I searched for this and got no suggested answers.
I have the latest Audacity version on XP and use Firefox
My USB record player works fine with Audacity. However, I plugged a new small mic with a standard small phone jack into the PC and Audacity is not recognizing it, I guess. I get the straight double-line that indicates nothing is plugged into the Audacity program. Do I need to change my settings, which are:
Windows Direct Sound
SoundMax Digital Audio
Primary Sound Capture Driver
2 (stereo) input channels
Thank you
Please see the pink panel above. We need all three numbers of the Audacity version from Help > About Audacity… .
Please be careful. Microsoft are not supporting XP any longer. Every time there is a new security threat against XP that no-one heard of before, your computer will be vulnerable because Microsoft won’t patch it. There are nasty people who want to steal your passwords and credit card numbers or give you a virus until you pay ransom money.
Make sure you have a good anti-virus program and Windows Firewall on. This is no protection against new threats but is better than nothing.
Change the input in the third box of Device Toolbar to the external mic. The Primary Sound Capture Driver is whatever the default Windows recording device is.
If your USB turntable is connected all the time and default, you will need to change back to Primary Sound Capture Driver or the USB Audio CODEC for the turntable when you do another vinyl recording.
Thank you. I cannot afford a newer version of Windows nor a PC with enough memory to accommodate windows 7 or 8
The Audacity version is 2.0.5
I tried changing the third window to every option available and there was no response to the mic with any of them. I unplugged the turntable USB and that didn’t help either.
There are other free options, such as installing a free (lightweight) Linux operating system instead.
You want to set the third box in Device Toolbar to the external mic to be sure that you will record from that.
If you don’t see the external mic in Device Toolbar then quit Audacity and enable the external mic in Windows Sounds and Audio Devices. Please see Windows Sounds and Audio Devices for how to do that. In other words, open the Sound recording section, make sure the external mic is enabled, then make sure you select it using the checkbox where its slider is. Make sure that slider is turned up. If there is an “Advanced” button by the slider, click it to see if there is a boost or AGC control to make the mic louder.
If that does not solve it, try MME host in the first box of Device Toolbar.
There are other free options, such as installing a free (lightweight) Linux operating system instead.
I don’t know what that means, where I would get that, how to install it, or if/how I would be able to transfer all my files and programs.
If you don’t see the external mic in Device Toolbar then quit Audacity and enable the external mic in Windows Sounds and Audio Devices.
I don’t have “external mic” option; I only have “SoundMAX Digital Audio” and “Modem #0 Line Record” in both “audio” and “voice” tabs.
Please see Windows Sounds and Audio Devices for how to do that. In other words, open the Sound recording section, make sure the external mic is enabled, then make sure you select it using the checkbox where its slider is. Make sure that slider is turned up. If there is an “Advanced” button by the slider, click it to see if there is a boost or AGC control to make the mic louder.
Again, I couldn’t find an “external mic” nor any “boost” or anything that says “AGC” control. I did try enabling the “microphone”, which unclicked the “CD” then opened up a new Audacity, but again I did not get any reaction to fiddling with the mic.
I don’t understand why I can’t enable both options, mic AND turntable without adjusting controls. In the original Audacity I had with a previous pc I could record both without a problem or having to adjust controls back and forth.
Linux is an operating system, just as “Windows XP”, or “Vista” or “Mac OS X” are operating systems.
Linux can be installed on a PC (laptop or full size PC) to replace the Windows operating system.
There are many different “flavours” of Linux, called “distributions”. Probably the best know is “Ubuntu”, which is a good full featured operating system for modern computers, but perhaps a bit heavy for an old computer. All Linux distributions are based on the same core system, which is called the “Linux kernel”, but they are packaged in different ways to cater for the different needs of different users. Unlike Windows, Linux does not take a “one size fits all” approach, but offers a multitude of choices. The range of choice can seem a bit daunting at first, but there is always plenty of help and advice available on the Internet.
Unlike Windows, installing Linux does not just give you a bare operating system, but includes programs for virtually every task. A typical desktop version of Linux will include a full office suite, web browser, e-mail, photo manager, picture editor, media player, pdf viewer, and a whole host of additional programs as optional downloads.
Most Linux distributions are free
One possible choice for a lightweight version of Linux could be Xubuntu (a lightweight version of Ubuntu). Here’s a video about someone trying it out for the first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vjzmCi_Cko
Of course, as with anything new, there will be a “learning curve” when getting to grips with a new operating system, but that will be true whether changing to Windows 8, Mac OS X or Linux. Fortunately there are strong on-line communities to help new users.
Many (but not all) versions of Linux can be run directly from the CD so that you can try it out without installing it.
Linux can be obtained in many ways, including free download, or purchasing on CD/DVD for a small fee. If you ask around you will probably find that you know someone that uses Linux that will be able to help and offer advice. There is also a website here with information for new Linux users: http://www.getgnulinux.org/
You have to use the applications that are available for that system, though there is a system called WINE that gives you the possibility of running Windows applications on Linux. It does not work for all Windows applications.
Of course it is up to you, but don’t say you were not warned of the risks of running XP.
You will need to be able to select the input corresponding to the external microphone in Audacity’s Device Toolbar . We cannot see your computer so we cannot tell you what exactly the entry should be called.
If your computer is old or is a Desktop model and has no internal microphone, then enabling the “microphone” and selecting it in “Sounds and Audio Devices” (where the volume sliders are) should have helped.
If your computer has an internal microphone that you don’t need to connect, then you may not have enabled the correct input yet.
Please click in the third (input) box of Device Toolbar and tell us exactly what choices you have there. Or, click Help > Audio Device Info… , right-click in the window, choose “Select All”, then right-click again and choose “Copy” and paste the information into your reply.
No, Audacity (any version) lets you choose the input you want and so you must select the input.
You could not have avoided the step of choosing the input unless:
you had Audacity set to “MME” host with “Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input” or “Windows DirectSound” host with “Primary Sound Capture Driver”
you already had the microphone enabled in Windows and you unplugged the turntable from the computer when you wanted to record from the microphone, which made the microphone the default Windows recording device.
On the other hand, you will find relatively few alternative applications for those tasks outside those provided by the version of Linux you installed. Those you do find may not be easily installable on your version of Linux, or may require you to install additional libraries on your system.
The fundamental reason I stay with Windows is the much greater range of applications provided by thousands of third-parties. The majority of those applications (if you choose wisely and virus-check what you obtain) are well designed and with attractive individual-looking interfaces.
For example I don’t know what people use for file managers on Linux but I have never found one that is good or fast enough for me, so much so that I usually manage Linux files over the network using Windows.
Thank you for your patience and help. I think I will def. research and look into Linux as a potential replacement.
The third box has:
Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input
SoundMax Digital Audio CD Player
S.M.D.A Microphone
S.M.D.A. Line in
" " Phone
" " Mono Out
" " Wave Out Mix
Modem #0 Line Record
Then you will need to choose the microphone and you will need to turn the right-hand input slider up in Audacity’s Mixer Toolbar:
If you still record only a flat line, then ensure the microphone has its checkbox enabled and its volume slider is turned up in Windows Sounds and Audio Devices.
If that still does not record the input, then either the microphone is broken, or the microphone input port is broken, or your sound card drivers are not working correctly.
What is the make and model number of the computer?
In addition, I noticed that I had changed the setting in the first box to MME when I was trying out something based on one of your suggestions and apparently neglected to return it to Windows Direct Sound. When I changed it back to W D S, another option appeared in the third box: USB Audio Codec…very odd, I think.
The mic is new, something I ordered very cheaply from China ( $1.30 total, including shipping!), but I will also check the pc input with a cassette player I have with a similar male jack.
Note of interest: when I plug in the USB turntable, Windows plays a midi tone. When I plugged in the cassette player, it made no sound, so perhaps that input is faulty. However, that being said, I will need to take some time to play with it; put in a cassette; make sure the cable is connected in the back; and that the unit is plugged into the elec. outlet properly. I haven’t used it since I purchased this used pc, so I will have to go through the motions of checking it all out before I can determine whether the mic or input is faulty.
However, I suspect that it’s a settings issue somewhere, somehow.
Thank you
Thank you.
I’m gonna look into the link you provided as well as make sure that all connections & player is working.
I wonder if a mic with a USB connection would be better, because I KNOW that the USB connection works fine for the turntable.
Thank you
If you’re serious about recording your voice, you want to spend more than a few dollars on the microphone, whatever sort it is.
One disadvantage of USB microphones is that they tend to have quite high latency when laying the recording down, and they may have hum. However if you spend enough money, the better models have a headphones port where you can monitor yourself without latency because it is a direct path from your voice to the headphones.
You may or may not be able to direct monitor with a microphone plugged into the computer microphone port - it depends if the computer sound device allows the mic playback to be unmuted. Older XP machines often did allow that.
Another point is that because each USB microphone is a separate recording device, you can’t record from two USB microphones at the same time without the risk of the recordings drifting apart.
