I have a similar problem. Every time I try to set the recording levels, they immediately snap back to 0 and I cannot for the life of me figure out why this is happening. There has to be a way to resolve this problem.
It is certainly not an identical problem, so I started a new topic for you with a relevant title. That user is talking about the recording cursor stuck at time zero.
If the recording level slider jumps back to zero this almost certainly means you have inappropriate or outdated drivers for your audio device. Please see Managing Computer Resources and Drivers for more information.
If you need more help, please tell us what version of Windows you are using and what version of Audacity (all three numbers, see the pink panel at the top of the page). Are you recording computer playback using Windows WASAPI? If not, please tell us exactly what you are trying to record using exactly what equipment (makes and model numbers always help).
Gale