Nimrod

I had this problem not long ago. It sounds obvious, but I hadn't thought of this till someone mentioned it.

My computer crashed, and my system volume would only reach half of the loudness that it could reach previously.

I selected every sound device on my computer, and raised the slider to 100% for playback, I did the same for the speaker settings. I checked and updated my audio card drivers, and everything checked out, so too with the audio card itself. I used the volume up button on my external keyboard, and maxed that as well... Still, the volume would go no higher.

Finally someone suggested that I use the volume up button on my laptop case itself... Ah... Sigh... That worked like a charm.

Enjoy,

Nimrod