Cannot mute while recording

[heirpin]

Hi, recently switched from XP desktop to Vista laptop and when I record from sound card, the input level goes to zero if I mute the speakers (soft mute) so if I want to record something, I have to have the volume up high as there is a direct correlation between speaker volume and input level.

Is there any way round this, its a real pain! I used to be able to do it although that might have been with the volume control on the actual speakers, now I'm on a laptop maybe it isn't possible?

Thanks.
Jim.

[steve]

Plugging in a pair of headphones will usually mute the internal speaker. In most cases you don't even need the headphones, you just need the mini-jack plug.