How to open the volume mixer in windows 10. Turn on the stereo mixer in sound recorders in Windows

Windows 10 Volume Mixer lets you control system sounds, volume for individual apps, Skype speaker, or microphone. Volume Mixer is a small, but literally irreplaceable utility that solves all the problems associated with the sound of all major programs used by the user.

Sometimes it happens that the mixer does not open out. At the same time, the sound in the system does not disappear, everything works as usual, the ability to adjust the volume of applications from the tray simply disappeared. As a result, it all looks like a common system bug, a banal developer flaw. What should you do then? How do I open the volume mixer and put it back in place? This article will discuss how to return the mixer to its original location if it disappeared from the taskbar.

Configuring the display of icons in the system tray of Windows 10

The absence of the mixer icon in the tray may be due to the fact that the display of the icon is simply disabled in the system settings. Let's check this setting. To do this, go to the menu Start -> system menu "Settings" -> System and in it we will open the category "Disable and enable system icons". Here it is worth making sure that the "Volume" parameter is activated.

In addition, you need to check if it is activated in the "Select the icons that appear in the taskbar" option. If this item is activated in both settings elements, and its deactivation and subsequent activation is not able to correct the dilemma with the disappeared volume icon, you can proceed to the actions described below.

One of the most basic ways to put the volume icon back in place

Let's proceed to the most accessible technique, it helps in most cases when a dilemma with the representativeness of the volume mixer in the Windows 10 system tray appears (but not in all situations).

Follow the rudimentary iterations below to fix the icon display.

By doing these simple steps, you will bring the volume mixer back to the taskbar. Although, in fact, all the operations performed have nothing to do with the result you need directly, it still works.

Returning a Mixer Using Registry Editor

If the method described earlier did not bring the desired result, try the method associated with the registry editor: using this algorithm, you will have to erase two keys in the Windows 10 registry and then restart the PC.

Now take a closer look to see if the icon has returned to the system tray. In theory, it should already be there.

Another technique related to manipulation in the registry editor:

Open a subcategory of the registry HKEY_CURENT_USER / Control Penel / Dasktop
Generate two string-values in this category (using the menu called by right-clicking the mouse in a free position on the right side of the registry editor). Name one of them WaitToKillAppTimeout and the other is HungAppTimeout.
For both of these keys, set the values to 20000, and then you can close the editor.
When everything is ready, it is also worth rebooting the PC to see if the effect of our actions appears.

If you need to return a missing mixer, one of the described procedures should definitely help you, after which you can easily configure the system sound settings and the overall volume of the operating system.

Trick to enable Windows 7 volume control UI in Windows 10.

Microsoft has set itself the task of making Windows 10 more modern, and as part of this strategy, the smallest parts of the operating system have received a visual makeover.

The volume control user interface, which can be accessed by simply clicking the volume icon in the system tray, is one of those features that gets such a modern touch.

Windows 10 ships from the ground up with a modern user interface for the volume controller, and the latest OS feature updates have brought more improvements in this regard. Clicking on the volume icon in the tray opens a small pop-up window with acrylic, one of the visual effects that are part of the Fluent Design language.

Fluent Design represents Microsoft's attempt to completely overhaul the Windows 10 interface and includes several other enhancements, such as the disclosure effect, which at some point in the future may also expand to the volume control interface.

For now, however, a modern acrylic user interface is all we get. And yet that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is a big fan of this interface. In fact, I've seen a lot of people claim that Windows 7 volume mixer was much better, although it's hard for others to say why the older design is preferable to the modern sibling, which is just as simple and has the same purpose.

Leaving that aside, few Windows 10 users know that it is actually possible to return to the Windows 7 volume mixer interface with a simple registry hack. It's important to know that Microsoft might block this trick at some point in the future, leaving users no option but to stick with the modern volume controller UI.

The first thing you need to do to enable the old interface is to make sure that you are logged in with an administrator account. It is not possible to make changes to the registry with a standard account. Also, create a backup if you are afraid that something might go wrong and the stability of the system might be affected.

Launch Registry Editor by pressing Win + R and typing regedit. Browse to or paste the following path into the address bar:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ MTCUVC

If the location does not exist, you must manually create it. To do this, open the following location in Registry Editor:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion

Right-click the CurrentVersion folder and select New> Section. Call the new key MTCUVC and save it. In the right pane, make sure the existing (or newly created) MTCUVC key is selected and right-click to create a new 32-bit DWORD value named EnableMtcUvc. Enter a value of 0 to enable the old loudspeaker interface.

There is no need to reboot the system or kill the explorer.exe process because the changes are applied as soon as the value is changed. Just click on the volume icon in the system tray to see the old interface in action.

To revert to the previous configuration, there is no need to delete the newly generated key. All you have to do is change the value from 0 to 1 and the modern interface will automatically restore itself, again without having to reboot the system or kill the explorer process.

I've tested this trick and it continues to work in pre-release builds of Windows 10 Redstone 5, although it goes without saying that Microsoft might kill it before this update is available to all users. Redstone 5 is expected to launch in the fall, so Microsoft has plenty of time to change its mind and make this hack obsolete to force users to stick with a modern user interface.

How do I turn on the stereo mixer? There is no definite answer to this question, since it all depends on the hardware and drivers used. Let's consider the most common sound cards and the case when all else fails.

Attention! A stereo mixer with default Windows drivers will not appear. Therefore, be sure to install the relatives from your sound card!

Sound Card Realtek

Right-click on the sound icon in the tray ("speaker") and select the item "Recorders".

In the window that opens, in the "Recording" tab, right-click on an empty space, and in the context menu, put the checkboxes opposite both items, "Show disconnected devices" and "Show disconnected devices", as shown in the figure:

After that, this mixer icon will appear in the window (the picture is not mine, since I have different drivers):

Now we click on it with the right key, and in the context menu, put a daw next to the "Enable" item.

Important! It is advisable to set the sound level to the maximum value. Very often the volume of the mixer is initially zero.

Important! When the stereo mixer icon appears, right-click on it and select "Use as default". The icon will have a green check mark:

Sound Card Creative

In principle, everything is the same as for Realtek. Only now instead of "Stereo Mixer" we are looking for "What U Here":

SoundMax sound card

In principle, everything is the same as for Realtek. Only now, instead of "Stereo Mixer", we are looking for "Stereomix":

When all else fails

But what if, even after checking the boxes next to "Show disconnected devices" and "Show disconnected devices", the Stereo mixer icon still does not appear? Either you do not have the driver installed and should be downloaded from the motherboard / laptop manufacturer's website and installed, or your sound card does not have a stereo mixer and we read below how to proceed in this case.

There are two ways. The first is to buy a male to male audio cable and connect the audio output to the audio input. For most computers and laptops, it will look something like this.

When at the dawn of the evolution of Windows systems it became possible to install special sound devices called sound cards on computers, the developers introduced into the system one of the fundamental sound control elements in the form of a kind of mixing console, on which it is still possible to adjust not only the overall output level of the sound signal , but also adjust the volume of system notifications (if enabled) or any separately taken active application that is currently accessing the capabilities of the sound system. Next, we will briefly dwell on some questions related to how to open the volume mixer in Windows 10 and what actions can be taken if problems are observed with it (the icon disappears from the tray, the mixer does not open or does not work, etc.). And first, let's dwell on the simplest way of accessing the operating system component described below.

How to open the mixer using the standard method?

Apparently, there is no need to say that even after the first installation of the operating system itself and if there is a correctly installed sound card with working drivers on the computer or laptop, the sound icon in the form of a speaker can be seen in the system area on the "Taskbar" (in the system tray, to the left of the clock and tongue). Calling the context menu on the icon itself via RMB opens access to several settings items, among which there is the Windows 10 volume mixer.

Immediately pay attention to the fact that initially, in the absence of running active programs that use the sound system of the computer, the mixer itself will only have an adjustment of the general level and volume of system notification sounds. If, however, another application is launched in parallel, the user starts listening to music or watching a movie on the Internet using the browser, a separate fader will appear in the mixer to change the sound level of the content played through the browser.

What to do if Windows 10 volume mixer won't open?

Now let's dwell a little on possible problems. Most often they are associated with the disappearance of the sound level adjustment icon from the system tray. Situations when the Windows 10 volume mixer does not work at all (the sound is not regulated or the applet does not start) are usually triggered by the incorrect operation of the sound card drivers, but we will not consider them now. We believe that the icon has simply disappeared.

The first step is to go to the parameters, select the personalization section and go to the "Taskbar" settings item.

On the right of the window there is a line for turning on and off the system icons displayed on the panel, among which you need to find the volume and activate the display of the icon by moving the slider to the right.

Screen settings manipulation

It can also be assumed that the icon seems to be active, but it is still not in the tray, as a result of which the Windows 10 volume mixer is also unavailable. Very often, this problem can be related to the display settings.

In order to fix the problem, you need to go through the RMB on the "Desktop" to the item for setting the screen parameters, set the scale of text and application elements to 125%, close the settings window, enter the same section again, set the initial value for the scale to 100%, exit the settings and perform a complete reboot of the computer or laptop.

Windows 10 Volume Mixer Not Working: Registry Actions

Finally, let's see what we can do if the above suggested methods didn't work. You can return the icon, and at the same time, restore access to the Windows 10 volume mixer through the registry (regedit), and using two methods for this.

In the first case, in the HKCU branch, you need to find the TrayNotify section, as shown above, and on the right in the window, delete the IconStream and PastIconStream keys. If one of them is not there, it's okay.

In the second case, in the same branch you need to go to the Desktop section, and in the right window create two string parameters, one of which will be named WaitToKillAppTimeout, and the second - HungAppTimeout. Double-click to enter the change of each of the keys and set both to 20,000.

Note: When using both methods just described, after all operations are completed, a system reboot will be required. If you have any doubts about the application of these settings, first make a backup copy of the registry using the export function in the file menu.