XP taskbar not responding

The old program may not be compatible with Win 7, so try running in Compatibility Mode.
To start the Program Compatibility Wizard, click Start, click Help and Support, click Find compatible hardware and software for Windows XP,
and then, under See Also in the navigation pane, click Program Compatibility Wizard.

Try running it in compatibility mode, and if that doesn't work you could also try messing around with some other settings near compatibility mode. I had to do this for an old game called Diablo 2, but it's easy enough to do.

Find the game's launcher, either the desktop icon or the .exe file. Once you find this file, right click on it and in the menu that comes up, select the tab that says compatibility. Here, check the "run in compatibility mode for" and select Windows XP, since that is the OS that you are sure it works on. If that doesn't work, try messing with some of the options too, like the resolution and display scaling. For some odd reason, those make a difference sometimes. I remember Diablo 2 having a strange combination required to work on Windows 7 for me.

Go to Start - My Computer, right click on it - Properties - Hardware - Device Manager and in there check that the sound device is correctly identified and loaded (no yellow triangles with ? in them). Then go to Start - Control Panel - Sounds and Audio devices and make sure it's correctly configured and the volume icon option is ticked - untick, save and tick it again to be sure. 

Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete together and Task manager will be opened. Click on file -> New task . In the box type explorer.exe.a nd click ok. If this doesn't works boot your computer from XP disk and run repair from disk.

You experience one of the following symptoms on a Windows XP-based computer:

* The Volume icon is not displayed in the notification area at the far right of the taskbar.
* When you try to add the volume control icon to the notification area, you receive the following error message: "Windows cannot display the volume control on the taskbar because the Volume Control program has not been installed. To install it use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. "

Therefore, you cannot start the Volume Control program and cannot adjust the volume and sound level settings of your computer.

There are two possible causes of this problem:

* The Volume icon has not been added to the notification area of your computer. (The Volume icon is not displayed automatically when you first install Windows XP.)
* The Sndvol32.exe file is damaged or missing.

Solution:

Method 1: Add the Volume icon

To add the Volume icon to the notification area of your computer, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Copy and paste or type the following command in the Open box, and then click OK:
mmsys.cpl
3. Click to select the Place volume icon in the taskbar check box.
4. Click OK.

If the Volume icon is displayed in the notification area of your computer, you are finished. If you cannot add the Volume icon or if you receive an error message when you try to add it, the Sndvol32.exe file might be damaged or missing. Go to method 2.

Method 2: Save a new copy of the Sndvol32.exe file on your hard disk

If the Sndvol32.exe file is damaged or missing, you must extract a new copy of the Sndvol32.exe file from the Windows XP CD and save it on your computer's hard disk.

Prerequisites
This method requires you to have your Windows XP installation CD.

To extract a copy of the Sndvol32.exe file from the Windows XP CD and save it on your computer’s hard disk, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD drive or DVD drive. Press and hold the SHIFT key as you insert the CD to prevent it from starting automatically.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. Copy and paste or type the following command in the Open box, and then click OK:
cmd
The command prompt opens.
4. Type the drive letter of the CD drive or DVD drive, type a colon, and then press ENTER. For example, if your computer’s CD drive is drive E, type the following, and then press ENTER:
e:
5. Copy and paste or type the following, and then press ENTER:
cd i386
6. Copy and paste or type the following, and then press ENTER:
expand sndvol32.ex_ system_root\system32\sndvol32.exe

Note: system_root is the path and folder name where the Windows system files are located on your computer. This is usually C:\Windows. If the folder that contains the Windows system files on your computer is C:\Windows, type the following, and then press ENTER:
expand sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32\sndvol32.exe
Note There is a space between "ex_" and "c:\windows" in this command.

7. Type exit to exit the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
8. Verify that you can start Volume Control and that the Volume icon is displayed in the notification area (if you selected this option in method 1).

Hopefully the Volume icon is now displayed in the notification area.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete when you get to the desktop, when it comes up click on FILE then on NEW TASK (RUN), type EXPLORER.EXE and press enter, this should bring your icons and taskbar back.

Once you have them back, click START then RUN and type SFC /SCANNOW and press enter.

PS. Note the space between C and /

I'm assuming your speakers work and you're running Windows XP. Please correct me if otherwise.

There are two settings for the microphone in Windows XP. One is for the volume of the mic you hear through the speakers. The other is for the recording volume of the microphone (and the volume others here when you speak to them through Skype or another program).

First check the recording volume:
Volume Manager (double click on speaker icon on your taskbar) -> Options -> Properties -> Recording -> OK -> Make sure the Microphone slider is at least halfway turned up and make sure the Microphone is selected

Next check the playback volume:
Volume Manager -> Options -> Properties -> Playback -> OK -> Make sure the Microphone isn't muted and adjust the volume according to your preferences

restart computer and keep tappig F8 when
select safe mode from advance menu
*select win xp os
*get into safe mode and check
if u dont have any issue
then click on start->run->msconfig
click on selective startup
uncheck load startup items
click applay
click close
reboot and chack
if same problem
reboot computerr in safe mode
create new user acount

In order to update your system from the current Windows operating system to Windows XP Home, there are several steps that need to be taken prior to upgrading. Please follow the items listed below in order to prepare for Windows XP. Uninstall Trend PC-cillin2000 Click the Start button located on the Windows taskbar. Choose Control Panel, highlight Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Click install/Uninstall tab, select "Trend PC-cillin 2000". Click the Add/Remove button to uninstall "Trend PC-cillin 2000". Uninstall NTI CD-Maker 2000* Click the Start button located on the Windows taskbar. Choose Control Panel, highlight Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Click the Install/Uninstall tab, select "NTI CD-Maker 2000". Click the Add/Remove button to uninstall "NTI CD-Maker 2000". Uninstall Intel LANDesk Client Manager* Click the Start button located on the Windows taskbar. Choose Control Panel, highlight Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Click the install/Uninstall tab, select "Intel LANDesk Client Manager 6". Click the Add/Remove button to uninstall "Intel LANDesk Client Manager". Uninstall PowerDVD* Click the Start button located on the Windows taskbar. Choose Control Panel, highlight Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Click the install/Uninstall tab, select "PowerDVD". Click the Add/Remove button to uninstall "PowerDVD". * This software is optional. If this software is not installed previously, please skip the step.