volume meter overlaid at top left of screen; volume stuck at 100%

Hello,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft community.

I understand that the volume control interface is stuck at the top left part of the screen and I’ll assist you with this.

Let’s Follow the troubleshooting steps below and see if it helps.

Method 1: Let’s perform Clean Boot.

A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you install a program or an update. You may also troubleshoot or determine what conflict is causing the problem by performing a clean boot.

Please refer the steps given in the link below to perform a Clean Boot:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135?ppud=4&wa=wsignin1.0

Note: Please go through the section: How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot of the Kb article to boot the computer in normal startup after fixing the issue.

If the issue persists, try the following.

Method 2: Restart File Explorer.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open Task manager.

2. Right click on windows explorer and select “end task”.

3. Click on “file” and select “start new task”.

Type explorer.exe and press enter to restart windows explorer.

Reply with results and necessary information to help you further.

Hello,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft community.

I understand that the volume control interface is stuck at the top left part of the screen and I’ll assist you with this.

Let’s Follow the troubleshooting steps below and see if it helps.

Method 1: Let’s perform Clean Boot.

A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you install a program or an update. You may also troubleshoot or determine what conflict is causing the problem by performing a clean boot.

Please refer the steps given in the link below to perform a Clean Boot:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135?ppud=4&wa=wsignin1.0

Note: Please go through the section: How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot of the Kb article to boot the computer in normal startup after fixing the issue.

If the issue persists, try the following.

Method 2: Restart File Explorer.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open Task manager.

2. Right click on windows explorer and select “end task”.

3. Click on “file” and select “start new task”.

Type explorer.exe and press enter to restart windows explorer.

Reply with results and necessary information to help you further.

I was unclear in my message.

The problem began in Windows 8.1, but I have now installed Windows 10.  The instructions for a clean boot only talk about Windows 8, 7, and Vista.  Do they also work for 10?  (I don't want to add yet another problem by following inapplicable instructions.)

BTW, other things I have already tried recently include uninstalling Conexant and downloading a different audio driver (RealTek); I thought perhaps Conexant kept reinstalling because the computer was looking for some sort of audio driver.  That didn't work; Conexant still reinstalls itself.  I have tried using the Task Manager to tell Conexant to stop.  I have tried changing the start-up so that Conexant isn't SUPPOSED to be starting up, but it does.

Unlike in Windows 8, deleting Conexant in Windows 10 does not get rid of the volume meter in the upper left screen at all.

If it helps in figuring out where the problem lies, when this started in Windows 8.1, it was after an automatic update that caused multiple other problems.  That update toasted the Synaptics touchpad driver; it made it impossible to move from one window to another without closing or minimizing the window I was in; it made making or changing entries in the Outlook Calendar and Contacts remarkably tedious, requiring work-arounds I had not had to use before; maybe a couple of other things I am forgetting now.  It was bad enough that I had decided to dump the box; meanwhile, I was using a little netbook instead while I researched what my next computer should be.  Then I decided that I had nothing to lose in installing Windows 10 because the computer could not be any LESS functional than it already was after that August 8.1 update.

BTW, strategy #2 didn't work.  (I tried it since I didn't want to try #1 without asking first). 

Also, BTW, I'm not sure the little box stuck in the upper left corner is a volume control; I think it's just a volume meter.  One cannot change it from 100% there by clicking on it, trying to drag it, etc.  The only way to change it from 100% is by clicking on the icon in the system tray that looks like a speaker.  However, altho that volume control will pretend to be adjusted downward (and the volume meter shows the corresponding change), it immediately moves itself back up to 100%.  At one point in messing around with it, I also found a dialog box that had 2 volume controls; I think one was for speakers and one was for headset.  There was a line linking the two, and they could only be moved together -- but they also immediately readjusted themselves to 100% (and the volume meter showed the same moves).

I finally found way to disable the audio everywhere on the computer, which got rid of the annoying volume meter.  But, of course, that means I can't listen to anything on the computer.  Not a totally bad outcome, since having the volume unchangeably at 100% was not great.

Still hoping perhaps a subsequent patch will fix the problems the August patch created.  But I'm not counting on it.  Now looking at Macs to avoid this problem.

I have the same problem after upgrading to Windows 10

The blue "gauge" does not appear immediately, it is always after I inadvertently hit some keys together.  Sometimes it's on the left of my keyboard, sometime to the right, just now I hit the d and r together and it popped up.  The problem for me is that once it appears, I cannot move it, change it, access it, etc, BUT I also cannot backspace, select text or highlight anything and everything I type comes up with a red line under it as if I need autocorrect. 

The only way to get rid of it is to restart and hope that I don't hit two keys together again.

ANY help resolving this would be greatly appreciated