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 Post subject: Help Me, Please
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:46 am 
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How can I test a microphone I just hooked up to the computer? Hubby is in Dubai, heading for Afghanistan; so we are using Skype. We had a headphone/mike set, but only one person could hear him. So I bought speakers - they work, and a microphone. I would really like to know if it is hooked up right before he checks in.


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 Post subject: Re: Help Me, Please
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:57 am 
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Setting Up a Microphone in Windows XP

I'm the first to admit that I'm somewhat multimedia-impaired. I rarely listen to music or watch videos using my computer. However, lately I had to delve into the world of sound because I need to create some demo videos for our new software. The video capture software I'm using is called Camtasia and it's easy to use. The worst part was actually getting the microphone to work, so I could record the narration.

After a number of false starts, I did an Internet search. As it turns out I'm not alone; microphone problems seem to run rampant. Ideally, you just plug in the microphone and it just works. The reality is that things can go wrong in a number of places. I actually tried out three microphones, most of which I had inherited when a friend cleaned out a box of old hardware. Here's what I learned the hard way.

1. Plug the microphone into the correct spot. It's not as easy as you might think. Many computers have more than one plug. My computer has two microphone plugs, one on the front and one on the back. Often the connectors are pink and the plug is pink too, which makes it easier to figure out which plug is the right one. (The icons on the case are often cryptic at best.) The connector goes to your sound card, which may be built into your computer's motherboard or a separate card.

2. Test the microphone. Choose Start|Programs|Accessories|Entertainment and open the Windows Sound Recorder. Click the red Record button and speak into the microphone. If it's working, you should see a wave form and be able to play it back.

3. Make sure your volume or the microphone aren't muted or low. Choose Start|Setting Control Panel|Sounds and Audio. In the Audio tab, click the Volume buttons under Sound Playback and Sound Recording. Another way to access the playback volume is by choosing Start|Programs|Accessories| Entertainment|Volume Control.

4. Adjust settings in your software. After you have the hardware set, you need to tweak the settings in the software you plan to use to record your audio. In my case, that meant adjusting Camtasia settings. If you were using a speech recognition program like Dragon Naturally Speaking, you would check the settings in that program.

When you run into problems, you need to keep testing and tweaking settings until you get it just right. Then go back and write down your settings somewhere so you don't forget them.
http://www.logicaltips.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=610

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 Post subject: Re: Help Me, Please
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 12:00 pm 
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Windows Vista - My Notebook has microphone problems.

Check microphone and microphone boost volume:

1. Click Start. In the Start Search, type: sound, and then click Sound.

2. In the Sound dialog box, click the Recording tab, and then click Microphone.

3. Click Properties, and then click the Levels tab.

4. Increase Microphone volume all the way up.

5. Increase Microphone boost volume to +10.0 dB and click OK.

Test hardware:

1. Click the Configure button, and then click Set up microphone.

2. Select the type of microphone you are using, and then click Next.

3. Follow the steps in the Wizard to complete testing.

You will know that the microphone and port are working correctly if you can complete the Wizard successfully.

If the microphone does not work, test the microphone on the computer's other microphone port.

If the microphone is still not working, test the microphone on another computer or test a known good microphone on this computer.

http://support.gateway.com/s/Checklists ... 1548.shtml

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 Post subject: Re: Help Me, Please
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 12:04 pm 
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Thanks, it worked perfectly when he called!


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 Post subject: Re: Help Me, Please
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 12:08 pm 
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I would suggest you to try these following steps,

Step 1: Using Windows Sound Recorder to test the microphone.

You can use this section to find out if the computer can record a signal from the

Microphone and play it back. Use Windows sound recorder to create an audio file using the following steps:

1. Plug the microphone into the computer.
2. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, and select Sound Recorder.
3. Click Start recording and speak into the microphone.

When finished recording, click Stop Recording.

A save screen automatically opens.

Type a filename and click Save. A file of type WAV or WMA is created in the Documents folder.

If you can record the Audio using Microphone using the above method then the Microphone is working fine.
Now it should work any application that Supports Microphone. If the computer does not record audio using the above method then it could be an issue with the settings of the Microphone. Now verify the following settings.

Step 2: Enabling the Microphone.
1. Plug the microphone into the computer.
2. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, and select Sound Recorder.
3. Click Start Recording and speak into the microphone.
4. Recording tab showing a detected signal for the Microphone device

Note: Microphone Icon should have Green check mark on it. If there is no Green check mark, it means it is disabled. If there is No green mark on Microphone it never works. To enable the Microphone Right click on Microphone and click on Enable. If you do not see the Microphone in the list, Right click on the White space and select Show disabled devices. Then you would see the Microphone. However, if you do not see the green check mark on it, Right click on it and click on Enable. And also Select Microphone and click on Set Default (If Set as default button is active).
If you see the Green check mark on Microphone the Microphone definitely works.

Step 3: Increasing Microphone Sensitivity and Un-muting the Microphone.

1. Select Microphone and click on Properties button.
2. Adjust the slider until to 100 % of its range.
3. If Mute is on, click the mute button to un-mute the device.
4. If Microphone Boost is available, boost the volume.
5. Click OK to make the changes.
Now the Microphone should work.

Hope this information helped!

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