windows explorer not responding when using volume controls, HELP!

this post was a year ago with no solutions but i am having the same problems:

shortmantuff said:

Hello. My windows explorer is constantly freezing! It wont let me change the volume or battery settings. I go to change the volume and it doesnt go up, so then I click on the taskbar and it shows the hour glass and then a message pops up saying "Windows Explorer is not responding" and this happens to me all the time. Any suggestions?

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i have done the same thing and am having the same problem on my hp tx1219us laptop
every time i try to adjust volume with the hard keys it doesnt work and i have to restart explorer.exe to make it work, half the time doing that doesnt help either. i have to fully restart my pc. system restore wont work because the problem is percistent and has been around for over 90 days, i dont want to do a full restart of my pc as i have done it before and encountered the same problem again, i ran sfc and it gave me this:
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log

C:\Windows\system32>windir\logs\cbs\cbs.log
The system cannot find the path specified.

i dont want to do a full restart of my pc, any suggestions would be appreciated. i have a hunch that it might be my driver? idk
thanks
p.s. vista home premium 32bit with all windows updates

come on guys

"Hard keys" makes it sound like you're using some sort of specialised "volume +/-" buttons on your keyboard. Is the problem limited to setting the volume via those keys? In other words, does setting the volume work normally if you do it the "software" way - by using the mouse to click the speaker icon in the systray and drag the volume slider up and down?

If it's only the keyboard, try updating the keyboard-specific drivers that provide the extra functionality for the "funny" non-standard keys.

Either way, make sure the audio driver is up to the latest version.

i have all my drivers up to date, usually this happens when i use the keys on top of my keyboard (all factory volume labled keys btw check this link for pic http://number39.net/tx1000-keyboard.JPG )
it hasnt really happened when i try to change the volume on the taskbar but then again i dont use the taskbar volume controls that often, also it usally happens when i use google chrome, it happens in firefox and other programs as well, it just happens alot when i use google chrome, maybe its got something to do with that/? (stopping using google chrome is really not an option for me, the apps features are amazing unless someone shows me something better)

Well, they might be factory labeled, but they're just an external hardware control device - a driver is required to relay the fact that you pressed the specific button to the OS volume control mechanism.

If this ONLY happens with the hardware keys, and NEVER (as in not once) when you set the volume with the mouse (in the systray), it's hard to escape the conclusion that the software which enables the keys' functionality is somehow involved.

In no particular order, I'd:
- Update the BIOS
- Try to disable any laptop-specific systray volume functionality - anything that shows up as an icon or utility for setting the volume, and it's not part of the OS.
- Disable Explorer shell extensions as a test, if you have any. There's a tutorial here on how to do that.
- Really, really make sure you've got the latest drivers

Just for anyone else looking to solve this problem I think I just did it now..

in the bottom right of the screen click to show hidden icons.
click customize.
go to volume and select show icon and notifications. problem sorted.
worked for me anyway