To give you the impression that you can fix the problem, problem appears sporadically and it is somehow related to your setup.
If you go answers.microsoft.com you will see this pattern.
I’ve had the audio troubleshooter work… sometimes.
So have I. Its probably the one that is of most benefit when troubleshooting over the phone to the tech-challenged. Perhaps instead the audio stack could be improved?
The real question is, weren't these same issues in windows 7? Probably.
They barely work for you because you click on them when you've already done all that's suggested there and checked everything the application could conceivably check. The app is there for people who need it to let them know their cable might be disconnected.