We had a problem with one of our Windows laptops this week where the volume control slider insisted on automatically sliding down to zero (i.e. no sound). Dragging it back up didn’t help, as it automatically slid straight back down to zero again!
After much searching around, followed up updating multiple drivers to no effect, we discovered how to fix it. The problem is caused by a mouse with a wheel, where the wheel can be used to reduce sound volume but, in this case, gets carried away and does it all the time. The fix is simple – unplug your mouse, reboot the laptop, then when the laptop has re-booted fully, plug your mouse back in again. Hey presto, the volume control no longer slides down!
Hope this helps someone with the same problem – if you happen to come across this post via a search engine and this helps you, it would be great if you were to take a second to leave a comment. It’s always interesting to see who drops by and where they are from!
Good post. We started having this problem two days ago with our Windows 7 laptop. We have a USB wireless mouse with a wheel that can adjust the volume. We’ll try your solution by turning the mouse off and rebooting, then powering up the mouse and see how it goes. But your post is helpful because at least it pinpoints the likely problem.
thanks for the post it works succesfully
This worked for me, but only after I tried a different mouse. It was clear the wireless mouse was the problem because the sound behaved fine once the receiver was unplugged. Other web sites suggested driver problems, but this one is simple to check. Thanks.
I tried your suggestion and it didn’t work. I am wondering if I have a faulty mouse.
Thanks for the suggestion. I just unplugged wireless mouse transmitter and used touch pad to solve the problem quickly without reboot.
Thank You very much.. From India
Same was happening to me -didn’t realize a book was leaning on the wireless mouse. I feel so dumb.
I didn’t have a plug in to take out but I did change the battery in my wireless mouse and that solved the problem of the possessed volume controller. Thank you =D
Have a great day!!!
I’ve tried unplugging my wireless mouse and the sound still keeps going down to zero. It doesn’t do it all the time, so when it does I can usually turn my computer off and back on to fix it. However, this is inconvenient at times.
I just encountered the same issue. Did as what u mention and presto its back to normal.
Your posting have saved the day for me !! Thank u .
Same problem for me but my problem was my audio minus key on my netbook keyboard was stuck in the down position. Felt quite silly when I discovered what it was 🙂
Swapped out mobos sound still mysteriously sliding down to zero. Removed reltek Driver’s, even reinstalled. Is this a stupid ransomware that doesn’t tell to to pay up?
Thanks a lot. it worked perfectly
Was excited to see your post. Sadly no, it didn’t solve the problem by removing the scrolling mouse. After a Windows 10 upgrade I have no sound. It’s exactly as you describe, plus I have a black volume box in the top left corner that won’t go away.
did you find the solution?
This is exactly what is happening to me 🙁
Thanks, it seemed to be the mute, V+ and V- keys near the escape key on netbook. I didn’t think of them
It seems to be a hardware condition. Try tapping on your volume up volume down and mute keys.This worked on my win 10 notebook. You might need to push “Function” to make them operate, depending on your pc.. You can temporarily make the black volume box disappear by disabling the sound drivers in control panel,,device manager., sound video and game controls
Did you ever figure this out? My Acer laptop just started doing this yesterday, and also have the black volume box.
Same problem on an Acer laptop. Isolated the problem to Bluetooth conflict. Turned off Bluetooth and the annoying pop-up disappeared and stays away.
Thank you, Richard! Never would have thought of a bluetooth conflict. This issue had been bugging me for months and I think it’s finally resolved. You saved the say!!
Praise the lord!!
What worked for me. I have my center wheel on my mouse control the volume. It’s gone nutty. Unplugged the mouse, restarted the computer and plugged the mouse back in. Works fine now. Before that I had replaced drivers, virus scan, malware scan etc.
lol i had two mouse and the under one was acidental pressed on books.
Thanks bro
Yes it solved my problem too.
its not working
Thanks for the help! It was definitely the mouse. I didn’t have time to reboot so I just removed the USB receiver and turned off the mouse and viola!
A loud cheer coming all the way from Oslo, Norway! This worked! First thing I noticed regarding this problem was that it kept changing my selected printer to Microsoft XPS Document Writer. Then I noticed that Windows Explorer scrolled right down to the bottom. And then on youtube I also noticed that the sound was gone. Tried with a different cordless mouse, and it was fine! Tried with the “defective” mouse on a Windows 10 laptop, and it worked fine. Connected the mouse back to the problem PC ( a desktop), and presto! It worked like a charm, as it always have. So nothing wrong with the mouse, really. So what might the problem have caused the problem? Obviously something related to the mouse driver. Changing over to the other cordless mouse initiated an automatic driver installation, which took surprisingly long time, about 5 minutes. So this process must have corrected the registry setting that caused the trouble.
Actually, I have come across something related many times before, in the sense that Windows is out-of-step with itself. It reports one particular setting, but does something else. The simple fix has always been to change one of the settings in the appropriate window, click OK and then change back to whatever it should be, and then click OK again. In this way Windows manages to correct whatever erroneous setting that might have been in the registry setting.
I had this problem on my dell xps 12 laptop so I couldn’t even try the mouse solution as I have a touchpad. After much frustration and the volume constantly going to zero ( even holding the + volume rocker button didn’t work as the – button was working against me constantly resetting to zero and same for the onscreen icon) and freezing my laptop making it virtually unusable.
This is what worked for me – I used the touchscreen to open the control panel – hardware and sound – adjust system volume – change systems sounds – from there choose the playback tab and select your speakers/headphones from the list – click properties – choose the general tab then click properties on your realtek controller and select the driver tab – now uninstall the driver and restart laptop.
I suppose an easier way is to choose the realtek controller from device manager and just uninstall the driver from there, but at the time I wasn’t sure how to solve the problem and I was almost sure it was a hardware issue and I was thinking my volume rocker was broken or stuck so I was just messing around in settings when this happened to work for me.
Once restarted my volume worked perfectly again.
Well this happened to me again and I tried what I did before including uninstalling/deleting the Realtek audio driver and downloading and reinstalling it about a bazillion times. In the end I realised it was the Audio sound port that was faulty because when I opened the bottom of the laptop I
Could see that the tiny sensor pad under the rocker button was broken off on the ‘down volume’ side. I changed the audio sound port which was a tiny blue circuit board connected with two cables and two screws and the volume works fine now. So I think before it was on its way out and then it finally gave up the ghost.
Just to be clear my problem was the volume constantly going to zero as if something was pressing on the down rocker button the whole time. It would be OK when I restarted my laptop until I touched ANY key on the keyboard then the volume slider would appear on the screen and volume would go straight to zero.
Thanks a lot
Holy crap !!!! Thank you. Almost threw my laptop on the floor
I rebooted and took the batteries out of the mouse, it didn’t work until I took the USB wireless connection out of the port. It immediately started working again!
Hi! Here it is 3/2017 & I have been having this problem with my desktop HP windows 7. I tried your fix &. so far, it is working.! Thank you from South Bend, In…..home of the Fighting Irish!
Hey, I’m a language teacher and I was having this problem in the classroom yesterday. I especially need audio for listening exercises.
Thank you for saving my class today!
Problem happened to me for the very first time ever (in almost 20 years of computer use) with a wired mouse & a desktop. Followed this simple advice & it worked, Thanks very much – it was doing my head in for the last couple of days 🙂
I didn’t have a mouse and touchpad has no volume control but it gave me the idea to investigate usb devices. Appears that a memory stick was causing my problem. Just unplugged it. Seems fine now.
But its still doing it today… grrrrrr!
Thank you for your quick fix!
I could not solve the problem with unplugging, restarting, even updating the Realtek driver did not help (Dell laptop, Win 10, wireless mouse).
What did, is opening the volume control by simply clicking the icon in the tray, controlling it randomly with the arrow buttons (just a few presses), then PRESSING ENTER. A notification sound or whatnot came, and its working fine since.
Note that I vaguely remember encountering this problem when I adjusted the volume with keyboard (Function button + F2), then immediately pressing the left, right arrow buttons, to find my cursor in Word – where the cursor did not move (suspicion is I changed the volume with them somewhy). Not sure though.
Thx for the topic, I hope I could help!
Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
My culprit was a volume knob on my Dell keyboard… all I had to do was turn it slightly and the problem went away. I don’t have a wireless mouse with a wheel that turns the volume down, but the suggestion led me to my keyboard knob.
Thanks a million! Can stop tearing my hair out now!
thanks for the help ! i replaced the batery in my wireless mouse and it seems to work so far , cheers and a merry christmas from Wales ,UK !
Many thanks – this is exactly what was wrong with mine. I was really frustrated.
A had the same problem on my laptop. Solution is: turn it off, extract the battery, wait for 15-30 sec and insert the battery. Start your laptop. Done)
Having this problem with an Acer laptop and Windows 10 but I don’t have any mouse connected, I’ve turned Bluetooth off completely and it remains even after a complete reset of Windows.
The down key isn’t stuck. In fact, if I turn the sound up and then tap the fn-down key while the volume is scrolling back down, it lowers faster.
Did you find any solution? I’ve reinstalled, deleted, updated, and have since wiped my computer. I noticed that the volume control box in the left corner goes away when I disable the audio service.. which still doesn’t help the no volume issue. Bluetooth is completely off and I don’t have any wireless mouse or keyboard.
Oh BTW.. I too have an Acer laptop with windows 10
Thank you! This solved my issue
It really worked. Thanku.. From India
Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Not sure how much time I would have wasted on this, but I would guess a lot.
After a stupid amount of time spent updating/deleting/rolling-back Realtek drivers, well I tested my brand-new Bluetooth headphones today.
Yikes! The sound volume went quickly to zero again. Eureka moment. So. It’s NOT a driver issue.
Finally happened upon this site. Unplugged my USB radio receiver for my wireless keyboard/mouse…rebooted…plugged in the receiver again…and after several hours of usage, there’s been no recurrence of the problem. Yes, it was THAT simple…
I never would have solved it without you pointing me in the right direction.
Much love from Powell River, BC
Acer Laptop, Windows 10 (1803 Build)
Just me again, 3 weeks later. I just about threw my laptop out the window when the problem re-appeared.
But this time I knew it HAD to be either the USB receiver, the wireless mouse, or the wireless keyboard.
I had a spare (my old one) so from there it was easy to troubleshoot the issue.
For me, it was a manufacture-defective Logitech K330 keyboard.. I can recreate the problem at will by turning off my “old” keyboard and turning on my “new” keyboard. I have no doubt that other people have had similar issues with wireless mice. In my case, I went through the pairing/unpairing procedures methodically. Fresh batteries always. Yup. It was the six-month-old keyboard. The two-year-old one works nicely.
Again, I never would have solved it without you pointing me in the right direction.
You’re welcome. 🙂
Work nice
Unbelievable! This worked for me for one week so far and no problem with the sound sliding down to zero. I was at my wits end wondering if I needed a new computer, that the problem was internaI. So I did what you said to do and why not try everything. I now unplug the mouse when I am off of the computer and plug it in after the log on is complete when I log on and it has been working. Thank you for sharing
Such a simple solution to an annoying problem. First time it happened I was using Skype when the sound disappeared. Now I unplug the wireless mouse before I power on.
No such luck. Even tried two different mice and it still continues on. Unplugging the mouse and using the keyboard volume didn’t help either.
Thanks for this. I had other symptoms, like strange highlighting of the Windows 10 inputs on the volume control, and a USB headset flashing as if there wasn’t enough power on the USB.
But yes, unplugging and rebooting did the job.
It worked on Windows 7 desktop.
Thanks and regards.
Thank you so much! i had a usb mouse plugged in that i didn’t use and then this problem occured. I just unplugged the usb and now it’s fixed! ^^
I am having this issue with a Dell Inspiron 700 series. NOTHING is plugged into the laptop. No USB devices. So that isn’t the problem. I have wasted upwards of ten hours with Dell Tech Support, have WIPED THE STINKING MACHINE TWICE and have only a new, clean Windows installation and it’s still happening. Also, when powering up the laptop goes to preboot diagnostics. Possibly unrelated but these are the two problems I am trying to get fixed.
I’m about 100% sure this is some sort of hardware issue, either a rogue piece of something inside the keyboard or some other weirdness. Even after the “deep clean” reinstall of windows, I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Realtek audio driver, NOTHING fixes this issue.
Like someone above mentioned, I’m about to throw this laptop out the window. Dell has one more shot – I’m either taking it in or sending it in and THEY can waste a full day on it. I didn’t sign up for that. This is infuriating.
I too have an Inspiron 7000 Series… this is 100% accurate with what I’m dealing with but I haven’t wiped yet…. this makes me sad beyond repair
I will say this tho.. as mentioned above.. someone had an issue with their audio jack and had to replace it..
My audio jack stopped working completely about a month ago… now this.. starting to think I need a new one
Sound went down to nothing and nothing would keep it there. I was on Skype, and I tried everything. Finally, unplugged and replugged in my headphones. Bingo.
As soon as i unplugged the mouse the volume came back to normal, thanks a lot! I was just about to reinstall windows lol
I had a similar problem and when I checked my external keyboard was hitting the volume button. Pressing the +volume solved my problem. Thanks for the tips guys.
Hi all, I had the exact same problem (black bar in top corner of screen). When trying to turn the sound up it quickly automatically went back down again.
After visiting forum pages, I did all the software modifications (going into sound settings disabling this or disabling that etc etc etc) yet none of it worked.
I found out that for me (I use a PC) it may be the keyboard at fault. when I hit “F-Lock” to disable it and then hit “F2” the sound bar vanished away and my sound returned to normal.
What i’m trying to say is maybe try this before meddling around in sound settings first.
Thanks Folks for heading me in the right direction. I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop with a thumbwheel on the front of it to control the volume. Which, by the way, I never use. So after reading the various posts and trying to decide which solution to try, I remembered that this thumbwheel was there. So I rotated it a couple of times and now the volume seems stable and that little floater is gone.
Dave from
Nova Scotia
Hi guys. I have a HP-Pavilion and it’s giving me serious audio issues. I’ve tried everything written here and it’s still misbehaving especially when I’m typing stuffs. It just started today for over 2 yrs since I got the system. Help me guys
Mine was the opposite, sound kept going up, and sliding menus wouldn’t stay put. I did what you suggested and now it’s all good.Thx!
i have not connected any mouse but problem is consistent and volume icon is always on screen
Thanks for the post. It worked for me only until I used another app using the wireless mouse, then again I switched to video (MP4), The slider of volume (within Windows video and movie player) went to zero and won’t remain at fixed position. Tried couple of time, but was of no use. I suspect my mouse is faulty. Anyway thanks. Greetings from India.
Thank you so much, you probably saved me hours of time with this fix. I really appreciate it!!!!!
It happens everytime I connect my earphone to laptop. rebooting the laptop (macbook) doesn’t work. Any solution for that other than getting a new earphone?
HELP ME PLEASE!!!
All I am trying to do is watch Netflix on my HP laptop.
Every few seconds the volume control drops to zero…like it’s possessed!!
It’s making me crazy. And sad…so sad. Sometimes it will play for 10-15 minutes, but then it starts dropping every few seconds.
This is the kicker, it ONLY happens when I am on Netflix.
Never on Hulu Live or any program on Hulu. Strictly Netflix and it has just recently become a problem this summer.
I’ve read everything on this thread and fiddled around a bit with the suggestions that might apply to my problem, but the fact that this NEVER happens on Hulu
makes me want to take a conservative approach.
So, if anyone has any clue what is happening, please let me know before
I LOOSE MY MIND!!!
Thanks so much.
you have given the best soln. sound and scrolling is back to normal. All other sites have crazy solutions which does not identify any issues. thanks
Came across this site yesterday as I was having the problem of Windows constantly reducing my media playback sound to near zero after a few seconds. I’ll be watching a film, and every few seconds, I’m having to turn the volume on my Bluetooth headphones up again. I checked all my drivers, and have no mouse plugged into the laptop, so continued looking around. I then came across this, which seems to explain the situation and provide the answer… https://www.techjunkie.com/windows-reducing-system-volume/ It’s basically Microsoft (yet again) trying to be clever and thinking it knows better than you, and failing. In this instance, it thinks there’s a VoIP call ongoing, so reducing the media volume by 80% (the default setting). I guess it thinks my BT headset is making or receiving a call via Skype, so ‘being helpful’ and reducing the media volume for me. As the article says, it’s just VERY bad at knowing whether there actually is a call or not. Thankfully, turning off that feature is very easy. I’ll see if has worked this evening.
That seems to have worked. Watched another episode of a TV series using my Bluetooth comms headphones, and the sound volume stayed up. It’s just a pity that MS doesn’t apply a little machine learning to these situations, and recognise that as I turned up the volume after it turned it down, I might actually want it up, and stop trying to think for me.