Aud 2.1.1, Win 7, no stereo mix, HP laptop

[Apprentice 2 SA]

Got a new (old) laptop and can't find stereo mix. I've tried googling, including audacity forums, but can't find any specific help for this.

It's an HP-Notebook. HP 255 G3.

I have done "Show disabled devices" and "Show Disconnected devices".

Thanks for any help.

[Gale Andrews]

The sound card provides stereo mix, if its drivers support that.

Go to the HP site and ensure you have the latest audio drivers for Windows 7 for your particular HP model.

If that does not expose Stereo Mix in Windows Sound when you show disabled devices, use the Windows WASAPI (loopback) choice in Audacity instead to record computer playback.



Gale

[Apprentice 2 SA]

The sound card provides stereo mix, if its drivers support that.

Go to the HP site and ensure you have the latest audio drivers for Windows 7 for your particular HP model.

If that does not expose Stereo Mix in Windows Sound when you show disabled devices, use the Windows WASAPI (loopback) choice in Audacity instead to record computer playback.

Thanks. I've never compared my audio driver list on the HP site before. Where on the HP site do I find it, and where on my laptop?

Thanks.

[Gale Andrews]

I've never compared my audio driver list on the HP site before

It is the standard practice that you should follow. There is nothing to compare. You should install HP's latest Windows 7 audio driver for your computer model. Doing that will overwrite whatever drivers you have now, but you will still have an option in Windows Device Manager to roll back to the previous driver.

Where on the HP site do I find it

Go here http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/drivers.html and either enter your product name / number, or try the device autodetect feature on the same page.

Contact HP support if you need help with that process.

where on my laptop?

See above. Just follow the wizard to install the drivers.


Gale

[Apprentice 2 SA]

Thanks for the help.

Well that sort of worked, thanks.

In that I now have stereo mix but it isn't quite doing what I expected.

(Can I pause to say that's the first time I've ever downloaded drivers and it was a total nightmare. The HP site not auto recognising, the program they wanted to download not initially downloading, and then not working, and then the new audio driver not initialling working properly. HP are a total nightmare! Thanks for the rant! Back to the business in hand!)

I've recorded using Audacity from Stereo mix on many computers before, and always been very pleased with the results. But this isn't working as well. The quality isn't as good. I'm not musically trained to be able to give an authoritative definition, but we variously describe it as 'being slightly underwater', tinny, and muffled. (It's not a squeeling / whining sound, which is all a google search could suggest!)

Any ideas?

[Gale Andrews]

(Can I pause to say that's the first time I've ever downloaded drivers and it was a total nightmare. The HP site not auto recognising, the program they wanted to download not initially downloading, and then not working, and then the new audio driver not initialling working properly. HP are a total nightmare!

Did you get the correct audio driver in the end? I have an HP computer and I always find the driver manually by entering the product number.

I've recorded using Audacity from Stereo mix on many computers before, and always been very pleased with the results. But this isn't working as well. The quality isn't as good. I'm not musically trained to be able to give an authoritative definition, but we variously describe it as 'being slightly underwater', tinny, and muffled. Any ideas?

Are you sure you are selecting stereo mix in Audacity's Device Toolbar?

If the audio sounds tinny before you record it, you may want to turn off sound effects in the sound card (probably in its control panel).

It would probably be better to use Windows WASAPI loopback (see the link I gave you before http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tu ... tml#wasapi ) .

Or try to download the song instead (use your favourite search engine and enter the name of the site you are trying to record from).

Obviously we assume you have copyright holder's permission to record or download.


Gale

[Apprentice 2 SA]

Thanks for the help. Windows WASAPI (loopback) is a little better, but not the quality I normally expect from an Audacity recording. The original source is a stream, not something that can be downloaded.

[Gale Andrews]

Thanks for the help. Windows WASAPI (loopback) is a little better, but not the quality I normally expect from an Audacity recording. The original source is a stream, not something that can be downloaded.

You can still "dump" streams to disk in some cases if the server does not do too many things to stop that.

So you are saying it sounds OK until you play back the recording? WASAPI loopback should be digital so should not sound very different.

Can you attach a short sample of the recording in WAV? See How to post an audio sample.

Or select some of it then post an image of Analyze > Plot Spectrum... . ?

What project rate are you recording it at (bottom left of Audacity)?


Gale