Volume taskbar icon vanished / greyed-out in Control Panel

Anonymous
2014-04-20T14:08:38+00:00

Hi,

Since installing the latest major 8.1 update, my Volume Notification Area icon has disappeared. (It returned briefly but the default seems for it to inexplicably go away again to not return).

It still shows up as active when I go to Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Notification Area Icons

But toggling this a bubble appears saying "This notification icon is not currently active"

Going then into "Turn system icons on or off", the Volume System Icon is turned off, and greyed-out for access.

Why would this happen?

I see old threads for this happening in Win7, and I'm wary of downloading a registry fix in case my 8.1 computer blows up.

Thanks

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

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Anonymous
2015-02-19T14:07:54+00:00
  1. Hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete and open Task Manager
  2. Click on DETAILS tab
  3. Find explorer.exe, right-click, and click on END TASK
  4. On the top Menu Bar, click on FILE, RUN NEW TASK
  5. Enter explorer.exe in the task entry box and click on OK
  6. On the top Menu Bar, click on VIEW and REFRESH NOW
  7. Volume icon should reappear after refresh

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Anonymous
2014-05-06T16:56:20+00:00

I checked and my drivers are up to date.

The problem actually fixed itself as suddenly as it started... no idea what that was about.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-06-02T18:49:20+00:00

    Thanks Data Analyst!  I have 8.1 and did exactly as your instructions stated and it worked perfectly!   And I might add, it is rarely that I ever see correct step by step instructions, thus I'm usually afraid to follow any instructions, but this one worked.   Sincerely, Wayne

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-06-01T09:12:00+00:00

    1- Navigate to this folder (assuming your Windows is installed on your C:\ drive):

    2- C:\Windows <- Inside this folder you should find the file "explorer.exe". Select that and press "CTRL+C" (this will copy the file, do NOT cut, just copy). 

    3- Then paste the copied file into: "C:\Windows\System32 "

    If it says that the file is being used and cannot be replaced (Try again button and cancel button) dont close this dialogue box,

    4- Open task manager and select process "explorer.exe" and then end process.

    5- Then select the "try again" option to complete the pasting

    6- From task manager go to "File=> new task =>Open "explorer.exe" and click on OK. Icons should be restored now.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-05-31T23:16:38+00:00

    The reason my solution didn't work for you, teamska, is because it sounds like you didn't follow the step-by-step instructions, i.e. Step 3. You're not supposed to run the task, explorer.exe, you're supposed to RIGHT-CLICK on it and DELETE it. Then follow the remaining steps.

    Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your response; if so, please let me know :-)

    Also, what version of Windows are you using? I'm still running Windows 8.1r3 because I don't like Windows 10.

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