It has been extensively reported that when Windows 10 does a major update, it can result in the DAX drivers becoming corrupted where they no longer operate properly, and manually uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers does not resolve the issue. We have notified Microsoft of this issue, but to date, we have not received any replies from them regarding this issue.
The root cause of the problem is that Windows update does not fully recognize virtual sound card devices and when it tries to update them, it ends up corrupting the Registry to such a degree that the DAX drivers no longer work and cannot be properly reinstalled without the Registry being manually fixed.
It is a best practice to not allow Windows to do updates automatically. Generally, it is the major updates, like the recent 1803 or Windows 10 April 2018 Update that cause issues, although other minor updates have been known to cause problems too.
What we recommend is to uninstall all previously installed versions of SmartSDR, but select the option to keep the DAX drivers installed - except for the last or latest version you uninstall - then you want to select the option NO when asked if you want to keep the DAX drivers.
Then immediately reboot the PC after the last SmartSDR for Windows uninstall. This will remove the DAX drivers from your system.
It is now safe to do the Windows Update. After the Windows Update has been completed, install the latest version of SmartSDR that your radio is licensed to run. This will reinstall the DAX drivers properly.