Windows 10: Windows Sound Bar Icon will not allow sound to be adjusted

Hello All,

I need help with an odd sound bug on my machine. I get an icon that appears on my desktop that pops up at random times after a restart. Sometimes its a few minutes, other times it appears after an hour or longer. I will provide a picture of the icon so you can see what it is. The problem is once it pops up, I can no longer adjust my sound and my sound is muted. The icon is particularly annoying because it cannot be minimized or closed so I have to navigate around it as it blocks access to menus on windows.

Here is the little bugger:





I contacted Microsoft after I ran their troubleshooting program and the rep told me to contact my Mobo manufacturer which is AS Rock. The rep at AS Rock told me to reinstall the driver from Realtek which I did. Here is the link they gave me:

Realtek HD Audio 2.82 driver download

When the updated driver did not work, ASRock told me to install a dedicated sound card like Soundblaster because my Motherboard\Build in driver for Realtek is not compatible with Windows 10.

I have been running Windows 10 for at least a year, maybe 2 and this popup has only appeared in the last 3 months. Here is a list of what I think is causing the popup. In no particular order.

1. One of the Windows 10 updates
2. I installed the Windows 10 App that links my cell phone to my PC and then removed it as it was awful
3. Some wacky spyware

Of the 3 suspects, #2 seems most plausible too me. I noticed that my cell phone at times would disable audio and whenever I tried to turn the audio up, my cell phone would reduce the audio until it was muted. I did connect my phone to my PC so who knows what garbage it unloaded on my PC. I have since removed the awful Windows 10 app and any references to my phone under Bluetooth devices. I believe I even ran some total clean up app to remove the Windows 10 Phone app.

I did go into Device Manager and I noticed that there are two instances of "High Definition Audio" under sound, video and game controllers. Here is a snapshot:





If I disable the second instance or uninstall it, the annoying pop up goes away. I cannot adjust my sounds however and when I try to adjust it, Windows launches the assistant to try to help my find a solution. There is no solution and I have to uninstall the 2nd instance and then do a restart. Sound is restored after the restart but eventually the pop up occurs and my sound is muted.

The details for either instance are the same under properties:





Anyone have any ideas?

I will buy a Sound Card if that is an easy fix. I guess if I use a dedicated sound card, I will be using a different driver than RealTek so potentially the problem will go away. At least that is my thinking.

I did try a restore but that did not help.

Here is information about my PC:





Thanks, Bill

:)

 

sound volume icon on right side task bar will not allow sound adjustment . WHY?

Since Windows 10 update, February 2018, the sound volume icon on right side task bar will not allow sound adjustment . WHY?

Can I fix it? What should I do?

Typical Microsoft, updates sabotaging OS Windows. There is always trouble of some sort after updates. I am sick of it.

I am seriously thinking of going the Linux route.

How do I get an answer to my questions?

[Moved from: Windows / Windows 10 / Windows update, recovery, & backup]

 

sound volume icon on right side task bar will not allow sound adjustment . WHY?

Hello,

If you are unable to adjust the volume on your computer, it could be that the sound card drivers are outdated, or that a process is service is conflicting with that functionality of Windows.

As a first troubleshooting step, we recommend that you run the Audio troubleshooter and let Windows find and automatically resolve problems with your audio. Here's how to run the troubleshooter:

• Press the Start button, then type troubleshoot, and then select
  Troubleshoot from the search results.
• Select Playing audio > Run the troubleshooter.

If running the troubleshooter does not help resolve the problem, kindly open Device Manager and update your sound card drivers. Updating would replace any outdated components of the driver and may resolve any issues with your audio. Here's how:

• Press the Start button, then type device manager, and select
  Device Manager from the search results.
• Under Sound, video and game controllers, right-click your sound card.
• Under the Driver tab, select Update Driver.
• Select Search automatically for updated driver software.

If Windows doesn't find a new driver, you may look for one on the device manufacturer's website and follow their instructions on how to install the driver.

If the above steps does not help, do not hesitate to post back to us.

 

Streaming video, sound adjust automatically

Hi Dannowa12,

Corrupted or outdated drivers may be the possible reason why the sound adjusted automatically. To efficiently assist you, kindly answer the following questions below:

• Have you made any recent changes prior to this issue?
• Which build and version of Windows 10 are you using?
• Does this happen only when streaming videos?

In the meantime, I suggest you follow these methods to troubleshoot your laptop:

Method 1: Run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

Follow the steps below:

• Press Windows key + X and select Control Panel.
• Change View by from Category to Small Icons/Large Icons.
• Click on Troubleshooting.
• Select Hardware and Devices and follow the on-screen instructions.

Method 2: I suggest that you follow the steps in this
article on how to troubleshoot sound problems.



Let us know if you need further assistance.