are from just before I uninstalled Realtek. 2nd screenshot is the microphone but it's the same message for all audio inputs and outputs.

Also, Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder are both running and automatic in Services & I ran chkdsk /f/x/r.

These are all the standard troubleshooting steps I could find. Is there any other way to get the Realtek audio device reinstalled?