Have Audacity 2.3.1 and using Windows 10. I have a laptop (HP 4540) that I would like to put my vinyl music on so I can, from there, put it onto a flash drive. Have an old Sansui turntable with a Pyle Pro Pre-amp attached to it. I’m not sure how/where I can hook into my laptop with it and what I need for cords to do so. Just trying to get started and can’t understand all of what I’ve read. I did read “do not plus stereo equipment into computer mic port”. I think this means I can’t use my mic in on this laptop so not sure what’s next. Any help would be very much appreciated! I’m not experienced or educated on terms.
You need a USB interface with a line-level input.
The [u]Behringer UCA202[/u] is popular and inexpensive. They also make the UFO202 which has a built-in phono preamp (which you can optionally bypass).
Or if you have access to a desktop/tower computer you can use the line-inputs on the soundcard.
One “weakness” of the inexpensive Behringer interfaces is they don’t have a recording-volume control. Generally, digital recording levels are not critical (you can boost after recording) but if the signal is too high you can clip (distort) the analog-to-digital converter. Behringer (and many other manufacturers) make higher-end interfaces with recording level controls.
Thanks! I got the Behringer UF0202 and can see that’s what I really needed as only have a laptop. I am still on a learning curve but just got one side of a vinyl record now recorded. The sound is decent but I do hear background record hiss. From what I’m reading I’m guessing there it not really a good/easy way to get rid of it? Even though I kept my recording in the suggested range, would it help more with the hiss to reduce the level even more, as I used Maximize Volume when I was done anyway? Or is this not really helpful and I should just keep recording at the suggested range? Appreciate the help as I’m trying to learn as I go!
The sound is decent but I do hear background record hiss.
Buy the CD or MP3. 
Personally, I only digitize vinyl when the recording is not available digitally.
The preamp (inside the UFO202) will generate some hum & hiss. If it seems to have a “pitch”, rather than being “pure hiss” it may be switching noise getting-in through the USB power. When you get USB power-noise it’s hard to know where to place the blame because some computers are noisier than others and some interfaces are more sensitive to noise than others. An interface with it’s own dedicated power supply doesn’t have that problem, but all analog electronics generate some noise and preamps are the “worst” because of the low signal levels and the high gain.
You can try the Noise Reduction effect. You supply a sample of noise-only and it tries to subtract/filter the noise. But, listen carefully because sometimes you can get artifacts (side effects) such as tinkling or “metallic” sounds and you may have to decide if “the cure is worse than the disease”. Usually, I’ll just apply noise reduction to the fade-ins, fade-outs, and other quiet parts where it’s really needed.
For the vinyl “snap”, “crackle”, and “pop”, you can use the Click Removal effect (automatic) or the Repair effect (manual) or there are specialized applications for cleaning-up digitized vinyl. Sometimes the bad clicks are easier to fix than continuous low-level hiss or crackle. [u]Wave Corrector[/u] is now FREE and it works automatically. I also have [u]Wave Repair[/u] ($30 USD). Wave repair works manually so it only “touches” the audio where you identify a defect, but it’s also VERY time consuming.
[u]This page[/u] has more information about vinyl noise reduction and software and tons of other information about digitizing vinyl.