Mic detected by win7, skype, but not in audacity or steam

Hi

i m looking for a solution since 1 week now, i saw lots of forums with mic problems, some have mic not detected at all, some have mic muted, etc... but nothing seems to work for me.
when i go to audacity or steam settings, the input device dropdown is empty.
in win 7 and skype it is detected, when i talk, the green bars move well.

the pc is connected to hdtv by hdmi,
i tried to uninstall video drivers, and hd audio driver for graphic card. as i saw it could override the mobo sound. i connected by dvi, but it didn t work.

i tried an external soundcard usb, it s detected as the mic, in win 7, skype... but it didn t work...

i tried 2 mics, they all work in win7 devices.

i tried on another pc with win7, amd radeon video card, and there it works in audacity, the mic is detected.....

i installed, uninstall, reinstall the realtek driver for the mobo sound card, it didn t work...

i really dont understand what can be the problem...

anyone who see what can be wrong ?

thanks for your help.

fireberd said:

Many programs rely on the "Stereo Mix" for audio recording, rather than a specific device such as a microphone. recording streaming audio from the internet requires the Stereo Mix (may be called System Mixer or Creative/SoundBlaster calls this What You Hear).

Check the Sound Panel, Recording Section for Stereo Mix.

With the Stereo Mix set as the default recording device, any sound input device will be heard.

hi

thanks for your reply
i have already enabled and set as default the stereo mix, after installing the realtek driver, but it s the same as the mic, it s detected by win and skype in input devices, but not in audacity or steam...
i also tried to set the stereo mix as default comm device, and the mic as defaut device, and also the reverse, but it didn't work neither...

fireberd said:

I don't know anything about Steam. But, I have used Audacity for testing and no problems with Stereo Mix. I have a recording studio.

One possible explanation is the HDMI. When you have HDMI connected, Windows sets HDMI as the Default Playback device, and the PC's sound card (RealTek in your case) is not used. The sound is generated by the sound chip in the Video card. Disconnect the HDMI cable from the PC (assuming you have a regular monitor) and then see what happens.

yes, i tried to unplug the hdmi, i used the dvi output, i uninstalled the nvidia hd audio driver, and the graphic driver. win installed a generic driver for video, but also a driver for high definition sound, instead of the nvidia hd audio.
i also tried with the nvidia video driver alone, without the hd audio one.
i also tried to just disable the hd sound output in the device manager, without uninstalling, but it didn't work...

i forgot to say, i also went in bios, i tried to set auto, enabled and disabled for the mobo sound card, and also to set the front audio as HD, then as AC97, but it didn't work...

fireberd said:

This is how my Audacity is set up. Check this with how yours is configured.

i don't have MME
i have:
windows directSound
windows WASAPI

directsound is selected, my hdtv is the default output device, and the input device is blank, as if i look in the settings.

is it normal i don't have MME?

fireberd said:

I have MME and Windows Direct Sound. I can select the Stereo Mix with either for recording in Audacity.

I have RealTek audio, for PC sound (and AMD HD Audio for HDMI).

This is what I have in the Device Manager, for Sound devices. Disregard the Tranzport, that is a wireless controller for my recording program (Sonar).

i have realtek too
i have nvidia hd audio instead of amd hd audio

i just tried with an old 2008 amd radeon 4800 video card, i uninstalled nvidia stuff, installed amd drivers, it installed a connexant hd audio driver, but it s the same, audacity look the same.

so after my no-hdmi test, and this amd test, i think the problem doesn't come from the video card.
and if it works with skype when hdmi is plugged, it means the mic isn't overrided by hdmi.
i uninstalled skype to be sure it doesn't override the mic, but no...