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Windows overkill!!

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I was doing general Windows XP cleanup, but made the mistake of using the Disk Cleanup accessory in advanced mode. This removed a number of XP accessories that I didn’t expect! None of them were critical except the Volume control, which affects my entire audio system. I’ve been trying to figure out how to reinstall Volume control, but with no success.

Anyone have this problem before? And what did you do to resolve it?

Aloha!
Ken

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Clarifications

In reply to Windows overkill!!

Clarifications

If you are talking

In reply to Windows overkill!!

about the volume control that resides in the Taskbar being missing. Click Start, Control Panel and double click Sounds and Audio Devices. In Category View just click Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices, Sounds and Audio Devices. Left click in the box to the left of Place volume icon in the taskbar. Click on OK and exit.

If you have uninstalled your Audio Drivers you will have to reinstall them.

Something else to try

In reply to Windows overkill!!

Hopefully there is a [i]restore point[/i] in System Restore. Run System Restore. If this works, you will recover prior functionality. But be warned that, even if you have a prior restore point, System Restore doesn’t always work.

Moral: to play it safe, always have an [i]image[/i] file on an external HD or CD so that, when disaster strikes, you can rapidly recover a working configuration. I’m partial to Norton Ghost (Symantec):

http://tinyurl.com/5s7gw8

Ghost will create a complete backup [i]image[/i] of 10GB in ~6 minutes, and will restore a corrupted HD at the phenomenal rate of 1-2 GB/min.

Rick/Portland, OR

Not quite the answers….

In reply to Something else to try

I probably should have mentioned that I’m an MCSE, & have tried darn near everything I can think of, short of reloading XP.

The first thing I did was to go to Sounds & Audio Devices in Control Panel & made sure my audio drivers were still intact. When I clicked on the volume, I got the 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.”

Okay, I then tried adding Windows components in Add/Remove Programs, but that also failed because the XP cleanup had somehow removed all of those components. I then tried a restore point, but it didn’t find any of the components, either.

I’m really stumped, especially as this problem arose from using a standard Windows function. And if it can happen to me, it will likely happen to one of my clients, too!

Check this link

In reply to Not quite the answers….

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/319095

True Blue, you’re a bloody genius!!

In reply to Check this link

I had, of course, checked that sndvol32.exe was present, but it had never occured to me that it might have been damaged. Your reference article worked like a charm, with the exception that I just had to go to c:\i386 instead of from my XP DVD.

Many, many thanks & aloha!! My wife & I will be visiting your fair country in December, but unfortunately won’t be close to your town. But please hoist a few Foster’s for me!!

Ken

Will do ;)

In reply to True Blue, you’re a bloody genius!!

Fosters LiteIce is my favourite. You and your better half enjoy your visit to the land ɹǝpun uʍop.

Glad to see that you are up and running. 🙂

Do you have

In reply to Not quite the answers….

the OS CD? Pop that in, and see if you can reinstall the volume control.

Practical philosophy

In reply to Windows overkill!!

Just after the warranty expired (naturally), my Jeep’s catalytic converter started rattling from internal corrosion. I could have replaced just the converter, but I decided to replace the entire exhaust system:

manifold-to-converter pipe, converter, and muffler

It was a bit more work, and a bit more money, but I’ll get another decade out of this repair without further troubles.

If this [i]practical philosophy[/i] can be generalized to computer operating systems (I’m not sure about that), then I would recommend doing a complete repair. It will not take more time than troubleshooting such stubborn gitches, and helps reduce frustration.

Rick/Portland, OR

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