no sound

[edlift]

Please help!! I just downloaded audacity, using windows xp. And everything seems fine except i have no sound coming through speakers. I can see when i record that there are sound waves, however i do not hear anything. And yes vol is up on my pc. speakers, and what looks to be on audacity. something is wrong, prob real easy and stupid. So anyone. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

[waxcylinder]

Are you, bay any chance, using a USB device (a USB TT or US Mic for example) ?

WC

[edlift]

yes, my bass is going through a usb/guitar jack. first act cord

[edlift]

soo weird, because i see the sound waves, it just isnt coming out my speakers

[waxcylinder]

When you plug in a USB device like this your computer hands over control of all sound services to the USB device - both input and output. Since you USB device doesn't have a set of speakers, you then don't get any sound from the computer (not even the normal computer sounds).

All you need to do is to get your O/S and Audacity to retarget the sound output onto your computer's on-board soundcard. In Windows use Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Audio > Sound Playback (I don't know the MAC equivalent) - in Audacity use Edit > Preferences > Audio I/O > Playback Device - you may need to close and restart Audacity for the change to take effect.

Many folks fall into this bear-trap when they start out with USB/Audacity - I certainly did !

WC

[edlift]

Ok. I tried it and nothing. Ugh i tried everything. I went over my search for my pc and went through all these steps and cant figure it out. At the top of the audacity page, in the tool bar up top. There are 4 level meters. 2 are for mic, and 2 for other i guess. they both read -21 in db, or 1.0 in linear. I am going out of my mind!! Also i cant use any effects. PLEASE HELP ME!!

I just plugged in usb and played music through speakers sometimes. So not sure that pc turned sound over to usb.

[wigwam]

soo weird, because i see the sound waves, it just isnt coming out my speakers

I'm having a similar problem. I'm using internal microphone though. I see sound waves on output bar. I've lost sound on my PC altogether. So frustrating. I've been through control panel >sound audio devices etc but to no avail. Please let me know if you have any luck!

[Alistar21]

Remember that Vista DOES NOT SUPPORT ALL KINDS OF SOUND CARD DRIVERS. If you can hear sound from your PC but can't record it, there might be a problem with your hardware.
Try to check:
1.appropriate driver for your sound card.
2.necessary hardware installed properly in the motherboard.
Otherwise try to consult a computer technician near you.