I'm relatively new to Linux. I used it for...about a year or so before, when Windows absolutely borked on my machine and a friend of mine fixed it using Linux. I absolutely loved it. Fast forward a few years, and I took my new laptop in for repair, where they proceeded to put a new HDD in it for no reason (I took it in to get parts of the chasis replaced and a new keyboard put in).

I decided since I had a backup of my Win7 install that I could just rip files from if I wanted them, and I already have a PC capable of gaming, I would put Linux back on my laptop. I installed Ubuntu 12.04. I then realized that GNOME 2 was WAY outdated, and now they were using this "Unity" crap. Couldn't stand it. So I asked some friends their opinions, and someone showed me a screenshot of what XFCE looked like. I was sold! GNOME 2, basically.

Except I've had one solid problem since I installed XFCE 4 (or whatever the latest version is). When I first installed Ubuntu 12.04, when I would hit the multimedia volume keys on my laptop, an indicator would pop up with a bar to show me what level my volume was at. Now? It pops up, but is ALWAYS empty, regardless of what level it's at.

I've asked those same friends for advice on how to fix it, and none of them seem to have a clue. So I figured I would ask here.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

~DS