Windows 7: Stereo Mix Enabled, but no sound?

it does show up, i actually tried that way before but nothing picks up. All good though, I just need an extension wire and I am set. Thanks alot!

like this

I have same problem with this, but im on speakers... (it is a laptop so i dont think i can change speakers..)

michaelqt can you please post screenshots of the working system now ?
I have exactly the same problem ...

i have the same problem i need help my speakers worked fine , but after 10 mins didnt't (before few days when i had ultimate)

Old thread, but I have lots of experience messing with Stereo Mix and wanted to share.

Basically Stereo Mix will pick up your default output device, and you will be able to output it to a device of your choosing using "Listen to". This requires having speakers plugged in, whether it be headphones, a TV, or the speakers on the computer's sound card. As soon as you have two connected Stereo Mix should kick in, as long as it is enabled of course (show disabled devices). If you only had one sound source and recently plugged in another, your apps may not switch over to being able to output on that device. You can remedy this by running Services (Run prompt, or control panel administrative tools) and restarting the Windows Audio Service.

Now, the problem that brought me to this thread is the same as everybody else's. I have a computer with only a Speaker output, and I think the reason Stereo Mix isn't picking up is because I don't have a second output device.

I am having the same problem with my sound card. Its enabled on recording and says its working properly but the bars do not move nor can anyone else hear my music. My speakers do not show up in the playback either. I have checked for them and can't get the speaker icon to come up. It was working fine before i moved and set it back up. I use windows 7 on emachine. I also use Bose speaker system. Nothing is different before the move other than the speakers not showing up. Any suggestions?

I had much the same problem as the original poster. Its now solved at last -- and it had nothing to do with bad drivers...

My screenshots are in German, but the layout is the same as for the English dialogs, so that should be no problem.

In my case, there's a TS22 PCI sound card plugged into my computer, and there is a physical cable connecting it to the amplifier/loudspeakers/headphones I actually hear. This is the Playback/Lautsprecher (TS22 PCI) device. So there are two Loudspeaker devices in the Sound/Playback tab.

Recording/Stereomix (Realtek) gets its input from Playback/Lautsprecher (Realtek), but only if that device is set to be the standard device in in the Playback tab.

My biggest problem was that I couldn't set Playback/Lautsprecher (Realtek) to be the standard device, because it was "not connected". To solve this, I plugged an old set of earphones into the green audio plug on the back of my computer (as suggested in one of the posts above).

Okay, so now I've set both Playback/Lautsprecher (Realtek) and Recording/Stereomix to be the standard devices. (And Stereomix is getting input.)

The next problem is that I'm not hearing anything. To solve that, I set Stereomix to echo its input to Lautsprecher (TS22 PCI).

I record, using Audacity, with its audio output set to Lautsprecher (TS22 PCI), and input set to Stereomix (Realtek), but I can hear the TS22 PCI loudpeakers even if Audacity is not running.

If I plug a microphone into the pink audio input on the back of my computer (next to the green plug with the unused headphones), its input is sent to Stereomix, overriding Playback/Lautsprecher (Realtek).
[Edit] Careful, there's a danger of feedback!! Don't plug a microphone in if it is going to hear the TS22 PCI loudspeakers! That means turn the loudspeakers off (at the amplifier) before pluging a microphone into the computer. The microphone's input (=Stereomix) can still be heard on headphones plugged into the amplifier.[/Edit]

Easy, if you know how!

All the best.

Further to the above posting:
This thread also brought up the question of why the audio plugs on the front of the computer were not working.

I've just discovered that the Realtek Loudspeaker properties dialog has a "Levels" tab (called "Pegel" in German), in which the levels of all the inputs and outputs associated with the Realtek Loudspeaker device can be set. Just scroll down the list in the Levels tab.

I've now set all of mine to 100% (they weren't before), and a microphone plugged into the front of the computer now works in the same way as one plugged into the back.

Here are screeshots of my Realtek Loudspeaker's General and Levels tabs: