Since I’ve switched to a computer running Windows XP, I’ve been quietly wondering where the volume control icon went. Previous versions of Windows have had a volume control icon in the Taskbar. No so in XP. It’s one of those things that hasn’t been a big deal, but has been in the back of my mind.
The problem comes to the front of my mind when my dog freaks out at Internet sites that play sounds. I guess I’m not an audiophile because Web sites that include sound really annoy me. Suddenly some random noise blasts out of my computer speakers, and it scares me out of my chair. My fuzzy white dog comes over and stares at the monitor then at me. Then at the monitor. Then at me again. Suffice it to say, no one likes big noise.
So clearly, it would be handy to have a volume control nearby to settle everyone down. Fortunately, I ran across the instructions in XP about how to put the control back on the Taskbar.
To display the volume control icon:
1. Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel and then double click Sounds and Audio Devices in Control Panel.
2. On the Volume tab, under Device volume, click the checkbox that says Place volume icon in the taskbar notification area.
A little speaker icon appears in the Quick Launch area of the Taskbar. (Actually to be more specific, XP now calls this area on the right hand side of your taskbar, the "notification area"…whatever they call it now, the area is the little group of icons to the left of the clock.)
You can change the volume by clicking the icon and adjusting the slider. Or click the Mute button to silence the sound completely.
And with that, peace was restored to my small universe.