Is there a shortcut to mute sound in Windows 7?

Question

I keep accidentally muting my sound while playing a game, and I'm not sure how. Is there a shortcut I might be unknowingly executing? I'm certainly not using the windows key as I play.

Answer 1

Answer derived from @Randolf Richardson:

1) free utility called nircmd http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.zip

2) create a shortcut: "C:\Michal\Code\Mute Sounds\nircmd.exe" mutesysvolume 2

3) set up shortcut key

EDIT / UPDATE: comment below is right / intention of the question is clear. Honestly I have no idea why did I answer this way :)

Answer 2

It is also possible your keyboard has media functions built into it.

A lot of my function keys have media functions if I press them with the Fn key.

Answer 3

windows + x contains an options to mute

and whole bunch of other options like:

1. brightness
2. mute
3. battery options
4. WiFi or connectivity
5. display or monitor or projector on off
6. sync services
7. presentation for office users

Answer 4

You're probably pressing ctrl+s. That tends to be the default sound effects shortcut for most games. Since most people play WASD this tends to cause issues at some point.

Answer 5

This link describes how to set up a shortcut -- I mention this so that you can get an idea of where to look for possible causes of such a shortcut:

  Desktop Shortcut | Keyboard Hotkey To Mute Sound
  http://www.technixupdate.com/desktop-shortcut-keyboard-hotkey-to-mute-sound/

If you happen to have one of those keyboards that has lots of extra function keys on it beyond the usual F1..F12 keys (as many high-end gamers do), it's possible that one of these keys might be configured to mute the sound -- is there a control panel for your keyboard that allows you to configure these extra keys (assuming you have such a keyboard)?

Answer 6

If you like, you can use the VolumeChanger.exe from my project muteFritz. The source code is also included in case you want to compile it on your own.

To toggle mute of the Systemsound you just have to start:

VolumeChanger.exe -t

The other options are:

-m = Mute
-u = unmute
-s = Help
-s 0.5 =  sets Soundvolume to 50%

Tested up to Windows 8.1. I guess for Windows XP it is not working, because the managmentsystem of the Windows sound was changed for Vista and any newer versions.

Answer 7

FN + ESC toggles sound off/on.