Windows 10: Sound icon on Notification Area of Taskbar (and its functions) freezes

[rogergr]

On a Windows 10 PC  [HP Envy Desktop - 750-100nv (ENERGY STAR)], the Sound icon, on the Notification Area of the Taskbar,  (and its functions) freezes after booting. When I restart the "explorer.exe" via Task Manager, most of the time,  the operations of the sound icon are recovered.  

How can I overcome this issue??

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @rogergr 

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for posting your query! We're here to help you get back up and running.

It looks like the sound icon freezing in the Notification Area of the Taskbar is a known issue in Windows 10 and 11. 

Restarting explorer.exe temporarily fixes it, but here are some steps to resolve it permanently:

Troubleshooting Steps

 

Step 1: Restart Windows Explorer

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Locate Windows Explorer in the list of processes.
3. Right-click on Windows Explorer and select Restart.

Step 2: Restart Windows Audio Service

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
2. Locate Windows Audio in the list.
3. Right-click and select Properties.
4. Set Startup Type to Automatic.
5. Click Stop, then Start again.

Step 3: Run PowerShell Command to Fix Taskbar Issues

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
2. Run the following command:Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
3. Restart your computer.

Step 4: Update Audio Drivers

1. Open Device Manager (Win + X > Device Manager).
2. Expand Sound, video & game controllers.
3. Right-click Realtek Audio (or your audio device) and select Update Driver.
4. Choose Search automatically for updated driver software.

Step 5: Check for Windows Updates

1. Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
2. Click Check for updates.
3. Install any pending updates.

Let me know what results you get, and I can refine the troubleshooting further!

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Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye