Record System Audio

[wkesi2]

I know this question has been pondered to death, but I haven't been able to find a solution, and it's really irritating me.

So, as the title states, I would like to be able to record the audio coming through my computer. The problem is I only have one audio jack, which is only line out (I use a USB microphone). I bought a headphone splitter and a 1/8" male to male audio cord to attempt to magically change it from line out to line in. Is there any possible way to do this? I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit on (don't kill me) a Macbook Pro. I didn't want to go to the mac forums because it's a windows problem. Thanks all for your help!

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Can you run a cable from the line out to microphone in? I think I have heard that can work in some situations.

 

[boohbah]

if you want to record the sound running through the computer ,why dont you use a software to do so.

something like this would do...

Free Sound Recorder - Feature List: All Unique Features of Our Free Audio Recorder product

be advised the above software will install a toolbar in your browser despite having the option unchecked in the install process. uninstalling it in programs and features did not remove it either,

 

[wkesi2]

ignatzatsonic,
The problem with this solution is that I only have a line out port, no line in. Unless there's a 1.8" audio cord to usb cord or vice versa? I dunno.

boohbah,
I downloaded the program and tried it, but there's a problem there too. There's no option to record like "Stereo Mix" or "What you hear" or "Speakers" or whatever else it may be called. I'm not exactly sure why. Unless there's something I'm missing here.

Thanks both for your suggestions though!

 

[ignatzatsonic]

ignatzatsonic,
The problem with this solution is that I only have a line out port, no line in. Unless there's a 1.8" audio cord to usb cord or vice versa? I dunno.

You don't need a line in.

You need a mic in. Do you have a mic in?

You should be able to find an adapter or cable that will connect the two. I'm not saying it will give you the capability you want, but I'd at least try it.

 

[carwiz]

if you want to record the sound running through the computer ,why dont you use a software to do so.

something like this would do...

Free Sound Recorder - Feature List: All Unique Features of Our Free Audio Recorder product

be advised the above software will install a toolbar in your browser despite having the option unchecked in the install process. uninstalling it in programs and features did not remove it either,

Yikes! That's not good. :shock:

Audacity would be better--No catches.

If the OP's MbPro is the 13", it only has one port (jack) that can be tasked to input or output. But I'm not clear on what the OP is trying to record.

 

[wkesi2]

Sorry ignatzatsonic, I misunderstood you there. I do have a mic in, so I'll try to find some way to connect the two like you suggested. I'll look around and see if I can find anything, and if nothing works I'll come back here and ask for more help, and if I find a solution, I'll come back here and post the solution!

 

[carwiz]

Forgot to mention: Windows 7 already has a free "Sound Recorder" built in. It's in Accessories. You do need a microphone connected to use it.

 

[fseal]

Weather or not this feature exists is basically up to the hardware and driver. You still need software to do the recording which as carwiz said, Audacity would be good for. But not all sound cards (and mostly built in sound cards) support this feature.

You may have to look into getting a better sound card to enable this functionality. :/ Though I don't know which ones do or don't support it other than any quality sound production card should (Like something from MAudio). I have a Delta44 and it definitely does.

If Audacity doesn't have a record mixer or record monitor (or even "record monitor mixer") open enabled on your machine then your card/driver may just not support the option (Though the feedback though mic or line-in /may/ still work, in a lot of hardware, that is purposely not supported)

 

[fseal]

Forgot to mention: Windows 7 already has a free "Sound Recorder" built in. It's in Accessories. You do need a microphone connected to use it.

Does that recorder record more than about 10 minutes these days? It had an insanely short time limit in XP I remember...

 

[carwiz]

Yeah, it does have a limit that escapes me at the moment. It is for short "snipits".

Audacity DOES have a monitor. I had to turn it off (option) while recording vinyls because I was getting an echo.

 

[boohbah]

boohbah,
I downloaded the program and tried it, but there's a problem there too. There's no option to record like "Stereo Mix" or "What you hear" or "Speakers" or whatever else it may be called. I'm not exactly sure why. Unless there's something I'm missing here.

Thanks both for your suggestions though!

you have to enable stereo mix in the recording devices, right click on the speaker in sys tray and select recording devices, click the stereo mix and enable it ,possibly set it as default .then when you record it will .
i have been messing with it now and it works.

http://www.coolrecordedit.com/Tutorials_Recording_How_To_Change_The_Audio_Source_in_Vista.html

 

[fseal]

Yeah, it does have a limit that escapes me at the moment. It is for short "snipits".

Audacity DOES have a monitor. I had to turn it off (option) while recording vinyls because I was getting an echo.

Yeah I knew it should have the ability But if the hardware/driver does not support it it would probably be greyed out. In which case a new (real) sound card would be needed to make it work.

Hopefully that'll work for the OP, much better than the mic input method

 

[wkesi2]

Well, these all sound like good suggestions, but sadly none of them work. As for the stereo mix option under the sound preferences, it doesn't exist. I believe they took this out of Windows 7 because of some legal crap that's really stupid (like it encourages piracy or something).

II don't know if my sound card directly supports system audio recording, as there is no default option to do so in any of the preferences settings.

However, I alternately use Soundflower and ScreenFlow on the Mac portion of my hard drive to record system audio. Soundflower reroutes all audio into itself, and then you can choose to record from "Soundflower" in audio recording programs. ScreenFlow is a screen recorder that has a "record system audio" option.

In my recent searching I came across a program called "Jack", but it's pretty complicated for me and I don't understand how to use it at all. If anyone wants to explain it to me feel free (the website is jackaudio.org). As I understand it, the program takes audio from one program and routes it to another, meaning you can route it to Audacity and record the audio.

It hadn't occurred to me that it may be my sound card, and hopefully that's not the case (I don't want to pay for a new one!), but it may be the only way to get this to work.

 

[carwiz]

Right click inside the box and check both boxes. This shows Playback devices but the same option shows for Recording too.

 

[wkesi2]

Right click inside the box and check both boxes. This shows Playback devices but the same option shows for Recording too.

I did that, but I still can't see anything. That's kind of annoying.

 

[carwiz]

Did you get a disk with your Mac that contained Windows 7 audio drivers or are you using the default Windows 7 drivers?

Also - Is your Windows 7 up to date?

 

[wkesi2]

Yeah, my Mac came with a Windows drivers installation disc and I used that because it also allowed for some keyboard and trackpad settings to be used on Windows (such as two fingers for right clicking).

And no, it is not up to date. I just checked for updates and there were quite a few to be installed, so I'm installing them now.

 

[carwiz]

You may want to check if there's updates to the audio drivers from Mac too. I'm not familiar with the Mac drivers so perhaps we need more help. I'll ask and see if there's someone Mac-smart. (Not Mickey-D though.)

 

[boohbah]

right click in the recording devices window and select show disabled /disconnected devices



also its easy to remove the tool bar it added.

How to Hide/Remove Free Sound Recorder Toolbar in Web Browsers

i actually think its a nice program it also has a nice editing suite, thats only a 30 day trial though.

edit, sorry! just noticed post #15