How can I increase the volume on my HP Pavilion dv7-1285dx? The speaker on the systray is already at maximum but the sound is still very soft. Can I use a combination ofd the fn + other function keys? Thank you.

What type of laptop HP , ASUS , COMPAQ , ACER ?..........
Up the Volume on My HP Laptop
Open the "Start" menu and click on the "Control Panel" icon.
Locate and open the icon that deals with sound.
Depending on your version of Windows, it will say either "Sounds and Audio Devices" or "Adjust System Volume."
Adjust the volume under the "Speakers" icon.
To do this, click on the slider bar and move it up on the slider.
If you need to decrease the volume, simply move the slider bar down.
Click on "OK" when finished and close the "Control Panel" window.
Click on the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen for a faster volume adjustment. Simply move the slider bar up to increase the volume and move it back down to decrease the volume.

Volume on an Acer Laptop
Acer laptops are typically sold with pre-installed Windows operating systems that offer sound-adjustment features for increasing the volume on the laptop's built-in stereo speakers.
These same functions can also be used in tandem with external speakers or headphones to increase the volume, as well as mute all sound on the laptop.
If the computer should output an unusually low volume, fixing the problem may be no more involved than sliding a control switch with the computer mouse. Click once on the speaker icon in the taskbar on the lower-right corner to open a rectangular window with a slide control.
Click and hold the left mouse button on the slide control to drag it upward, increasing the volume to the laptop's maximum setting.
Click the "Mixer" button below the slider control to open another window with volume controls for "Speakers" and "Applications," adjusting each slide control upward to increase the volume.
Be sure the speaker icon below each control is not accidentally muted.
Click once on each speaker icon to remove the red circle with a slash through it, which will restore audio.
Click the Microsoft flag or "Start" button in the lower-left corner if the shortcut speaker icon is missing from the taskbar.
Click "Control Panel" to select "Adjust Sounds" from the Hardware and Sounds category.

Hi,
I see you mentioned the speakers provide very little volume from it.
It also should have a Volume knob on the speakers right? is it already in Full? you mentioned that all the settings in Windows have been checked and still the audio isn't that of what it was before when you had it connected to your HP.
Have you installed the Drivers for that speaker if ever it has it's own drivers I believe it should be installed for maximum performance of the device.

Assuming that the device sound components are not malfucntioning only requires alteration of some buttons either to increase or decrease. Usually on the computer, the program from which the media is being played for example windows media player should provide the volume scroll buttons observable at the buttom of the screen for regulations. Also, asume that the windows media player volume is at maximum. The computer has a volume button that controls the entire sound from the speakers. Use the mouse to locate at the button right hand corner of screen the volume logo. Pointin the mouse arrow on the logo should receive a popup message requesting incrementation or reduction in volume controls of media being played. Increasing the computer button would produce much sound. However also, the computer speakers capacity should allow much sound. An external speaker connected to the computer may have adjsutable sound buttons that unless increased however would produce least sound. Observe an external speakers connected to the computer to see if volume bottons have be minimised.

Run windows update, then follow the directions below.
First verify you see a small sound icon in the Systray . If this icon is missing follow the below section
1. Open the Control panel
2. Open the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon.
3. Verify the "Place volume icon in the taskbar" checkbox is checked. If this option is not available or is grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.
4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.
5. Double-click the sound icon in the Systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

Check Windows services. Right Click My Computer and Manage. Choose Services and Application

Hello,

try this: Fn + F12 to increase speaker volume.

If it doesn't work, then you will have to reinstall your audio drivers to rectify the problem.

Take care.

To fix the low volume problem in mic receiver follow the steps below:

1. Click Start , Control Panel .
2. In the left panel, select Classic View .
3. Select Sound , and then select the Recording tab.
4. Right-click on Microphone and select Properties .
5. On the Custom tab, select Microphone Boost .
6. On the Levels tab, increase the microphone recording volume to the maximum level.

Then please check if it works fine otherwise you need to install the latest sound driver.

Windows VISTA 64bit and 32 bitsound driver:
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp35501-36000/sp35684.exe

Windows XP sound driver:
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp34001-34500/sp34200.exe

Install the sound driver as per your operating system.

Open the audio panel (settings -> control panel -> Sounds and audio devices -> volume). Check that the volume slide is all the way to the right. Also, click on the "speaker volume" button and check it is all the way to the right

You may have already reached the limits if you have adjusted the settings through Control Panel (?). Are these external speakers you are listening through or is it the internal speaker?
In Control Panel (reached from the Start button, bottom left), choose Sounds and Audio Devices. The Volume tab is the first one. Make sure the Device volume slider bar is all the way to the right. Next,choose Advanced and make sure all those slider bars are up to the top with no Mute boxes checked. Finally, at the bottom choose Speaker Volume and make sure those slider bars are all the way to High.
If none of these help and you're using external speakers, it is time to buy a new set. If you only have an internal speaker you're listening with, keep in mind that they aren't powerful enough to give you the kind of volume needed to listen to some things on the web.
Let me know if you have any further questions. Please rate my answer.

Hi Folks....
If you are talking about the Quick Launch buttons of the Notebooks from where we usually increase, decrease or mute the Volume, the lights will be still and will not increase or decrease with the increase or decrease in Volume.
However, you do have a utility which should be preinstalled in Notebooks called HP Quick Touch which shows the bars on the Display when the volume is Increased or Decreased  using the Quick Launch buttons. This application is not compatible with Windows Vista 64 bit edition.
The HP Quick Touch application is available for download from the link below :
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp38001-38500/sp38358.exe

Save the file in the Notebook and double click it once the download is completed to install the application.
Hope this helps....

Unplug the headphones, as having them plugged in usually disables the systems speakers. If you have already done this, then adjust your systems sound volume via the speaker icon in your systray, just to the left of your system clock.