Hi I use Windows 10 with Audacity 2.4.2. I’m trying to record from Reshow usb tape deck. I’m getting a result but a very low volume one plus a lot of noise from tape motor. Also error messages in my run log about ffmpeg and avformat files not being found. Are two problems connected? 
Maybe you are recording your laptop’s microphone?
Make sure you’ve selected the USB device as your [u]Recording Device[/u]. (It will probably say “USB CODEC”.)
Also error messages in my run log about ffmpeg and avformat files not being found.
Unrelated and not really an “error”. [u]FFmpeg[/u] is optional and it allows you to import/export a wide variety of audio formats.
Will have a look tomorrow if I have time.
Find out from the instructions where the computer microphone is, start a recording and scratch it. If the sound is coming from the tape machine, that won’t make any noise. If the microphone is running, it will make loud noises.
Koz