Updating Sound Device Drivers

[gemius]

I'm about to download the new 1.3.13 version of Audacity to replace the 1.3.12 version I have at the moment. I have Windows Vista as my OS.

After looking at the notes regarding Updating of the Sound Device Drivers I am unsure of what I should do as I have both the Windows High Definition Audio Device and an ATI High Definition Audio Device appearing under Sound Video & Games Controllers in the Device Manager dialog box. As far as I am aware this has made no difference to the performance of my computer generally but as a novice in sound recording I cannot say whether it has affected the performance of Audacity or not.

In the light of the notes with the new version can you advise me on whether I should now uninstall the Windows HDAD before downloading 1.3.13 or should I leave things as they are.

[steve]

If sound is currently working with Audacity 1.3.12, leave it as it is.
If you're having problems with sound, get back to us with details of what the problem is.

[gemius]

Thanks Steve I'll download and give it a try

[smpalazzolo]

I'm having the same issue with not being able to select the device I want. I don't need to use a mic. What I would like to do is record computer playback--essentially, any sounds my computer is making internally and record them (ex: recording Internet streams--though this is not my main goal). I read that selecting "Stereo Mix" or "Wave Out" or "What I Hear" are options I should somehow be able to select. I assume I need to install a driver, but I don't know which one.

I have:
Windows 7
Audacity 1.3.13
Dell Inspriron 1525 (the original factory stuff may have been removed)

Any tips on how I can get to my goal? Thank you!

[steve]

Note that for many sound cards on Windows 7 it is not possible to record from "Stereo Mix" and some workaround must be used. There's nothing we can do about that - if either Microsoft or the hardware manufacturers decide to remove the stereo mix feature, then there's nothing that we can do to enable it.

Also, see here: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Mixer ... trol_Panel