new mic equip. isn't working

[bobrojas]

okay, i've been using a straight forward USB mic with audacity without problems for a while, i just didn't like the mic quality. so i borrowed my friend's set up that he's been using on his mac (garage band) and audacity isn't taking to it kindly. it's a phantom powered mic that goes into a pre-amp and then into a USB converter box. i've got everything set up right, but when i go to record, i can see the line on the track moving up and down, so it seems as if it's recording, but the mic input on the audacity toolbar is eternally stuck on zero. when i move it up, my computer mutes itself. i tried recording while the computer was muted then unmuting it to listen, but that didn't work, either. what's up? does audacity just not work with the set-up, or is there a prefrence i need to change? i have the mic set to mono, so that shouldn't be the problem

[steve]

but the mic input on the audacity toolbar is eternally stuck on zero. when i move it up, my computer mutes itself

If you mean the recording level slider in Audacity, then this most likely will not work with your set-up. However this should not prevent you from making successful recordings - just ignore the Audacity mixer toolbar. Any necessary configuration should be done on the device itself, or in any control software that comes with it.