Mic Problem

Hi,

I cannot record using Audacity or use audio on videos.

I went to Sound preferences, and you can see that the Mic only shows for a split second then disappears, to be replaced by "Line In".

This inconsistent swapping of default recording devices flashes on and off very fast. (As if there were a faulty wire somewhere).

In Audacity, either the recording boxes are empty, or they look as they should, but still don't work.

Video of Sound Preferences (had trouble making video, as the sound problem affected the video function; - only the first 2 seconds show the flashing on and off, so you may need to replay it): ... [also can't embed the video sorry!]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmk5IbvoZbk

First, the Stereo Mix should be set as the default recording device. That is what Audacity is usually set to record from. With Stereo Mix, whatever input device is used, e.g. a microphone or a Line In that is what Audacity (or other programs) will see.

You also need Stereo Mix if you want to record audio from the internet.

thanks but I didn't explain it very well.

No matter what I want as the default recording device, I cannot change it from this flickering setup I've got now.

It will not let me change it.

How do I stop the flickering/ flashing on and off so that I can change it to anything?

thanks

I don't know if the flickering is a Windows problem or a sound driver or even a hardware problem.

But the first thing to try is an uninstall/reinstall. This will (usually) correct any Windows/sound corruptions.
Go to the Device Manager, RIGHT click on the entry for the Xfi sound and then LEFT click "Uninstall". DO NOT uninstall the drivers. Restart the PC and when Windows starts it will detect and reinstall the Xfi sound card. Check the Recording panel and see if it is still flickering. If it is still flickering the next step is to reseat (unplug then plug back in) the Xfi sound card. Do the reseat with the PC powered off.

If there are still problems, remove the Xfi card and enable the on-board and see if it works OK. If it does, that suggests either a bad socket on the motherboard or a defective Xfi card.

fireberd said:

I don't know if the flickering is a Windows problem or a sound driver or even a hardware problem.

But the first thing to try is an uninstall/reinstall. This will (usually) correct any Windows/sound corruptions.
Go to the Device Manager, RIGHT click on the entry for the Xfi sound and then LEFT click "Uninstall". DO NOT uninstall the drivers. Restart the PC and when Windows starts it will detect and reinstall the Xfi sound card. Check the Recording panel and see if it is still flickering. If it is still flickering the next step is to reseat (unplug then plug back in) the Xfi sound card. Do the reseat with the PC powered off.

If there are still problems, remove the Xfi card and enable the on-board and see if it works OK. If it does, that suggests either a bad socket on the motherboard or a defective Xfi card.

thanks a lot Fireberd, but there is nothing that resembles "Xfi" in Device Manager. Sorry if I've misunderstood.

I've got these though:

"NVIDIA High Definitiion Audio" [x4]
"NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM)"
"USB 2861 Device"
"USB Audio Device"
"VIA High Definitiion Audio"

thanks

Hmmm. I don't know where I got the idea you had an Xfi sound card. Sorry about that.

But what are the two USB devices listed? Disable them temporarily for testing and see what happens.