Our "10 Things You May Not Know About Windows Vista" series continues as we explore one of the least-known features in Windows Vista: the Volume Mixer. Although it might not be as well-touted as the Aero interface, you may find it's one of the more useful features available.
I'm sure we've all had the experience of working on one application when another application's sound suddenly blasted out your speakers. It can be disconcerting anytime, embarrassing when it happens during a meeting and downright painful when using headphones.
Windows XP had a single control for all sounds, and this controlled only the hardware. If an application's sound was louder or softer than that specified by Windows XP's volume control, you had to constantly adjust the volume.
Windows Vista allows you to choose the right volume for any running application. It's also very easy to use. Right-click the speaker icon in the notification area (systray) of your desktop, then click Volume Mixer to open the control. You'll see a list of programs running. Then, just use the slider bar to adjust the volume up or down. (Note: If some of the sliders have a black background, just move the slider and Windows Vista will re-draw it. KB article 938308 explains this more.)
You can adjust volume for use with either speakers or headphones simply by selecting the desired output in the device column. You can also choose to mute individual programs so as to not be interrupted by sounds from other running programs. If you change the output device, you will need to readjust the volume.