Adjusting Sound Volume

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 25, 2019)

Windows utilizes sound for many purposes. You can adjust the volume at which Windows plays those sounds by using the volume icon in the Taskbar.

Windows uses a lot of different sounds as it interacts with you. In addition, you may have applications installed on your system that also utilize different sounds. Assuming that your computer system includes built-in audio and you have a pair of speakers hooked up to your system, you can control the volume at which Windows plays various sounds.

Take a look at the Notifications area, at the right side of the Taskbar. You should see a small icon that looks like a speaker, with sound coming out of it. Click on the icon and you should see a volume control appear just above it. It may look similar to this on your system: (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The volume control for Windows.

The volume control looks like this on my Windows 2016 system: (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The volume control.

You can easily move the slider control up or down (or left to right) to adjust your volume (just click the slider with the mouse and then drag it). You can also, if you prefer, click the small speaker icon just below the volume control—the icon looks just like the speaker icon in the Notifications area. This icon controls muting of any audio, and you'll be able to easily see if your volume is muted completely or not.

 This tip (10798) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Creating a Simple TOC

Sometimes a table of contents created by Word can have a few too many bells and whistles. Here's how to get rid of the ...

Discover More

Default Font for Page Numbers

Page numbers are a common addition to documents, and a great aid to readers. If you want to easily format page numbers, ...

Discover More

Default Cell Movement when Deleting

Delete a cell or a range of cells, and Excel needs to figure out how to rearrange the void left by the deletion. You can ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Changing How Tasks Appear on the Taskbar

The Windows Taskbar is much more robust than it was in previous versions of the operating system. One of its many ...

Discover More

Controlling the Display of System Icons in the Notification Area

A sometimes-overlooked area of Windows customization is the notification area. This tip explains how you can control the ...

Discover More

Pinning a File to the Taskbar

In an effort to make your computer use more efficient you can pin non-executable files to the taskbar for easy access. ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one less than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Newest Tips