These are the steps for configuring Windows Vista for recording from a Behringer UCA 202.
The steps for other USB sound cards on both Vista and Windows 7 are likely to be similar.
I would recommend following this list carefully step-by-step, including the “optional” steps.
To configure Recording using the Behringer UCA 202 USB:
- Start button > Control Panel
- (Control Panel Home not Classic View) > Click on “Hardware and Sound”
- Click on “Sound”
- Click on the “Recording” tab
- Click on “USB Adio Codec” (so that it is highlighted)
- Click the “Properties” button
- (Optional) Type “UCA 202 Line Input” in the text box
- (Optional) Click the “Change Icon” button, select the icon that looks like Line-in connectors and click “OK”
- Ensure that “Use this device (enable)” is selected at the bottom
- Click the “Apply” button
- Click on the “Advanced” tab
- In the “default format” button (drop-down list) select “2 channels 16 bit 44100 Hz (CD Quality)”
- Ensure that the two “exclusive mode” options are selected
- Click the “Apply” button
- Click on the "Levels" tab, set the slider to 100 and click the “OK” button
- Click the “OK” button
To configure Playback using the Behringer UCA 202 USB:
- Start button > Control Panel
- (Control Panel Home not Classic View) > Click on “Hardware and Sound”
- Click on “Sound”
- Ensure that the “Playback” tab is selected
- Click on “USB Adio Codec” (so that it is highlighted)
- Click the “Properties” button
- (Optional) Type “UCA 202 Line Output” in the text box
- (Optional) Click the “Change Icon” button, select the icon that looks like Line-out connectors and click “OK”
- Ensure that “Use this device (enable)” is selected at the bottom
- Click the “Apply” button
- Click on the “Levels” tab and set the level to 100
- Click on the “Balance” button and ensure that both “L” and “R” are set to 100
- Ensure that the “speaker” icon does not have a “red circle with diagonal line” on it (that symbol means that output is muted)
- Select the “Enhancements” tab
- Select “Disable All Enhancement” and click the “Apply” button (for recording purposes it is best to aim for “accuracy” over “enhancement”)
- Select the “Advanced” tab
- Select “16 bit 44100 Hz (CD Quality)”
- Ensure that the two “exclusive mode” options are selected
- Click the “Apply” button (only available if you have made changes)
- Click the “OK” button
- Click the “OK” button