i can barely hear anything through my speakers. I have
checked all the sound settings, what next?

I recovered by removing Windows Media Player from my
computer, and then I downloaded the newest version of the
program, and in the process of installing it, my sound got
fixed. Even if you didn't lose your sound because of
windows update, you might try this solution as it won't
hurt anything. Good Luck and let us all know if it works.