Audacity Forum

i imagine this has already been posted and i looked for a thread but did not see it so my apologies if i am repeating.

i have audacity 1.2.6 loaded on my dell inspiron1501 (with WinXP) with sigmatel audio. when i try to record streaming audio there is no stereo mix input option available. I have audacity loaded on my desktop at home and it has the stereo mix available. i went to control panel > sound and noticed that the available recording volume controls are only line in and microphone which is also what is being displayed on Mixer input of audacity.

i tried to follow the instructions in the http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... bar_Issues

and read the following under the section "Special information regarding notebook computers and Vista":

1. Start > Control panel > Sound. 2. When the sound dialog displays, right-click and select 'Show disabled devices'. Typically, this will display Stereo Mix - Realtek High Definition Audio or something similar. 3. Right-click that icon and select Properties, then ensure that the device is selected as enabled. That is in the Device usage section on the drop down list.

Not sure what it means to right-click when the sound dialog displays. Maybe that is a Vista capability but in WinXP cant rightclick on the opened sound dialog box.

any helps is appreciated.

devraj

The information that is relevant for you is further down the page.

"On XP or earlier, right-click over the speaker icon in the System Tray > Adjust Audio Properties. Or you can click Start > (Settings) > Control Panel > Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices > Sounds and Audio devices
First, click on the Audio tab...

Note that input sources are sometimes available to use, but hidden. If you cannot see the input you're looking for, click "Volume" under the "Sound Recording" panel, then Options > Properties. Select your sound device in the Mixer Device panel, and ensure all the boxes in the window below are checked"

Note that some modern computers do not have the option for "stereo mix" (most commonly laptop PCs.)

stevethefiddle, thanks for your reply - yes i had looked there and the only options are microphone and line in - i dont suppose there is any way to add more options.

thanks

devraj

devraj50 wrote:yes i had looked there and the only options are microphone and line in - i dont suppose there is any way to add more options.

If the hardware / drivers only give those options, then those are the options you have. Occasionally newer or older drivers may give more options, but failing that the only way to achieve more options is by upgrading the sound card.

There are a couple of other ways to record sounds playing on your computer:

The software option - "Total Recorder" and similar programs use a "virtual" sound card driver that enables recording sounds from your computer.

The cheap hardware option - use an audio cable to connect the line output of your sound card to the line input of your sound card. This does not usually work very well with laptops (they usually only have headphone and microphone sockets and not line in, line out) but can work quite well with full size PCs.