According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a volume operation module, a first volume controller and a second volume controller. The volume operation module includes a rotary encoder module of detecting a degree of movement of a control member thereof and a potentiometer module of detecting an absolute position of the control member. The first volume controller controls the volume of the audio signal based on the detected degree of movement of the control member. The second volume controller controls the volume of the audio signal based on the detected absolute position of the control member. The volume control by the first volume controller is rendered effective when the information processing apparatus is in a power-on state. The volume control by the second volume controller is rendered effective when the information processing apparatus is in a power-off state.