traveling mic level

[skimmer67]

First and foremost, thanks to all who have helped me on this forum. Everyone has been helpful, nice and not snarky.

When I am recording, my mic level (little slider) keeps going down to zero. I have to keep moving it to the center (at 50) and hold it there. It's never done that before. Any suggestions?
Thanks.

[DVDdoug]

That's some kind of Windows "Enhancement", that you should be able to disable. (It's not Audacity.)

[skimmer67]

None of that is working for me. Is it because I have windows 10? This is a recent problem and it is driving me crazy and setting me back! The mic level just keeps going back down to zero.
Thank you.

[Gale Andrews]

None of that is working for me. Is it because I have windows 10? This is a recent problem and it is driving me crazy and setting me back! The mic level just keeps going back down to zero.
Thank you.

Is this the same Samson Meteor USB mic in your previous topic, or some other mic?

Windows Enhancements don't usually apply to USB mics and don't usually actually move the input level slider. The most obvious explanation is interference by some other application using the mic, such as Skype. There was a case like this recently. An online pitch tuning application was controlling the mic.


Gale

[skimmer67]

Hey Gale, thanks for replying. Yes, this is the meteor mic. Everything was going good until now. I don't have any other open apps going when I record and I don't use skype. It just started doing this on its own and its bugging the heck out of me. (Thanks for the tip on cold booting by the way, works great)

[Gale Andrews]

Yes, this is the meteor mic. Everything was going good until now. I don't have any other open apps going when I record and I don't use skype. It just started doing this on its own and its bugging the heck out of me. (Thanks for the tip on cold booting by the way, works great)

I assume you already did a cold boot?

The Meteor uses standard Windows USB audio class drivers, so if it's not interference by other applications, I don't know. It is conceivable it's a virus. Do you check for viruses other than using Windows Defender?

Was there a Windows Update just before this happened?

Have you tried the Windows audio troubleshooters? They don't fix everything but they are worth a try. Click Windows Start, type "troubleshooting" (without the quotes) then click the top search result ("Troubleshooting Control Panel"). You should then see a link in "Hardware and Sound" called "Troubleshoot audio recording".


Gale

[skimmer67]

Wow Gale, once again, thank you! I did what you said and it seems to be working (for now). As a less-than tech savvy guy, I appreciate your help. Hopefully when I get a new lap-top I won't have to deal with anymore issues like this. Thanks again to you and all on this site. I'm sure I'll be back but hopefully not too soon.

Dave.

[Gale Andrews]

Wow Gale, once again, thank you! I did what you said and it seems to be working (for now).

In case it helps someone else, what did you do? Run the recording troubleshooter?

Gale

[skimmer67]

Yes, I ran the trouble shooter. It still slides though. I have to cold boot it and watch it. It's kind of hit or miss. I can set the recording level but once the trouble shooter is closed it seems to go back to it's old tricks. I have a theory that it (audacity) became corrupted? I'm going to remove it from my laptop then re-install and see if that works. I believe this all comes back to my laptop though.

I'll post in a day or so my results. Thanks again!
Dave.

[Gale Andrews]

Yes, I ran the trouble shooter. It still slides though. I have to cold boot it and watch it. It's kind of hit or miss. I can set the recording level but once the trouble shooter is closed it seems to go back to it's old tricks. I have a theory that it (audacity) became corrupted? I'm going to remove it from my laptop then re-install and see if that works. I believe this all comes back to my laptop though.

If you reinstall Audacity, enable the option to "Reset Preferences" half way through the installation windows, and when you launch Audacity, confirm you want to reset.

But this sounds like possible driver corruption in Windows system files. I would be inclined to run the System File Checker.


Gale