Volume Control

[David]

I have a Win/XP PRO SP3 pc. My account has administrative access, but
my kids accounts do not. I set the volume on the speakers to a
reasonable level. Apparently, my kids think differently & always are
increasing the sound volume.

The speakers have no mechanical volume control. The volune is
controlled through an icon on the toolbar in the lower right hand
corner of the crt.

Is there any way to prevent my kids - that is anyone without admin
access from adjusting the volume?

Tom

 

[Tim Meddick]

First, open "Control Panel" > "Sounds and Audio Devices" and de-select (uncheck) the
box "Place volume icon in the taskbar" - this removes the ability to control the
volume from the taskbar.

There are ways around this but, if they are quite young, fear may keep them from
ardently pursuing a course that they know is against your wishes...

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Tom]

Tim:

Thanks for the suggestion. It seems to be working now.

I can tell you that kids have changed tremendously since I was a
kid. If my Dad told me not to do something, I obeyed instantly. Times
have changed. Curiosity is a powerful motivator. Your suggestion is
working well now, but it is only time before the kids figure out what
I did.

For the future, is there any way to disable the "Sounds and Audio
Devices" icon in control panel? I would like to either hide it or fix
it so admin priviledges are required for access. Do you know if this
is possible?

Tom

 

[Tim Meddick]

In an account with Administrator privileges (such as the Admin account itself),
locate the file :

c:\windows\system32\mmsys.cpl

Right-click on this file and choose "Properties"

Under the "Security" tab (if present*) click on the item : "Users"

Remove the "checkmarks" from all the boxes while "Users" is still selected.

Click on [ok] to save changes and exit "Properties".

This will prevent any restricted users from being to access the "Sounds and Audio
Devices" control panel.


*This method is only possible on Windows XP Professional and not on the Home edition.

If you have XP Pro and the "Security" tab does *not* show up - "copy and paste" the
following command into the "Run" box or a Command prompt window :


reg.exe ADD HKLM\\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa /v forceguest /t REG_DWORD /d
0 /f


(The above command should be all on one line but may not appear so due to line-wrap.
Please ensure that the command begins with 'reg' and ends with '/f')


*Note - Please exercise care when editing the registry, always create a backup and /
or create a 'System Restore' point first.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Tim Meddick]

RE: My last post

....If that does not work - try downloading the small and free program "TweakUI.exe"
from Microsoft (Sysinternals).

With this you can "hide" various Control Panel items (using the "Control Panel" item
in "TweakUI.exe") and even stop (re-program) the volume up / down / mute keys on the
keyboard (using the "Explorer" > "Command Keys" item in "TweakUI.exe")

You can download the small TweakUI installation file from the link below :

http://download.microsoft.com/downl...a6-b352-839afb2a2679/TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.