Windows cannot Execute SndVol.exe

[Marcus Prow]

XP PRO, I have sound on my computer. But I am unable to
control the volume when I go to control panel then sounds
and multimedia, under the volume tab there is a little
box that says show volume control in the taskbar. When I
click this I receive this error message: Windows Cannot
Display the volume control on the taskbar because the
Volume Control Program has not been installed, to install
it, use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. When I go
to the audio tab in the Sounds and Audio Devices
Properties and click on Any Volume Control I get This
Error Message: Windows cannot execute SndVol.exe, use
Add/Remove Programs control panel to install. When I go
to Add/Remove Programs I can't seem to find anything that
relates to the Volume controller. Any Suggestions on how
I should address this.

Thank you

 

[nimd4]

XP PRO, I have sound on my computer. But I am unable to
control the volume when I go to control panel then sounds
and multimedia, under the volume tab there is a little
box that says show volume control in the taskbar. When I
click this I receive this error message: Windows Cannot
Display the volume control on the taskbar because the
Volume Control Program has not been installed, to install
it, use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. When I go
to the audio tab in the Sounds and Audio Devices
Properties and click on Any Volume Control I get This
Error Message: Windows cannot execute SndVol.exe, use
Add/Remove Programs control panel to install. When I go
to Add/Remove Programs I can't seem to find anything that
relates to the Volume controller. Any Suggestions on how
I should address this.

Thank you

There's a Micro$oft Help and Support article that details how to EXPAND the (missing) file from the Windows CD and also a MediaBlab article on how to do the same, except it also shows a recovery partition method - good for some OEM systems like Compaq or Dell distribute for example.

Indexed by Google .



Btw., file is missing for some reason; So perhaps the easiest way to repair Windows is to open the command prompt , with the Windows CD in your drive and use the System File Checker (sfc): sfc /scannow

sfc /scannow

(maybe other files are missing also, like after an antivirus program did a clean sweep - because what may be the reason for missing files?)


Article ID : 319095
Last Review : January 23, 2004
Revision : 1.0

Volume Icon Is Not Displayed in the Notification Area, and You Receive an Error Message When You Try to Add It

View products that this article applies to .

This article was previously published under Q319095

SYMPTOMS

On a Windows XP-based computer, you may experience one or both of the following behaviors:

• The Volume icon is no longer displayed in the notification area at the far right of the taskbar.
• When you try to add the volume control icon to the notification area (in the Sounds and Audio Devices utility in Control Panel, click to select the Place volume icon in the taskbar check box on the Volume tab), you receive the following error message:
  
  Windows cannot display the volume control on the taskbar because the Volume Control program has not been installed. To install it use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.​

As a result, you cannot start the Volume Control program and adjust the volume and sound level settings of your computer.

Back to the top

CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the Sndvol32.exe file is damaged or missing.

Back to the top

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, extract a new copy of Sndvol32.exe from the Windows XP compact disc to the system_rootSystem32 folder on your computer's hard disk. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. Press and hold down the SHIFT key as you insert the CD-ROM to prevent it from starting automatically.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
4. Type the following lines at the command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line, where CD-ROM drive is the drive letter of the computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM, and system_root is the path and folder name where the Windows system files are located (generally C:Windows):
   
   
   CD-ROM drive:
   cd i386
   expand sndvol32.ex_ system_rootsystem32sndvol32.exe​
   
   
   Note that there is a space between "ex_" and "system_root" in this command.
   
   For example, if your computer's CD-ROM drive is drive E, and the folder that contains the Windows system files is C:Windows, type the following lines at the command prompt (pressing ENTER after each line):
   
   
   e:
   cd i386
   expand sndvol32.ex_ c:windowssystem32sndvol32.exe​
5. Type exit to quit the command prompt.
6. Verify that you can start Volume Control and that the Volume icon is displayed in the notification area (if you selected this option).

Back to the top

MORE INFORMATION
By default, the Volume icon is not displayed in the notification area in Windows XP.

For additional information about how to display the volume control icon in the notification area, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

279435 HOW TO: Display the Volume Icon in the Notification Area in Windows
For additional information about icons that are displayed in the notification area, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310578 Windows System Tray Icons
For additional information about how to troubleshoot sound problems, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

307918 HOW TO: Resources for Troubleshooting Sound Problems in Windows XP

Back to the top

APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition

Back to the top

Keywords: kberrmsg kbprb KB319095
Back to the top

Lol this post took more then an hour to make Hope it helps! xD

Reason: This thread (#585689) has ~2500 views & is indexed by Google as the #2 result (varies) for "Windows cannot display the volume control on the taskbar because the Volume Control program has not been installed."