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Get the old Windows volume mixer back in Windows 10

It's a minor detail, but if you want your vertical volume mixer back in Windows 10, here's how to do it.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Freelance Writer
Sarah is a freelance writer and CNET How To blogger. Her main focus is Windows, but she also covers everything from mobile tech to video games to DIY hardware projects. She likes to press buttons and see what happens, so don't let her near any control panels.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal

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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

In Windows 10, everything looks just a little bit different -- including the icons and pop-ups from the system tray. There's a new calendar, a new "Action Center," and a new volume mixer -- one that slides horizontally instead of vertically.

If you find yourself missing the old vertical volume mixer from Windows 8.1 and earlier, I have good news for you: Getting the old-school volume mixer back is just a quick Registry tweak away.

Warning: This trick involves editing the Windows Registry, and misediting the Registry can cause your computer to stop functioning. So if you are not completely comfortable editing the Registry, I suggest sticking with the Windows 10 volume mixer for now.

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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

1. Go to Start > All apps > Windows System > Run. Type regedit in the Run textbox and press Enter. This will open the Registry Editor.

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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

2. Inside the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion > MTCUVC. If you do not see MTCUVC, right-click on CurrentVersion and choose New > Key. Name the new key MTCUVC.

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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

3. Right-click MTCUVC and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Name this new DWORD EnableMtcUvc and leave the Value data at 0.

4. Log out of your Windows account and log back in. Click the speaker icon in your system tray and you should see your old-school Windows mixer. (You may not need to log out to see this; for many users it works instantly.)