Summary: The volume indicator allows you to control the sound output by your computer. It can disappear, and the option to enable it has moved around a little.
My sound icon has disappeared. How can I find where to make it show back up on my tray at the bottom of my computer screen?
•
Not to be confused with an on-screen volume indicator, what we're discussing here is a small icon that sits in the system tray, typically on the right hand side of the screen from which you can adjust the sound output volume.
The good news is that it's typically a simple system setting to display it or not.
•
First let's identify the little guy:
The sound icon in Windows XP
The sound icon in Windows Vista
The sound icon in Windows 7
As you can see, it's a small speaker icon. Click on it and you typically get the global volume control, right-click on it and you'll get additional options.
If it's there, that is.
And as it turns out, the option to display it has taken a little trip, moving to three different places in three different versions of Windows: XP, Vista and Windows 7.
Windows XP
In Control Panel, open the Sounds and Audio Devices applet and click on the Volume tab.
Check, or uncheck, the Place volume icon in the taskbar option as you like.
Windows Vista
Right click on the task bar, and click on Properties, then click on the Notification Area tab:
Windows 7
Right click on the clock and click on Properties:
Regardless of where it ran off to, the option's there in all three versions of Windows, so you can elect to show the sound icon, or not, as you wish.
Related:
-
How do I make system tray icons go away permanently? Many applications like to add an icon to the system tray or notification area. Unfortunately, controlling what goes there isn't as easy as we'd like it to be.
-
How do I get rid of unused network icons in my taskbar notification area? The area of you Windows taskbar near the clock can have an icon for every network connection. We'll look at how to get only those you care about.
-
Safely Remove Hardware: where did the icon go? How do I safely remove hardware without it? The "Safely Remove Hardware" icon can occasionally disappear. It turns out there's a simple workaround to safely remove hardware anyway.
Article C3894 - October 17, 2009
Re: I understand that the SndVol32.exe is missing, but what can I do to get it back?
In XP, SndVol32.exe ought to be in WINDOWS\system32\. If it isn't, copy it from WINDOWS\system32\dllcache\.
I, too, once found SndVol32.exe had evaporated, and copying from dllcache made everything happy. (This once happened to the fax software, too. I copied a bunch of files named fx??? from dllcache to get fax working.)
Posted by: Robert DiGrazia at November 18, 2009 7:22 PMi accidently deleted my volume how do i get it back!i cant get any volume and the volume buttom that shows in the right lower corner is gone
Posted by: lissette calderon at November 28, 2009 12:48 PMI have windows xp and the icon has disapeard i have been to control panel but were there is says audio devise it says no audio devise i own a laptop wiv built in speakers???????? :s
Posted by: mark at November 30, 2009 6:49 AMI see a couple other people having the same issue I'm having. Computer seems to be wigging out, beginning with automatic updates that refuse to install. Then I lost my wireless capability--only devices showing as malfunctioning are two adaptors that can no longer load their drivers, though it says both are working properly and already have the most current drivers installed.
Now my volume control in the system tray is gone. I've also tried steps outlined here, but these don't work if your option to install this control to the tray is grayed out--it will not allow me to select it. I can go in through control panel to keep changing the volume or turning it on and off, but that's more trouble than I want to go through each time. I'm sure if I can change volume through control panel, then the icon should not have disappeared because the device is malfunctioning--it's working fine. How do I get it back in the system tray when that option is grayed out?
I have Vista on a Gateway laptop.
Posted by: Yvette at December 7, 2009 3:40 PMRight click on the task bar, and click on Properties, then click on the Notification Area tab
To the directions that was given to us, what if our volume box and the power box are greyed and cant be clicked on? then what do I do?
Posted by: michael at January 22, 2010 10:17 PM