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when we initally set up the computer it had the problem we have now. A young computer minded friend happened to visit and he made the sound work. Then i used the slide control thing by right clicking. Id forgotten all about that problem til now when we took everything apart to put in a computer cupboard, connected everything up and my daughter then reminded me of the original problem which we are experiencing again. When i right click there are 3 options - playback devices, recording devices and sound and a 4th option open volume mixer (which i believe is the one i need) which is greyed out.