Getting Windows to record from the microphone on your PC

There are really 2 audio controls under Windows - one for play back and one for record. The 2 controls are independent of each other.

When you hear noise being picked up and played back through the speakers, that's the setting for Microphone volume in your playback set to ON position, i.e, Windows plays back everything the mic picks up - very good for karaoke, but not very useful to your recording or chat software since they rely on the Record Control for audio inputs.

Before proceeding, make sure your microphone is plugged into the mic jack of your sound card and that it is in working order.

To make use of your microphone in Windows, follow this setup:

1.    Double-click the speaker icon in Windows' System Tray to open volume control panel (Play Control).

2.     Set the Microphone volume control to Mute.

Note:

1. This has the benefit of avoiding potential feedback by eliminating the feedback loop from the speakers back to the microphone.
2. What the mic plays back is different from what the software picks up from the mic because of the 2 different Sound Controls, hence muting the setting in Play Control will not affect the setting in Record Control.
3. The user will be unable to hear what the mic hears through the speakers, but as mentioned before this does not affect the mic's performance in recording.

3.    Click Options -> Properties.

4.    Switch to Recording and make sure Microphone is selected.

5.    Click OK to exit. Record Control will appear. Select Microphone and adjust its volume as desired.

Note:    This assumes the microphone is the recording sound source. If you want to record from other audio sources, then you'll need to select your recording source accordingly.