Audio not working anymore

Hey all,
I'm new to this forum. I'm trying to figure out what when wrong with my laptop. I had a trojan attack at some point previously and I'm not sure if it is related, but I recently found that my audio is not working. The audio doesn't work through my speakers as well as headphones. I'm using Windows 8.1, on my Acer Aspire E 15 E5-521-48KN. In the task bar (on the right-lower corner), there's an 'x' mark on the sound icon and when I hover over it, it says 'The Audio Service is not running.' I'm thinking this is probably a software issue and not a hardware one, but I'm not sure. I have tried re-installing the audio driver, but that didn't seem to help.

I would appreciate any help with this issue. I've tried going to a local computer repair store who has asked me to try formatting the laptop, but I'd like to try and avoid that if possible. I've ordered for a recovery disc just in case, however.

Thank you in advance.
 
Just wanted to add that when I try navigating to Control Panel, it's an empty window with the mouse in a waiting mode. It never really opens, so there's something amiss and I can't seem to figure out.
 
You may have to re-install Windows fresh or choose to do a factory restore if it is available on the laptop
 
Thanks for the help guys! I ended up copying the files and did a factory restore. It seems much easier with Windows 8.1, thankfully. That solved my issue.
 
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