Good Day, I'm running Win7 64bit on a brand spanking new laptop. When I boot up the computer the volume mixer shows normal sounds, but a while later a new slider named "Name Not Available" shows up as active (bar is bouncing), muted , and I am unable to un-mute it. When you play with the slider, it sounds like a generic talk-radio show, but I'm not sure about that -- it's sporadic. If I reboot, it starts the cycle again. Everything normal, and a short while later, this muted unnamed slider showing sound activity. How can I track the source of the sound? I run Winamp (latest) and VLC as media players, but even when I haven't loaded these, the phantom slider appears. Is it from my browser? It's driving me batty. Thanks in advance for your help and time.

This this 'brand spanking new laptop' come with Windows 7 pre-installed by the manufacturer? If so, you need to check their website for updated drivers and utility software. And, the manufacturer/vendor is totally responsible for Windows 7 support on their hardware. Primarily this is because the manufacturer/vendor customizes Windows for their specific hardware and the add all kinds of bloatware and Microsoft cannot tell how that affect Windows.

Hi Will, Does the sound work properly when the "Name Not Available" new slide appears? Please go to the laptop manufacturer's website to download the latest sound card driver for Windows 7 and see if the issue can be resolved. If the issue persists, go to Device Manager and check the sound card status. To do so, please perform the steps below: 1. Click "Start", input "Device Manager" (without quotation marks) in the Search box, and then press "Enter". 2. Double-click "Sound, video and game controllers" to expand it. 3. Double-click the installed Sound Card to open its Properties. 4. On the General tab, please check the message in the Device Status section. If the issue reoccurs, could you please provide the following information for further research? Capture screenshot ============ 1. Please reproduce this issue, and then press the Print Screen key (PrtScn) on your keyboard. 2. Click the "Start" menu, type "mspaint" in the Search Bar and Press Enter. 3. In the Paint program, click the "Edit" menu, click "Paste", click the "File" menu, and click "Save". 4. The "Save As" dialogue box will appear. Type a file name in the "File name:" box, for example: "screenshot". 5. Make sure "JPEG (*.JPG;*.JPEG;*.JPE;*.JFIF)" is selected in the "Save as type" box, click "Desktop" on the left pane and then click "Save". 6. Please upload the screenshot to your SkyDrive at www.skydrive.live.com and let us know the link. For detailed steps on how to upload files with SkyDrive, please refer to: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproui/thread/4fc10639-02db-4665-993a-08d865088d65 System Information ============ 1. Press Start, type in msinfo32 in the Start Search bar and then press Enter. 2. Choose Save from the File menu and save it as an NFO file. 3. Find the file, right-click on this file, click "Send To", and click "Compressed (zipped) Folder". ++++ For your convenience, I have created a workspace for you. You can upload the information files to the following link. (Please choose "Send Files to Microsoft") Workspace URL: (https://sftasia.one.microsoft.com/choosetransfer.aspx?key=91f0c1d0-2fa0-4628-95a0-b6962edfcc2b) Password: WM^-Vr{X*JF%@ Note: Due to differences in text formatting with various email clients, the workspace link above may appear to be broken. Please be sure to include all text between '(' and ')' when typing or copying the workspace link into your browser. Meanwhile, please note that files uploaded for more than 72 hours will be deleted automatically. Please ensure to notify me timely after you have uploaded the files. Thank you for your understanding.

I am having the exact same problem. However, if I start my computer unplugged from my router, the "Name Not Available" muted slider does not appear, but as soon as I plug in the ethernet cable it shows up muted. I can't un-mute it, but if I move the volume slider up and down it appears to be a radio broadcast of some sort. I too am using Win 7 x64 Ultimate (Steve Ballmer Signature Edition), but unlike the previous poster, I'm on a custom built desktop. As far as I can tell, sound works fine in most of my applications, but in a couple of programs (i.e. unigine 2.0) the sound isn't working at all. Not sure if these issues are related though. I uninstalled and reinstalled the recommended sound drivers. Screenshots (though I don't know what good they'll do): http://cid-96a7340a68b831f1.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Technet%20Sound%20Issue?uc=2&nl=1 Edit: After some messing around, it is definitely an incoming streaming audio source from online. I don't know what process it's tied to, but it is taking up a substantial amount of my bandwidth and is killing my internet speed. A quick reboot of the router and the "phantom slider" remains, but the audio activity ceases and my speeds return to normal (until the audio activity starts back up again). Oh, just for the sake of description, when I move the slider (when muted audio activity is present) it sounds like somebody is rapidly changing stations on an old analog radio.

Also test the issue in Clean Boot to check if the issue is caused by certain third party application. If the issue disappears in the Clean Boot environment, you can continue to narrow down which entry is causing the issue.

I had the same problem. Followed the Clean Boot procedure as above and isolated the culprit. A service called "FLEXnet Licensing Manager for Adobe Products" when disabled, removed the "name not available" volume mixer entry and stopped the unwanted internet radio stream. Thanks also to ThreatExpert for further details: http://www.threatexpert.com/report.aspx?md5=6c4661d4d840f5903381c5dc66382aef

hi i have the same problem but iv ran all my antivirus software but i can detect anything if it is that flexnet thing how do i get rid of it or where do i look please someone help reply back to this message please

Dittos on the "name not available" issue in the Volume Mixer. I did find a service that is causing this annoyance. I started Windows 7 up with only MS sevices working and found the problem was solved. So I incremently turned on non-MS services until I found the one that caused the "name not available" in the the Volume Mixer. The non-MS service that was the culprit is "CaptureDeviceService" which is issued by Intervideo. The Intervideo software was installed as part of another program. According to my install dates corresponding to the Intervideo install, it could be Logitech Webcam, Snappy Fax 4, Skype 4.2 or HP Update. All of those programs run normally after I disabled the "CaptureDeviceService." Don't know if that helps anyone, but the procedure to find a non-MS service causing the problem could be a start to trouble shoot the problem for you.

is probably because of the logitech webcam because i didnt had that problem before my webcam and as soon as i intall that it started! is some kind of sound streeming because i can hear something when i put the volume up or down in that particular "name not avalilabe" icon.