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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Answer accepted by question author
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
    2014-11-15T14:01:27+00:00

    Hi Elias,

    First of all, I would like to apologize for the delay in responding.

    In this scenario, I suggest you to try re-installing the sound card drivers from the computer manufacturer's website and check if the issue persists. This is to check if the issue is caused due to any corruption in the sound card driver.

    Step 1: Uninstall the sound card driver.

    Follow the steps to update the audio drivers:

    1. Press Windows + X key and click Device Manager.
    2. Expand the Sound, Video and game controllers.
    3. Right-click on the Sound card and click on Uninstall.
    4. Restart the computer and check.

    Step 2: Download the latest driver from the computer/hardware manufacturer's website and then try installing it.

    Please reply with the status of the issue so that we can help you fix the issue.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-08-17T19:28:47+00:00

    this seems to happen whenever i unplug my speakers (not sure it's every time though)

    annoying as once I'm away from them I have no way of shutting the bloody sound off this thing

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-06-15T13:49:30+00:00

    Suddenly started again!

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