Audacity Forum

>WinXP computer died. Audacity worked fine on this computer. We used choice "What you hear" in the Input Selector on Audacity desktop for our recording of audio played with Winamp etc.

>New computer, Windows 7. We transferred the Soundblaster Live! 24 bit card from old WinXP computer, installed driver downloaded 2007 Dec, so probably not a 64 bit driver. (No newer driver available on Soundblaster web site, card not supported any more.) Sound card works fine in new computer.

>First, installed Audacity 1.2.6 on new computer. The choices in Edit/Preferences/Audio I/O for Recording Device are;

• Microsoft Sound Mapper
  Microphone (SB Live! 24- bit)
  Line-In (SB Live! 24-bit)
  S/PDIF-In (SB Live! 24-bit)

Regardless of which we choose, we have no options in the Input Selector on Audacity desktop. Previously, there were several choices, and we used "What you hear". Do not understand why Input Selector is grayed out in new computer.

>Then, uninstalled 1.2.6 and installed 1.3.12. Under Preferences/Devices,the same four choices are offered for Recording Device. We cannot choose "What you hear" now. None of the choices for Recording Device enables recording of sound from the sound card. Thus, we cannot record with Audacity.

So, for some reason, Audacity does not offer the choice "What you hear" on Win7 computer. Is this due to the incompatibility of the driver? We are puzzled. Do we need a 64 bit sound card to enable this choice, or has this choice disappeared for another reason?

Thank you.

Quite a few manufacturers have removed the "Stereo Mix" (What U Hear) option. It has been suggested that this may be due to concerns regarding people circumventing DRM protection, but sometimes it is just because the initial release of drivers for their sound cards were not fully functional. On some sound cards, using the latest drivers (specifically for Windows 7) will restore Stereo Mix functionality. If no newer drivers are available you may be stuck - but something worth checking before you give up is to enable "disabled" and "disconnected" input devices as described here: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Mixer ... _Issues#cp

If it is no-go with your SoundBlaster, then go for a sound card that specifically says that it is supported by Windows 7, AND check with the manufacturer/retail outlet that the sound card supports "Stereo Mix". ("What U Hear" is what SoundBlaster/Creative Labs call "Stereo Mix"). SoundBlaster cards have usually provided the option, so I suspect that it's absence on your new computer is due to driver incompatibility.