Microphone strength problems

Hello,

i used to have an audigy 2 zs platinum pro, and with it there was a rack unit with a preamp for mic..

now.. it looks like it died on me last night, and so for the time being im stuck with the onboard audio..


the problem i have is that the onboard audio (Via 2020, software x-fi support) is not making friends with my logitech mic. (cheap mic for say 10$, analogue)
i went into the settings and messed arround with the input strength and mic boost.. but something is wrong here
i put +30dB on the boost and i need to yell like im on fire to barely get out a small squeak. and that is only if the mic is say an 1/2 inch from my mouth, any further and you cant record anything.

if there is any other option or tweak that you can provide i would be gratefull..

Usually, if you are using a separate sound card, the Integrated audio is disabled in the BIOS and no drivers are installed. If you remove the separate sound card, you have to enable the Integrated audio and install sound drivers for it to work. It's apparently enabled, but have you installed (or reinstalled) the drivers? If not, try reinstalling the drivers and see if that helps.

No, the drivers are installed, the output sound works just fine. The input from the mic is the problem. I found a used g35 headset online so i will see if that helps my issue..

some onboard sound cards reassign the mic input to a speaker output if 5.1 is selected, are you its setup for 2 speakers?

Tried with stereo and headphones
tried with headset or standard mic setting in control panel
tried messing arround with the various settings (exclusive access and whatnot)
i understand that the volume will never be quite loud as with a preamped audigy 2 card
but it sounds pathetic with a +30 boost and as i can see im not the only one with the problem im kinda giving up on trying to fix it and going the easier way with a usb solution

the way i overcame unsatisfactory mic volume was to use the bluetooth headset that i normally use with my phone, it cost $15, the levels are good enough to use win7 speech recognition, and when im chatting on msn i can go make something to eat without yanking any cords! the only downside is latency when im using my DAW (digital audio workstation) software.