Problems with microphone and line input under Win8

Solving microphone and line input problems under Win8 This document provides solutions to problems with microphones and other line input sources such as tape players, answering machines, and other types of sound devices. . This article applies to HP and Compaq computers with Windows 8. Users of other brands who have installed Win8 systems can also refer to the methods in this article for reference. Note: Before using this article, make sure that the speakers in Windows can sound. First perform the following steps to test and detect hardware and connections, update the audio drivers, and configure the Windows sound settings. If you perform the following steps in the correct order, you will be able to fix the problem or you will find that the audio software needs to be configured or updated.

Step 1: Test the audio signal Use this procedure to check if Windows can detect the audio signal from the microphone or line in port. Note: If you are testing a line input port and the source device has a volume control button, please note that adjusting the volume too high will cause distortion of the sound and may result in damage to the audio hardware. First use the low volume and slowly increase it until the recording is at the desired level. Do not adjust the volume of the source device to more than one-half of the overall volume. Move your mouse pointer to the lower left corner of the screen, right-click, and select “Control Panel” from the menu. Figure 1: Control Panel

Click “Hardware and Sound", then under "Sound", click “Manage Audio Devices”. Figure 2: Manage Audio Devices

& ldquo; Sounds & rdquo; window opens. Figure 3: “Sound” window

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Click on the &records & rdquo; tab. To test the microphone, speak in a microphone. To test the line input, send a signal from the source audio device to the line input port (press the “Play & rdquo; button on the audio player). Look at the gray bar next to the device name on the "recording" tab: If the gray bar next to the device name turns green, the device is activated; and the microphone or line in port has an acoustic signal. This step indicates that the problem is with the sound settings of the software using the microphone. If you have not already done so, set the selected device to default and adjust the volume as in step 3. Use and adjust the recording or sound playback software when the device is set to default and the volume is set. If the gray bar is still gray and the device cannot be activated, the device does not recognize the sound signal. Do not close the "record" tab and proceed to the next step. Figure 4: Sound: "Record" tab showing the signal detected by the microphone device

Step 2: Check the connection and hardware If possible, connect the microphone (or the source device for line input) to On another computer or audio device. For example, you want to check the microphone and plug it into the tape recorder. If the tape recorder can record sound, then there is no problem with the microphone and cable. If the microphone or source device does not work on other audio devices, replace it. Connection Tips Notebook • Disconnect and reconnect the plug. Reconnect even if the plug is plugged into the correct connector. This helps to confirm if there is a connection problem between the plug and the slot. • If you are using a USB microphone, try using another USB connector. If the software is included with your microphone, make sure it is installed correctly and is compatible with Windows 8. • If you are sure that the microphone (or source device) is ok, plug it into the correct computer jack. When checking the connection, please note the following: Desktop • The microphone interface is usually pink. The • input line interface is usually blue. Figure 5: Example of an audio interface on a desktop computer: Pink for the microphone interface, blue for the line input connector

Notebook Figure 6: Example of the microphone and headphone connector on the laptop:

Step 3: Check the volume and mute settings The microphone and line input speaker volume may be set to mute or have been turned off. Perform the following steps to check the line input and microphone speaker volume. Unplug all headphones or audio devices before beginning this step. Confirm microphone and line input volume 1. Move the mouse pointer to the lower left corner of the screen, right-click, and select “Control Panel” from the menu. Figure 7: Control Panel

2. Click on "Hardware and Sound". Figure 8: Hardware and Sound

Figure 9: Hardware and Sound