no mic input- help!

[weav727]

I am having a really strange problem with audacity. I've used it for months now, but suddenly I am getting no sound at all through the mic when I try to record. I have gone into audacity preferences, I have gone into the sound settings in my control panel, everything I can think of. I am totally out of ideas. It worked beautifully before, and I now get nothing. I can still hear things I have previously recorded, but I cannot record. The computer does not pic up the mic on the hardware test either, which is through the control panel.

I thought this was my computer at first, something with drivers or whatever, but it is now happening on multiple computers, with different microphones. PLEASE HELP!! I'm LOST!!

[weav727]

By the way, all computers I am attempting to use are running XP SP2.


Could this be some sort of automatic update that has foiled audacity? If so, is there anything I can do to fix it??

[alatham]

The computer does not pic up the mic on the hardware test either, which is through the control panel.

When I first read this I thought it was obvious that the mic was dead.

But then you went and wrote this:

it is now happening on multiple computers, with different microphones.

And now I'm stumped.

You didn't mention how your mic is set up. Do you have a bad mic cable? Or are you using several different computer mics with their own cables?

Can you record anything from other sources?

[weav727]

I am starting to think there was an automatic update that came down that is doign something screwy to audacity. I first noticed my problem when I tried to record with a different mic. I thought it might be the mic or the cable or something. Then I tried with the mic that I was previously using- different cable too- and that didn't work either.

I tried to record something at work, all completely different equipment, and had the same exact problem. I had the idea then that I might have accidentally changed some setting, so I installed audacity on another computer. SAME PROBLEM. I am totally out of ideas. It does not make sense, but all of this does seem to indicate a blanket problem- anyone else lose all recording capability out of nowhere? XP update????

[steve]

I don't think it is a Windows update issue, otherwise I would expect this forum to be suddenly flooded with hundreds of posts about it. Also, I have XP SP2, both at home and at work (both fully updated) and do not have this problem.

You seem to have ruled out the computer, the microphone and the lead (how about your headphones?). Can you record from other sources such as "Line in"? Can you record with other software such as Windows Sound Recorder?

The other common factor is ummm.. you. There may just be some silly little thing that you were doing previously that you have forgotten - It may be worth very carefully going over this http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... bar_Issues to double check that this is not the case.