What can Audacity record with Windows 7

[heritage]

After using Audacity on Windows XP and Vista I am now on Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit).
I can't record even after reading quite a few posts about how to use Audacity with that configuration.
The posts seem to start explaining at some point way beyond what is visible on the opening screen so I will start as simple as I can hoping that any response will do that as well.

For example, can I record music from Pandora.com (just as an example) that I can hear through my speakers? If so, how?

[steve]

For example, can I record music from Pandora.com (just as an example) that I can hear through my speakers? If so, how?

This is sometimes tricky on more recent Windows computers.
The best way to do it is often called recording "Stereo Mix". This involves setting the recording device in the Windows Control Panel to "Stereo Mix".
Unfortunately, modern versions of Windows often hide this option, so it is necessary to un-hide it.
Even more unfortunate is that some machines do not have this option at all, in which case it is necessary to use an alternative workaround.

The steps and methods are discussed here: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Mixer ... trol_Panel

[heritage]

Steve's reply was quite detailed (thanks) and it led to many seemingly relevant links. I found I have a RealTek sound card after having SoundBlaster in previous 3 machines. Bummer. I will tell the expert who built my machine that he blew it on that one.

Summary: Gigabyte motherboard, Intel iCore i5 processor, Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit), RealTek sound card, Audacity 1.3.12 (beta). No recording after 5 hours of hard digging following Steve's links. Used Audacity with XP and Vista, including an old Audacity and a beta version on Vista. No problems and quite a bit of fun. Nothing now.

Anyone with similar configuration able to record streaming audio; e.g. Pandora.com