speakers muted automatically for some reason

Question

i have this weird problem that i'm not sure is specific to me, but more of a windows 7 or Lenovo laptop, so any help would be appreciable.

the problem is as follows:

Whenever i use skype, msn or any other thing that make noise, the speakers are muted automatically and i need to press the mute/unmute button to re-enable the sound.

Does anyone know what can i do to disable windows 7 from doing it?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Check volume adjustment options when communication applications are activated:

• Right-click on the volume icon in the task tray (by the clock)
• Choose Playback Devices
• Go to Communications Tab (I suspect you have the Mute option chosen at the moment
• Switch to appropriate option (Reduce volume or Do nothing)

Answer 2

Only know the in-built IF someone is speaking, the volume will go down. You can disable that through the sound options. Try installing the sound driver provided by Lenovo (I've got a SoundMax controller) and wrangle a bit with the settings. (My laptop is a T500 so this may not apply to you. Please edit your answer and tell us what kind of model you've got.)