How to Find Which Program Is Making Sound in the Background

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volume mixer - program name

Every now and then, my PC located in the bedroom emanated a sound at random intervals. This was caused by an application playing a short media file. And I noticed it twice when entering the bedroom, which I thought was a mere coincidence, but wasn’t. I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Control Panels → Sounds was the first place I checked. It was not the Sound Scheme as it was already set to “No Sounds”.

I then opened the Volume Mixer to find out the program responsible for playing the unidentified music on my computer. But when I looked through the Volume Mixer, the 3rd column said: “Name Not Available”. Randomly, the music just popped right up into the speakers. It lasted for a few seconds.

Find which program is playing random music in the background

With almost a dozen applications running and I didn’t want to disturb them, I fired up the excellent Process Monitor right away and configured the filters so that any entry with “.wav” in the Path is captured.

It may not necessarily be a .wav file (it could be .mp3 or any audio file type, as well), but I had a suspicion that it could be, in this case. So I included “.wav“, to start with.Read more

[Fix] Compressed (Zipped) Folder Access Denied Error “Unable to Complete the Operation”

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temp variable set - zip folder access denied

When you try to create a Compressed (zipped) folder in Windows, the error “Unable to complete the operation. Access is denied” may occur and the zip file is not created.

Compressed (Zipped) Folder Access Denied error occurs if the user %TEMP% variable isn’t properly set, or the user has no “write” access to their %TEMP% folder.

Instructions in this article apply to all versions of Windows, including Windows 10/11.

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Wrong icon for file type; how to refresh the icons quickly

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incorrect icon shown for a file type in windows

Summary: Incorrect icon shown for a file type, desktop shortcut, or taskbar icons in Windows. This article tells you how to fix it.

Recently I received a query wherein the user has installed Foxit Reader. Later, he set accidentally associated the .zip file type with Foxit Reader via the Open with dialog. They got the association problem straightened out by running the .zip association fix from the File association fixes page.

However, the .zip file type was still showing the Foxit Reader icon, although the association settings were correct.

Whenever the file association settings are changed or a new association is created via the registry or script, the system might not be aware of the change. Programs use the SHChangeNotify API call specifying the SHCNE_ASSOCCHANGED event, in order to refresh the icons without requiring a reboot.

This article explains the different ways to quickly refresh the icons in Windows 7, 8, and 10 without rebuilding the Windows icon cache or restarting Windows.Read more

Fix Devices and Printers Folder is Completely Blank in Windows 7

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When you open Devices and Printers applet, it may show up as an empty folder although the devices are correctly connected and their drivers are intact. This can be due to several reasons, and the possible causes (with appropriate fixes) are discussed in this post.

We’ve observed that Devices and Printers folder can appear blank if one of these is true:

  • Print Spooler Service is not running
  • Bluetooth Support Service is not running
  • Missing DLL registrations.

Use these steps to resolve the problem.Read more

Protocol HTTP Does Not Have a Registered Program When Opening Internet Shortcuts

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http protocol fix default browser

When you double-click an internet shortcut (.URL) file or click on a hyperlink in your mail client, you may encounter the error Unable to open this Internet Shortcut. The protocol “http” does not have a registered program. This is akin to saying “hey! you haven’t configured a web browser as the default“. Now you know where to look for the solution… the “Default Programs” applet.

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How to Determine the Parent Process of a Running Process in Windows?

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You may have come across situations where a continuous hard disk activity taking place although your system being in an idle state. If you open Task Manager out of curiosity, you may find several processes starting and exiting of their own without you doing anything. It could be a scheduled backup task, third-party system maintenance program or anything that could be churning your hard disk. It could be even a Malware. But which application or process launches them?Read more

How to Copy the Title and URL of All Open Tabs in Internet Explorer?

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When searching about a topic on the internet, one might easily end up opening a couple a dozen web sites in separate tabs. What would you do if you need to copy all those URLs to make a note of them in your document, or send them to a friend? This article explains how to copy the title and URL of all open tabs in Internet Explorer.

We’ve covered how to copy the title and URL of the current tab in article Copy Title and URL Extension for Internet Explorer. But the extension works for the currently active tab only. Rather than copying one URL at a time, here are a couple of smart methods to copy the url & title of all open tabs in Internet Explorer.Read more

How to Increase Windows 7 Desktop Slideshow Transition Animation Duration

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The Desktop Slideshow options lets you configure the picture position, picture change interval and turn on or off the shuffle option. Here is another hidden feature in Windows 7 configurable using the Registry Editor, that allows you increase the desktop slideshow transition animation duration. Increase Desktop Slideshow Animation Duration 1. Click Start, type Regedit.exe and … Read more

Fix Services MMC Error “One or more ActiveX controls could not be displayed”

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When you open the Services MMC (services.msc), the following errors appear, and the list of services may or may not display after dismissing the error message dialog boxes. One or more ActiveX controls could not be displayed because either: 1) Your current security settings prohibit running ActiveX controls on this page, or 2) You have … Read more