Volume control on task bar

[John Doe]

I'm about ready to give up on this and buy a VISTA upgrade then
install it and see if this would correct the problem.

Can you install Vista on an MP3 player?

 

[Fred]

Thanks, Meerkat. I looked and found the file SHDVOL32.EX_ on
my Windows XP CD and also in the Windows\I386 folder on my hard
drive. But, since this isn't a regular .exe file I can't run it
as a separate program. I think this .ex_ designation means that
it has to be run by the install program or some such.

It needs to be expanded as it is a compressed file on the cd.

From Kellys Corner

Volume Control - Error Message

If the above hasn't helped and you have received this error:

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.

To resolve this issue, extract a new copy of Sndvol32.exe from the Windows
XP CD to the system_root \System32 folder on your computer's hard disk. To
do this, follow these steps:

Start/Run/CMD. In the command prompt window type:

X: (where X is your CD Drive letter)
CD \I386

Then use the expand command: expand -r sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32

Note: This assumes XP is installed on C: and that its installed in the
Windows folder. If not, you'll need to adjust the command accordingly.
Additionally, this must be an installable version of XP, not a "recovery
CD".

 

[Gordon]

What sound chip/card do you have? Try reinstalling its Windows audio
driver.

I'm using an older Sound Blaster sound card and speaker system.
It really works good but it is a bit out of date.

I think I have resolved the problem. I removed the sound card and
all the entries in Device Manager, then re-booted several times.
It was really unstable for a while, and would stall out and
re-boot during the start up process. Finally, after about a half
dozen tries it started and settled down.

After things had stabilized I re-installed the sound card and
re-booted. The legacy drivers were installed and my sound system
seems to be working fine, but I still don't have the volume
control on the task bar.

At least I do have my music software back alive and able to play
the music scores.

I'll keep tinkering with this, hoping to get the Volume Control
back in the task bar.

Thanks to all of you for your insights. A bit of information here
and another bit there all comes together and hopefully the worst
of the problem is resolved.

Gordon

 

[Gordon]

[snip]

I'm about ready to give up on this and buy a VISTA upgrade then
install it and see if this would correct the problem.

You're asking for a lot more problems if you install Vista, from most of
the feedback concerning the OS.

Is there any chance that removing the sound card then booting, to
let the computer clear the record of the old sound setup, then
re-install the sound card and see if it Windows XP would find it
and set it up properly? Might be worth a try. I sure haven't much
to lose. Gordon

That's what I would do. Uninstall the sound card software, the card
itself (through Control Panel, remove software, then Device Manager,
Uninstall), then restart with the driver CD for the sound card in the CD
drive. Windows should "find new hardware" with a dialog box asking
about drivers. Steer it to the CD and allow it to install the sound
card. Or, the CD may have a startup menu you can use to install. It's
certainly worth a try and has a good chance of working.

The problem is that the Sound Blaster card and its CD are a few
years old, and the drivers are not up to date. They seem to be
incompatible with Windows XP.

When I removed the sound card and all drivers then rebooted then
turned the computer off and re-installed the sound card and
started again it worked.

I should never have loaded those out of date drivers and programs
from the Sound Blaster CD. They were compiled for Windows NT, not
for Windows XP.

Gordon

 

[Don Phillipson]

The volume control on my computer's task bar has vanished and I
can't figure out how to restore it. I'm talking about the small
speaker icon that was located at the right hand end of my task
bar. It was there and fully functional a few days ago but seems
to have been deleted entirely.

Windows up to XP had this toggle switch in
/ Control Panel / Multimedia.

 

[Gordon]

Can you install Vista on an MP3 player?

I don't know about that, but I'm not dealing with an MP3 player.
I'm dealing with a desktop computer running Windows XP Pro with
Service Pack 2 installed.

It's working okay, now, except that the Volume Control is still
missing from the task bar.

 

[Gordon]

It needs to be expanded as it is a compressed file on the cd.

From Kellys Corner

Volume Control - Error Message

If the above hasn't helped and you have received this error:

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.

To resolve this issue, extract a new copy of Sndvol32.exe from the Windows
XP CD to the system_root \System32 folder on your computer's hard disk. To
do this, follow these steps:

Start/Run/CMD. In the command prompt window type:

X: (where X is your CD Drive letter)
CD \I386

Then use the expand command: expand -r sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32

Note: This assumes XP is installed on C: and that its installed in the
Windows folder. If not, you'll need to adjust the command accordingly.
Additionally, this must be an installable version of XP, not a "recovery
CD".

Thanks, Fred, I printed this message out and will go through this
procedure shortly. I want to play around with the existing setup
a bit and try to learn just what is going on. I do have my sound
back in my music software, and that was the main problem. Now if
I can get the Volume Control back in the task bar I'll be in fine
shape.

Gordon

 

[RobV]

[snip]

I'm about ready to give up on this and buy a VISTA upgrade then
install it and see if this would correct the problem.

You're asking for a lot more problems if you install Vista, from
most of the feedback concerning the OS.

Is there any chance that removing the sound card then booting, to
let the computer clear the record of the old sound setup, then
re-install the sound card and see if it Windows XP would find it
and set it up properly? Might be worth a try. I sure haven't much
to lose. Gordon

That's what I would do. Uninstall the sound card software, the card
itself (through Control Panel, remove software, then Device Manager,
Uninstall), then restart with the driver CD for the sound card in
the CD drive. Windows should "find new hardware" with a dialog box
asking about drivers. Steer it to the CD and allow it to install
the sound card. Or, the CD may have a startup menu you can use to
install. It's certainly worth a try and has a good chance of
working.

The problem is that the Sound Blaster card and its CD are a few
years old, and the drivers are not up to date. They seem to be
incompatible with Windows XP.

When I removed the sound card and all drivers then rebooted then
turned the computer off and re-installed the sound card and
started again it worked.

I should never have loaded those out of date drivers and programs
from the Sound Blaster CD. They were compiled for Windows NT, not
for Windows XP.

Gordon

Didn't know they were older drivers. You can download the current (XP
compatible) drivers from Creative's web site:
http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/

 

[Gordon]

It needs to be expanded as it is a compressed file on the cd.

From Kellys Corner

Volume Control - Error Message

If the above hasn't helped and you have received this error:

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.

To resolve this issue, extract a new copy of Sndvol32.exe from the Windows
XP CD to the system_root \System32 folder on your computer's hard disk. To
do this, follow these steps:

Start/Run/CMD. In the command prompt window type:

X: (where X is your CD Drive letter)
CD \I386

Then use the expand command: expand -r sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32

Note: This assumes XP is installed on C: and that its installed in the
Windows folder. If not, you'll need to adjust the command accordingly.
Additionally, this must be an installable version of XP, not a "recovery
CD".

I tried to do this after I got all my critical files backed up,
but hit a snag. Here is a copy/paste of the command text. I had
to try a few times before I got the command text keyed in with
the proper spaces, but it finally accepted my input, then
couldn't open the file for some reason.

My CD drive is W: as indicated in the following text.

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W:CD\I386
The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W:CD \I386
'W:CD' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W:CD\I386
The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W: CD \I386

W:\>expand -r sndvol32.ex_
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1999. All rights reserved.

Can't open input file: sndvol32.ex_.


W:\>expand -r sndvol32.ex_
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1999. All rights reserved.

Can't open input file: sndvol32.ex_.


W:\>

-------------------------
Back to Windows Explorer...

I checked the CD. The file is located in the folder I386, and is
listed as sndrec32.ex_

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Gordon]

It needs to be expanded as it is a compressed file on the cd.

From Kellys Corner

Volume Control - Error Message

If the above hasn't helped and you have received this error:

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.

To resolve this issue, extract a new copy of Sndvol32.exe from the Windows
XP CD to the system_root \System32 folder on your computer's hard disk. To
do this, follow these steps:

Start/Run/CMD. In the command prompt window type:

X: (where X is your CD Drive letter)
CD \I386

Then use the expand command: expand -r sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32

Note: This assumes XP is installed on C: and that its installed in the
Windows folder. If not, you'll need to adjust the command accordingly.
Additionally, this must be an installable version of XP, not a "recovery
CD".

Okay, now that I've had my second cup of coffee, I think I am
finally awake. I see what I was doing wrong with the command and
ran it again as follows;

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W:CD\I386
The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W:CD \I386
'W:CD' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W:CD\I386
The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Documents and Settings\Gordon L. Richard>W: CD \I386

W:\>expand -r sndvol32.ex_
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1999. All rights reserved.

Can't open input file: sndvol32.ex_.


W:\>expand -r sndvol32.ex_
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1999. All rights reserved.

Can't open input file: sndvol32.ex_.


W:\>expand -r sndvol32.ex_ c:windows\system32
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1999. All rights reserved.

Can't open input file: sndvol32.ex_.

Can't open input file: c:windows\system32.


W:\>CD \I386

W:\I386>expand -r sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1999. All rights reserved.

Expanding sndvol32.ex_ to c:\windows\system32\sndvol32.exe.
sndvol32.ex_: 56489 bytes expanded to 138752 bytes, 145%
increase.


W:\I386>

This seems to have gotten the file expanded and into the system32
folder on my hard drive. I'll now try re-booting and see if the
volume control shows up in the taskbar.

Gordon

 

[Ed Medlin]

I'm using an older Sound Blaster sound card and speaker system.
It really works good but it is a bit out of date.

I think I have resolved the problem. I removed the sound card and
all the entries in Device Manager, then re-booted several times.
It was really unstable for a while, and would stall out and
re-boot during the start up process. Finally, after about a half
dozen tries it started and settled down.

After things had stabilized I re-installed the sound card and
re-booted. The legacy drivers were installed and my sound system
seems to be working fine, but I still don't have the volume
control on the task bar.

At least I do have my music software back alive and able to play
the music scores.

I'll keep tinkering with this, hoping to get the Volume Control
back in the task bar.

Thanks to all of you for your insights. A bit of information here
and another bit there all comes together and hopefully the worst
of the problem is resolved.

Gordon

Go to Creative's site and get the newest drivers rather than use the generic
legacy drivers.

Ed

 

[ProfGene]

The volume control on my computer's task bar has vanished and I
can't figure out how to restore it. I'm talking about the small
speaker icon that was located at the right hand end of my task
bar. It was there and fully functional a few days ago but seems
to have been deleted entirely.

When I open Control Panel - Sounds and Audio Devices, then select
the Volume Tab I see a small checkbox with the text; Place Volume
Icon on the task bar. When I check this checkbox I get an error
message; Windows cannot display the volume control on the task
bar because the volume control has not been installed. To install
it, use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.

I've tried everything I can think of in so much as installing the
volume control with the Add/Remove Programs function in Control
Panel. There is no explicit mentioning of the volume control, but
seems to want me to place a CD in the CD drive then tell it which
program to install. I blank out here...which CD, and which
program or whatever on this CD?

Incidentally, my computer's sound system works normally for
things like MIDI files playing through the SB Live Wave Device.
Also, in Control Panel - Sounds and Audio Devices - Sounds Tab,
all the computer function sounds are working.

What killed my Volume Control and how may I restore it? I use
Pizzicato Arpege Music software to compose music scores, and have
always played these through the computer sound system, but this
is not available now and the music software is silent.

Thanks for any leads or insights, Gordon

Go to programs, accessories, entertainment, then volume control, click
on it, and it will appear back on your task bar.