New PC, Can't Record, Bought new Soundcard, Vista
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Audacity 1.2.x is now obsolete. Please use the current Audacity 2.1.x version.
The final version of Audacity for Windows 98/ME is the legacy 2.0.0 version.
New PC, Can't Record, Bought new Soundcard, Vista
I just bought three new computers (2 Desktop Gateways and a Laptop (Gateway). My older computers all worked well with Audacity. I can't get any of the 3 new computers to record. I'm a computer analyst so I usually can solve these issues. I've read all of the threads and still no luck. Two of the desktops have different company drivers (Sigma Tel on one and RealTek on the other). I have downloaded the latest drivers. Still no luck. I went out and bought a new sound card for one of the desktops. Still doesn't work. When I look in Edit Preferences for recording I see Microsoft Sound Mapper, Line-in (SigmaTel), S/PDIF(Audigy), Rear Mic (Sigmatel), Front Mic (Sigma-Tel). I have went into sound mixer and I've went into Control Panel and tried numerous combinations. I then went to radio shack and bout a stereo plug and tried going from the from headphones to the new Audigy card line-in. Still no luck. After about 16 hours of different combinations I'm at a lost. So, can someone provide me what they would do next? I took out the new sound card, did the uninstall, and rebooted to simplify the number of options. I really thought buying the new card would have resolved the problem (yes, I did download the latest Audigy drivers before I did it, still no luck). I find it very odd that none of the 3 computers will work (they all have Vista (Vista Ultimate on one desktop, Vista Home on the other two. I thought about a y adapter so I can plug it into the speaker jack since I can play thru the speakers with no problem and then input the other end into the line in but I haven't bought the Y yet. Any other ideas? Thanks for reading this and responding if you can!
Re: New PC, Can't Record, Bought new Soundcard, Vista
I assume you're trying to record the speaker output.
This is a common question, but the keywords that you should have searched for are far from obvious. We can't blame you for that.
I hate conspiracy theories, but I think someone is putting pressure on whoever writes the sound card drivers to remove the option to record the speaker output.
I wasn't aware that Creative cards no longer carry that option, I think you might have some luck if you try an older set of drivers.
If that doesn't work, then this post should answer your questions:
http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic ... 7216#p7216
This is a common question, but the keywords that you should have searched for are far from obvious. We can't blame you for that.
I hate conspiracy theories, but I think someone is putting pressure on whoever writes the sound card drivers to remove the option to record the speaker output.
I wasn't aware that Creative cards no longer carry that option, I think you might have some luck if you try an older set of drivers.
If that doesn't work, then this post should answer your questions:
http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic ... 7216#p7216
Re: New PC, Can't Record, Bought new Soundcard, Vista
Alatham:
Thanks for the reply. I spent six more hours this morning trying your suggestion and others. You are correct in that I have tried recording from the speaker out. If I unplug my speakers from the Audigy sound card I just bought and them take a plug and go from the "speakers out": to the "Line-in" on the Audigy sound card I can get Audacity to record but the sound is so low (-32DB) that you can barely hear it. Yes, I went into Sounds and turned them all up to 100%. Of course, when I do this I don't hear what I'm recording and since the sound is not loud enough this is not fixing the problem. The suggestion you pointed to I read but I don't have a "what you hear" choice with my computers. I will go buy and try the Behringer UCA202 if I can find it this weekend but I still have a hard time telling my kids I just bought them a brand new computer and it won't work with Audacity. Then I bought new Soundblaster cards and it still won't work. In fact, the Soundblaster Audigy card has an input (line in), then the speaker jack, and two Line out jacks. Tried using a separate wire with multiple combinations.
Also puzzling is that when I go into Control Paner then Sounds and look at "playback" and "recording" I should be able to see the meters bob up and down when sound is detected. Can't do that with "recording" even using a seperate plug. Still looking for suggestions. How sure are you that the Behringer UCA202 card will work when the Soundblaster did not?
Thanks for the reply. I spent six more hours this morning trying your suggestion and others. You are correct in that I have tried recording from the speaker out. If I unplug my speakers from the Audigy sound card I just bought and them take a plug and go from the "speakers out": to the "Line-in" on the Audigy sound card I can get Audacity to record but the sound is so low (-32DB) that you can barely hear it. Yes, I went into Sounds and turned them all up to 100%. Of course, when I do this I don't hear what I'm recording and since the sound is not loud enough this is not fixing the problem. The suggestion you pointed to I read but I don't have a "what you hear" choice with my computers. I will go buy and try the Behringer UCA202 if I can find it this weekend but I still have a hard time telling my kids I just bought them a brand new computer and it won't work with Audacity. Then I bought new Soundblaster cards and it still won't work. In fact, the Soundblaster Audigy card has an input (line in), then the speaker jack, and two Line out jacks. Tried using a separate wire with multiple combinations.
Also puzzling is that when I go into Control Paner then Sounds and look at "playback" and "recording" I should be able to see the meters bob up and down when sound is detected. Can't do that with "recording" even using a seperate plug. Still looking for suggestions. How sure are you that the Behringer UCA202 card will work when the Soundblaster did not?
Re: New PC, Can't Record, Bought new Soundcard, Vista
My (admittedly discontinued) Edirol UA-3FX USB audio interface has a hardware "loopback" switch. I flick it to that in order to record streaming audio in Audacity - no mess, no fuss. I haven't checked, but I would assume that they kept this feature with subsequent models - maybe worth checking out.
Re: New PC, Can't Record, Bought new Soundcard, Vista
I have no personal experience with it, but nobody has ever come back saying it didn't work. So... 90% certain.How sure are you that the Behringer UCA202 card will work when the Soundblaster did not?
Thankfully it's a USB device, so even if it doesn't work you should be able to return it.
Re: New PC, Can't Record, Bought new Soundcard, Vista
I'm having the same problem with my new Dell XPS 420 that supposedly has a Creative XFi Extreme Music card.
However, it appears that the card in the Dell machines is some sort of 'joint venture' between Dell and Creative, and doesn't include the 'What U Hear' drivers.
Some people suggest buying the retail card to get the drivers since (supposedly) the drivers downloaded from the Creative site will not work with the Dell provided cards.
I've found a program called Virutal Audio Cable http://software.muzychenko.net/eng/vac.html that appears to be a workaround for this problem. It feeds the sound from one program to another, conceptually the same as a cable connecting a tape deck to a receiver. I've downloaded the trial version, but haven't had time to try it yet.
However, it appears that the card in the Dell machines is some sort of 'joint venture' between Dell and Creative, and doesn't include the 'What U Hear' drivers.
Some people suggest buying the retail card to get the drivers since (supposedly) the drivers downloaded from the Creative site will not work with the Dell provided cards.
I've found a program called Virutal Audio Cable http://software.muzychenko.net/eng/vac.html that appears to be a workaround for this problem. It feeds the sound from one program to another, conceptually the same as a cable connecting a tape deck to a receiver. I've downloaded the trial version, but haven't had time to try it yet.