I recently had some problems with my Vista computer that the volume control icon kept disappearing and whenever I tried to activate it in the properties area of my taskbar the volume control was grayed out.

Volume Control Icon Missing

Apparently I wasn’t just going nuts but it is actually a bit of a bug that many Vista users have been experiencing, and from what I can read about it no one really knows why! But there is something you can do about it, this fix requires a little registry editing so like usual – backup your registry (I have also added the .reg file for those who hate editing their registry).

Through the Registry

  • Open regedit
  • Go to these locations
    • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify
  • In the TrayNotify string delete both IconStreams and PastIconStreams
  • Once you have deleted them all reboot your PC
  • This should fix the problem

Through the .reg File

  • Copy the following code into a notepad file and call it trayiconfix.reg
  • Open the file and you should enter the registry
  • It should fix the errors for you
  • You will now have to reboot and the volume problem should be fixed
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify]
“PastIconsStream”=-
“IconStreams”=-

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify]
“PastIconsStream”=-
“IconStreams”=-

If for some reason this fix did not work or you have any other questions regarding the volume controls please leave a comment.