Forum Discussion
Media Player in the System Tray
Is there a way to stop Media player from opening in the system tray (top right of the screen)? The reason is that when it's opened the volume slider disappears from the bottom.
1 Reply
1: Disable the icon via Taskbar Settings by right-clicking on the blank space of the taskbar → select “Taskbar Settings” (Windows 11 directly search for “Taskbar Settings”). “).
On the settings page, scroll to “Choose which icons are displayed on the taskbar”.
Find the switch for “Media Player” or the corresponding program (Groove Music,) and turn it off.
If it's not listed, try turning off the universal media icon in “Turn system icons on or off”.
2: Adjust the settings of the media player itself Open the media player Windows Media Player.
Go to “Tools” → “Options” (or similar menu).
In Options, look for “Interface” or “Notification Area” setting, and uncheck “Minimize to System Tray”. Minimize to system tray”.
Method 3: Open the Group Policy Editor (Windows Professional/Enterprise only) by pressing Win + R and typing gpedit.msc.
Expand in order:
Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → File Explorer
Double click “Hide these specified drives in My Computer” → Enable and select “Hide”.
Note: This method may indirectly affect the system tray icon display logic.
4: Use the third party tool 7+ Taskbar Tweaker:
After installation, disable the system tray icon for media players via the “Taskbar Items” setting.
AutoHotkey script:
Write a script to automatically hide the system tray icon of a specified process.
