That’s not dreadful. You plug into the Mic-In, not the Line-In, and you need a special cable.
Note the 1/8" plug has one black band and not two.
This is a devil’s adapter.
https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/devils-adapter/46592/1
You can get into very serious trouble with this one. See it has two black bands on the 1.8" plug? Sound files made with this one will not play on all computers.
Depending on your Windows machine, you may be able to find a “Microphone Boost” setting. Drill down into the Windows control panels for sound. Google your brains out.
Koz