I am not very computer literate.

[fundraiser]

I can't seem to find the Audacity mixer toolbar. I have windows 7. I do not find Audio I/O in the preference box. I used to be able to record streaming audio before I went to Windows 7. I sure would hate to pay a computer pro $75 to just press a few buttons and make it work. Can some give some plain suggestions or contact my email so I can send my phone number for advice.

I do not understand the following instructions in the manual for beta.

"In the drop-down menu on Audacity's mixer toolbar, choose “Wave Out” or “Stereo Mix” as the input source. (The exact name may be different, depending on your computer's sound drivers.) When you press the *Record* button, Audacity will capture whatever sound is playing on your computer's speakers. *Note:* on Windows Vista or 7, you must choose the required input source in the "Recording Device" dropdown in the "Audio I/O" tab of Preferences ("Devices" tab in Audacity Beta). On Windows, if you don't have a “Wave Out” or “Stereo Mix” option, or if it won't record, go to the system Control Panel and try to enable this option there. For instructions see: Using the Control Panel <http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... trol_Panel> on the Wiki.

If this doesn't work on your computer, you can instead use a cable to connect your computer's “Line Out” (speaker) port to its “Line In” port, and use Audacity to record from Line In."

[kozikowski]

The short answer is many modern Windows machines can not record internet audio because the recording options have been removed. If you're on a Windows laptop, there is a good chance you don't have a Stereo Line-In connection and can't use the crossed audio cables trick.

Windows Laptops are business machines and may have poor or missing audio production tools.

There are two known ways to force this to work. The UCA202 is a USB sound adapter which will provide the stereo Line-In connection for the crossed cables trick, and Total Recorder will record Internet Audio.

Total Recorder is money-based software.

http://www.highcriteria.com/

Koz

[CrankCase]

I can't seem to find the Audacity mixer toolbar. I have windows 7. I do not find Audio I/O in the preference box. I used to be able to record streaming audio before I went to Windows 7. I sure would hate to pay a computer pro $75 to just press a few buttons and make it work. Can some give some plain suggestions or contact my email so I can send my phone number for advice.

I do not understand the following instructions in the manual for beta.

"In the drop-down menu on Audacity's mixer toolbar, choose “Wave Out” or “Stereo Mix” as the input source. (The exact name may be different, depending on your computer's sound drivers.) When you press the *Record* button, Audacity will capture whatever sound is playing on your computer's speakers. *Note:* on Windows Vista or 7, you must choose the required input source in the "Recording Device" dropdown in the "Audio I/O" tab of Preferences ("Devices" tab in Audacity Beta). On Windows, if you don't have a “Wave Out” or “Stereo Mix” option, or if it won't record, go to the system Control Panel and try to enable this option there. For instructions see: Using the Control Panel <http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... trol_Panel> on the Wiki.

If this doesn't work on your computer, you can instead use a cable to connect your computer's “Line Out” (speaker) port to its “Line In” port, and use Audacity to record from Line In."

I would suggest as a software alternative you go to a download site like http://www.download.com. There you will find programs (some free, some paid) that allow you to record whatever is going through your soundcard. You can then save it as an MP3 file and load it into an editor such as Audacity. The problem with free programs is that there is rarely much in the way of instructions, so you would likely need to experiment in order to master it. I use a free one called Freecorder 4, which integrates into your chosen web browser and is opened by clicking the relevent button on the browser toolbar.

Hope that helps

[steve]

I use a free one called Freecorder 4

(Non-Objective Personal Opinion Warning )
I tried Freecorder 4 and hated it. Not only does it install a load of stuff in a browser toolbar that I did not want, but was constantly trying to display adverts.
Uninstalling using the uninstaller only uninstalled the main program but left the tool bar in both Internet Explorer and Firefox, which had to be uninstalled separately. A complete uninstall required four separate de-installations, manual deletion of a couple of folders, removal of a couple of registry entries and a reboot.
In it's favour, it worked well and was extremely easy to use, though it did not work for audio that was handled by helper applications (such as the Mozilla QuickTime plug-in).