Right mouse click on the empty area in the Windows recording tab , text should then appear giving you the option to show disabled&disconnected recording devices, ( if you tick to show disabled&disconnected recording devices they should appear in the previously empty area ).
Choosing Windows WASAPI in the audio host list box (why does that listbox have no icon symbol left to it? only a tool tip?) make the recording device and channel listboxes get filled.
I see three disconnected devices in the recording tab. I activated “show deactivated devices” (right click) but no additional devices were shown.
I started Youtube and in the mixer app Adobe Flash shows as additional sound channel beside Firefox.
I restarted Audacity but no additional recording devices appeared.
Only Digital Audio (SP/DIF) (High definition Audio…) and Speaker (High definition Audio …) (!). A speaker as recording device?
The funny thing: when I choose “Speaker (High Definition Audio Device)” as a recording device, it works!
The physical sound comes out of the desktops innards, btw… Probably the speaker connected to the motherboard.
Using Windows in English, you have to show “disconnected” and “disabled” devices. If you see no devices in Windows “Sound” but you know your computer has a place where you can connect a microphone or a line-in, then it is possible you do not have the correct drivers for your sound device.
Yes, it is a special “loopback” device provided by Microsoft for recording computer playback. It only appears in applications like Audacity that support the “Windows WASAPI” audio interface. The “loopback” device does not appear in Windows Sound.