Strange Tone Interrupts Recordings

[Falcon9519]

I have made many recordings, from a couple of minutes up to one hour thirty minutes in length. However, during my last two recordings, a tone interrupts the recording. I was making a 30-minute recording, and 3 times, for about 4 seconds each time, a tone completely interrupts the recording, obliterating whatever I had recording during that time. I insert the plug from my microphone directly into the mic jack in front of my laptop (Dell Vostro 1520, running Windows 7 Professional). During the recordings that manifested the tones, I have heard throughout the recordings, my voice coming out of the speakers of the laptop. Right now, the Internal Mic is my recording device. Should I re-adjust the Windows Recording Device? While I am recording, I do not hear the tone coming out of the speakers. It is only when I play back and see the wave form do I hear and see the tone. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[kozikowski]

You should never have speakers and live microphones running on the same shoot. The Windows conferencing services will try to "manage" the volume and drive the recording nuts.

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/wynonna2.jpg

Koz