Reset volume mixer levels (in Windows)

The following PowerShell script can be used to reset the “Volume Mixer” levels under a Windows 10 environment.

Warning

Certain applications which use audio may need to be restarted.

Steps

Create a file called reset-windows-audio-levels.ps1 with the following contents:

If (-NOT ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][
    Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole(
        [Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] "Administrator"))
{   
    $args = "& '" + $myinvocation.mycommand.definition + "'"
    Start-Process powershell -Verb runAs -ArgumentList $args
    Break
}

Write-Host "Stopping audio services..."
Stop-Service audiosrv
Stop-Service AudioEndpointBuilder

Write-Host "Removing mixer level properties..."
Remove-Item -Path 'hkcu:\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\Audio\PolicyConfig\PropertyStore' -Recurse

Write-Host "Starting audio services..."
Start-Service audiosrv

Invoke the script via “Right Click -> Run with PowerShell” or using your PowerShell command line.

Alternative method

An alternative method is to invoking the following command in a PowerShell terminal (source):

Invoke-RestMethod https://www.jdknight.me/cmd/reset-win32-volume | Invoke-Expression

See also