I just installed Audacity last PM on my Win7 PC. NONE of the install tabs are for Win7, so when I was told to right click the speaker (for example) none of the “options” come up that I am told to choose from. Anyway, I now have NO SPEAKER function for anything on my computer. I can not listen to music, listen to audio on a movie, nor hear if my first attempt at recording an LP worked. Any ideas on a fix? Otherwise I will just have to un install this program. Thanks for any suggestions as I really want this program to work.
Start > Control Panels > Sound. I’m making that up because I don’t have a Win7 machine.
Make sure your Windows thinks it’s supposed to be playing sound to your speakers or sound card and not that USB turntable you plugged in.
Mine says “Realtech AC97 Audio” because I think that’s my sound card. I thought we wrote something about this, but I can’t find it.
Do you use Skype? Skype is famous for hijacking sound connections.
Koz
What do you get if go in via Start Button > Control Panel > Sound? Do you then get the four tabs: Playback, Recording, Sounds and Communications? What devices are listed under the Playback tab? Do you see more devices if you right-click in the empty space of that tab and tick both “Show Disabled Devices” and “Show Disconnected Devices”.
What he said.
Koz
Okay, what I have found is that as long as the USB from the turn table is plugged in, no sounds work. Once I unplugged the turn table, sounds work. The album I recorded last night (one side) plays, and all my regular computer sounds came back. That said, the recording is beyond horrible. It is so distorted and filled with back ground noise it is difficult to even tell it is music. I am not going to be able to look into this for a month as I am heading out to sea, but when I get back I will have to see what is going wrong. This was my first try, so I will give Audacity a little lee room, but so far the total lack of Win7 Directions and the horrible recording I did get have left me feeling like there has to be something out there that actually works. I may try it on MAC, but I am very leery at this point.
Try to remember that USB turntables are throw away devices. You’re not going to leave this to one of your kids are you? You’re going to transfer all your vinyl and put the whole thing in the trash. So you’re playing your vinyl on pre-trash. Koz
Koz, please don’t take offence with this, I have been using a USB Turntable for a couple of years now, there is not a month that goes buy that i don’t use it, Discount stores, resale stores, i am always finding RECORDS to transfer to Digital. I have some original Hank Williams Sr. 78. I even have an 8 track player and cassette player that i use. I just don’t understand why you are so down on these devices. Believe it or not bgut CD is not the only music source out thete. Again please don’t take offence with this. Just wanted to let you know that there are some peopple that go looking at garage sales, Flee Markets and place like that for the OLD style music and transfers to Digital in order to save and preserve the other media. I do have some Records worth a lot of money. Marty
We’re working on history. People post all the time with USB Turntable problems and many of them are traceable directly to the bad quality of the turntable itself. Many of them have terrible tracking, skating, and stylus pressure adjustments and all sorts of electrical problems, audio distortion, hum and data damage. They are nearly the worst currently available way to play vinyl that you can achieve. There is one worse. Playing a 78 on a USB turntable at 33-1/3 and then trying to rescue the work later.
We discovered a long time ago that refurbishing an older but much higher quality conventional turntable pays enormous dividends in music quality and lower vinyl surface damage.
So that’s why we’re down on them. We didn’t just arbitrarily make that up. I believe one of the elves has a USB turntable in the garage/car park in a dusty box, and that’s a very good place for it.
When you plug a USB turntable into a Windows machine, almost without exception, Windows tries to play music back out to the turntable instead of your speakers. This gives the impression that the computer sound has dropped dead. This can be fixed in either Windows Control Panels or sometimes in the Audacity Device Toolbars. Route playback out to your soundcard or speakers instead of wherever Windows put it.
http://manual.audacityteam.org/help/manual/man/device_toolbar.html
Koz
Thanks Koz, just wandering,
That’s me - except I passed it on to someone who was less fussy than me about the audio quality. 
I started oou with an ION iTT-USB - the electronics were good, but I got far too much wow&flutter - not really noticeable on the 45s I started out on but when I moved on to the LPs it was unbearable. Probably due to the extreme lightweight plastic platter.
So instead I got the trusty old Technics TT with its SME 3009 arm out of the attic and treated to a home service and and a new cartridge - I also invested in an ARTcessories DJ-Pre-11 phono preammp and an Edirol UA-1EX USB soundcard. MUCH better results than the ION - for a start the platter alone of the Technics TT weighs far more than the whole ION kit.
WC
That’s me - except I passed it on to someone who was less fussy than me about the audio quality.
Thanks WC, I think you hit the nail on the head. I do not have a FINE ear for music. Growing up i had a little 9 transistor radio that i thought played great music. I have studdied sound systems in my Radio TV classes that i took, I can even make my own Cross-overs. I know the formulas that are needed and all just to get my Woofers Mid Range and tweeters. but i really can not tell that much difference in the quality. there are some people (possiable like you) that can tell one octave over another one. me if it comes out of the speaker it is good. and suprizenly i think there are more like me. any way like i said i was just wandering. But the good thing about my ears and the bad thing about your ears is I DON"T have to spend all of the money to enjoy the music HA HA Talk Later again Thanks Koz and WC
Wanna know a secret: my hi-fi speakers (QUAD electrostatic ELS-57s) were purchased nearly forty years ago - and they were second-hand then. They cost a mere UK£150 - the QUAD 33/303 pre-amp/power amp were purchased new for a similar amount - so over the years that has represented a good investment,cost very little average per year and have provided huge enjoyment
WC
Sounds like you got a deal there, good for you Marty