Sound icon completely gone ;[

Dear Whomever, ;]

Any assistance with this darn annoying problem would be
extremely helpful and appreciated.

When starting up my computer recently my sound icon
disappeared from the task bar. When I tried to play a wav
sound, I received the following error message -

Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is
available, or the hardware is not responding (Error= 80040256)

I tried removing whatever was listed in settings [a couple
of, I guess, conflicitng devices I've never seen before or
paid attention to] and restarted my computer. When I did
and the system restarted, it stated it was looking for and
installing new hardware. When it was completed there was
still no sound icon and the devices were all still in the
system.

I am, obviously ;[ , very unknowledgeable with anything
computer related [among other things] and would give my
first [and for that matter, second] born for any
suggestions that might help repair what I'm guessing/hoping
is a simple problem. Thanks in advance for anyone's
consideration. I am grateful for any and all
participation/suggestions.

Thanks again,
Your buddy,
LG

Have you tried StartSettingsControl PanelMultimedia"Show volume control
on Taskbar"? That should restore the Volume Control icon into its location
in the Systray. For the rest of the problem I have no answer, but someone
surely will. Good luck.
--
LuckyStrike

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"Louie G." wrote in message
...
Dear Whomever, ;]

Any assistance with this darn annoying problem would be
extremely helpful and appreciated.

When starting up my computer recently my sound icon
disappeared from the task bar. When I tried to play a wav
sound, I received the following error message -

Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is
available, or the hardware is not responding (Error= 80040256)

I tried removing whatever was listed in settings [a couple
of, I guess, conflicitng devices I've never seen before or
paid attention to] and restarted my computer. When I did
and the system restarted, it stated it was looking for and
installing new hardware. When it was completed there was
still no sound icon and the devices were all still in the
system.

I am, obviously ;[ , very unknowledgeable with anything
computer related [among other things] and would give my
first [and for that matter, second] born for any
suggestions that might help repair what I'm guessing/hoping
is a simple problem. Thanks in advance for anyone's
consideration. I am grateful for any and all
participation/suggestions.

Thanks again,
Your buddy,
LG

From where did you remove the 'conflicting devices' which were re-detected, and
exactly what are the names of those devices? What was shown as conflicting?

Look in Start Settings Control Panel System Device Manager tab, under 'Sound,
Video and Game Controllers'.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Louie G." wrote in message
...
Dear Whomever, ;]

Any assistance with this darn annoying problem would be
extremely helpful and appreciated.

When starting up my computer recently my sound icon
disappeared from the task bar. When I tried to play a wav
sound, I received the following error message -

Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is
available, or the hardware is not responding (Error= 80040256)

I tried removing whatever was listed in settings [a couple
of, I guess, conflicitng devices I've never seen before or
paid attention to] and restarted my computer. When I did
and the system restarted, it stated it was looking for and
installing new hardware. When it was completed there was
still no sound icon and the devices were all still in the
system.

I am, obviously ;[ , very unknowledgeable with anything
computer related [among other things] and would give my
first [and for that matter, second] born for any
suggestions that might help repair what I'm guessing/hoping
is a simple problem. Thanks in advance for anyone's
consideration. I am grateful for any and all
participation/suggestions.

Thanks again,
Your buddy,
LG

In Control Panel Multimedia, does it show your sound device as the preferred
device and if not can it be selected from the dropdown list?
If not, then adding to Glen's response, start up in Safe Mode and remove any/all of
the sound devices from the Device Manager where he mentions, reboot and Windows will
redetect/reinstall. If you are still having problems, go to the manufacturers site of
your onboard sound chip or adapter (card), download/install the latest updated
drivers per their instructions.

--
Brian A.

Jack of all trades, Master of none.
One can never truly be a master as there is always more to learn.


"Louie G." wrote in message
...
Dear Whomever, ;]

Any assistance with this darn annoying problem would be
extremely helpful and appreciated.

When starting up my computer recently my sound icon
disappeared from the task bar. When I tried to play a wav
sound, I received the following error message -

Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is
available, or the hardware is not responding (Error= 80040256)

I tried removing whatever was listed in settings [a couple
of, I guess, conflicitng devices I've never seen before or
paid attention to] and restarted my computer. When I did
and the system restarted, it stated it was looking for and
installing new hardware. When it was completed there was
still no sound icon and the devices were all still in the
system.

I am, obviously ;[ , very unknowledgeable with anything
computer related [among other things] and would give my
first [and for that matter, second] born for any
suggestions that might help repair what I'm guessing/hoping
is a simple problem. Thanks in advance for anyone's
consideration. I am grateful for any and all
participation/suggestions.

Thanks again,
Your buddy,
LG