probs w/usb microphone shows not plugged in?

hello, have a nice quality usb microphone which i plug in to the front usb jack. using it in audacity I can hear the playback very low and while recording the wave form is very flat with minimal ups and downs compared to music recording. Mic playback has to be turned up way loud to hear it. in sound controls it says microphone - high def audio device not plugged in. when i click that it says properties - owrking properly. there is also a little graphic that shows front panel 3.5 mm jack which is the traditional non-usb RCAA style jack. suggestions how to get the usb mic thing working properly? thanks

Is Windows recognizing the USB mic? Go to the Device Manager and check to see if it is recognized by Windows - either in the Sound listing or in the USB listing. To access the Device Manager, hold the Windows key down and press the Pause/Break key, Device Manager can be accessed in the upper left of the panel that comes up.

Can you select the USB mic as the "default recording device" in the Control Panel/Hardware and Sound - Sound panel? That is the first step, you need to get it set as the default recording device. The "high def audio device" is a standard microphone that would be plugged into the mic jack on the PC, not the USB device.

thru control panel that was not available via methods I tried previously, problemo solved