No sound from Audacity in speakers or headphones

A couple of weeks ago, Audacity stopped producing sounds from headphones or speakers on my laptop for no apparent reason. I’ve tried several forum tips on how to fix it (I did this once before some time ago and it worked just fine), but this time none of them are helping. I’ve also tried uninstalling and reinstalling, with no success. It doesn’t seem to relate to the new version that just came out. I’m at a loss, and would be grateful for any suggestions. Thahnks!

Did you check your Playback Device?

Yes, I tried all the playback devices in all combinations with the various host options, and nothing works, but only with Audacity.

How about the playback volume slider, now “hidden” behind the playback meters.

That was it! I never would have spotted that. Many thanks!

Amazing! This solved my problem…they should make the slider clearer?