Share via

Greyed out apply button in sound properties

Anonymous
2011-01-09T04:54:41+00:00

I've recently cleaned my registry and now find I am unable to use the apply button in the sound properties. when I right click the speaker icon in the tray and go to playback devices I can set which device i want as default but cannot apply. I use usb head phones and i switch between them and my speakers. the same problem is happening in the recording tab and sounds tab, not having this problem any where else though. I am pretty sure its a registry problem as i cleaned it a few hours before i noticed the problem,

also when I test the speakers or the headphones they both work ok, so I know its not a driver issue or anything like that.

also tried a few different registy fixing programs but no joy

any ideas on how to fix this?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
  1. Anonymous
    2011-01-09T20:14:26+00:00

    On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 04:54:41 +0000, mikey718 wrote:

    I've recently cleaned my registry and now find I am unable to use the apply button in the sound properties.

    Ugh! Registry cleaning programs are all snake oil. Cleaning of the

    registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and

    don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, and

    what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,

    having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you.

    The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously

    removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit

    it may have.

    Read http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.html

    and http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099

    and also

    http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2005/10/02/registry-junk-a-windows-fact-of-life.aspx

    Let me point out that neither I nor anyone else who warns against the

    use of registry cleaners has ever said that they always cause

    problems. If they always caused problems, they would disappear from

    the market almost immediately. Many people have used a registry

    cleaner and never had a problem with it.

    Rather, the problem with a registry cleaner is that it carries with it

    the substantial risk of having a problem. And since there is no

    benefit to using a registry cleaner, running that risk is a very bad

    bargain.

    also tried a few different registy fixing programs but no joy

    You used multiple snake-oil programs? Double ugh!

    any ideas on how to fix this?

    If you had just used one registry cleaner, you might have been able to

    use the backup that you created in it (if you made a registry backup),

    but if you used multiple registry cleaners...

    You may need to do a clean reinstallation of Windows.

    Ken Blake (MS MVP)

    0 comments

6 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2011-01-09T17:27:48+00:00

    thanks SpiritX MS MVP I tried sfc.exe it found no errors also cleaned the drive but no joy, also went back into tune up utilites and restored the back up of the regisrty still no joy, I mentioned to my partner about the problem (changing from speakers to headphones greyed out apply button) and apparently you dont need to press apply you can just press ok, how dumb do I feel, lol, I spent 2 hours trying to fix this and all I needed to do was press ok the only thing i can think of is that the ok button wasnt working and i presumed the apply button was the problem, and that i actually fixed it with all the fixes i did, that makes me feel better is the apply button greyed out for anyone else in sound options? anyway thanks to everyone for all the help

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2011-01-09T06:34:27+00:00

    Most Registry Cleaners have an Undo frinction.

    --

    ..

    --

    "mikey718" wrote in message news:2cfcb055-2790-4636-8d71-410f5b9e32b8...

    > thanks for the quick reply, the reg cleaner i used was in tune up

    > utilites, unfortunatley the only restore points ive got are after i

    > noticed the problem, maybe theres a way to manually edit my registry to

    > fix the problem

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2011-01-09T06:10:57+00:00

    thanks for the quick reply, the reg cleaner i used was in tune up utilites, unfortunatley the only restore points ive got are after i noticed the problem, maybe theres a way to manually edit my registry to fix the problem

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2011-01-09T05:04:18+00:00

    Hi,

    What did you use to "Clean" the registry? Most Registry Cleaners, particularly those that claim

    to be able to fix a lot of issues, are Snake-Oil. Usually they fix little to nothing and cause a lot

    of serious issues. Ditch them.

    Try a System Restore back to before you did that.

    How to Do a System Restore in Vista

    http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html

    Hope this helps.

    Rob Brown - MS MVP - Windows Desktop Experience : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.

    0 comments