Are you running multiple displays or some type of display application such as nView? I had this problem where the master volume control would show as open in the taskbar but was not showing on my desktop. I searched and saw all kinds of absurd solutions from running msconfig to editing the registry. My experience with these types of problems is that is usually some fairly simple setting that got changed for one reason or another.
In my case I was running multiple monitors on my laptop (NVIDIA adapter) with nView running. Occasionally the setup goes haywire and I found that fiddling with the nView settings for sndvol32 eventually resolved the problem. The dialog box is actually functioning properly, but the settings on the display manager for that application changed to render it invisible. Basically, I played with the dialog box control and "sent" it to the laptop display, at which point it reappeared. Where it had actually gone to prior to that, I don't know--perhaps in limbo.
If you have a similar application controlling your views from NVIDIA or another vendor, you might try looking there, if you haven't already fixed it.
Best wishes!
JM
nyjnygfan :
I am experiencing the same problem. I'll try to explain it better. The Master Volume is actually open. It just won't display on the monitor. If you right-click on it, Restore, Size and Maximize are greyed out. Clicking sends a blue display right or left in the taskbar. It is the same for Recording Control also. I've stopped and restarted Windows Audio in Services, removed and restored the volume icon from the taskbar and rebooted. I'd prefer not doing a system restore as fuggles did. I hope this illuminates things. Any suggestions?