Audio levels changing - help!

[Joystick Jerk]

Now that I've got my Mame cab fully set up and have had a chance to mess around on it, I've noticed now and then that the volume levels in the Windows volume panel keep changing. I know there are some apps out there that can lock the volume levels, but I'm kind of stuck right now as I have no way to get files on the computer for the time being.

For now then, I'm hoping to track down what app currently on the computer may be changing the volume levels and sort it out. I'm running Mala, with the standard Mame command-line version. No other programs currently load up when the computer starts. No matter what I test though, nothing seems to affect the volume levels. Every so often though I check the volume panel and the levels have changed for no apparent reason.

Is there some aspect of Mala or Mame I'm perhaps missing that can alter the windows volume levels?

[ARTIFACT]

that's really weird... It behaves well over here... Some games are LOUD and others quiet, but that's how the games were made / emulated... Windows volume is the SAME. never happened here.

[loadman]

..Are you using one of my MaLa plug-ins?

[Joystick Jerk]

Nope, no plugins.