Vista audio question: No input volume controls in Vista? | Tech Off

dentaku

I was trying to record from a cassette into my computer using the mic and line-in and I realised that Vista doesn't seem to have any RECORD volume controls.

In XP you can open your output volumes, your input volumes and enable and disable certain inputs using the checkboxes.

Vista seems to only have output volume controls. I couldn't use Line-In at all and mic picked up a signal and I could record it but I couldn't hear what I was recording through my speakers at the same time. I remember plugging in a microphone and hearing myself through the speakers in the past but for some reason, while Audition 2.0 was open I couldn't hear anything. I would have rather used the Line-In but like I said, it doesn't work at all.

Is this just because I'm using the onboard SoundMAX integrated audio from my motherboard or is there no Record Volume in Vista?

In the end, I rebooted into XP, started up Audition and Line-In worked fine. I set the levels to where they should be and it recorded just fine.

element1

This is amazing. Kenster, thanks so much for this post! I can only imagine how many people have benefited from your research but haven't posted replies.

One note: I found that I needed to edit both versions of the ADIHdAud.inf file -- in the driver pack I downloaded from HP, there was one copy in "i386" and another in "amd64" -- for the fix to work.

I have no doubt that the audio record functions are disabled as a result of recording industry interference. Pretty amazing to me that they would disable fairly basic computer functionality just to prevent consumers from recording audio, but apparently that's what has happened. Wow.

Ion Todirel
buuu

how about this: Control Panel - Hardware and Sound - Sound - Manage audio devices?

also look at Speakers Properties (in Playback tab), for recording sounds you also can use Vista's built in tool accesible from Start - All Programs - Accesories - Sound Recorder.

mig
Punctuality is the virtue of the bored. - Evelyn Waugh

I have a SoundMAX as well and one of the things I don't like about the Vista audio stack is that they now search the hardware on board (or something similar according to Larry Osterman) to give the supported output channels. I have a 5.1 audio speaker setup that I have working on XP, but in Vista I can't output 5.1 channels, which renders those speakers useless. Back on topic, I consider the Vista audio stack immature if not incomplete.

Edit: In Vista's defense, it COULD be that my drivers aren't properly reporting the audio channels it supports (or XP was allowing 5.1 channel output through stereo which is fine by me and my speakers), but I also used the drivers that Windows Update served me for the sound card.

dentaku

Yup, I found all of that. It's just not very useful. Then old Recording controls where much easier to use.

I just plugged a Creative Zen Micro into the Line-In of my computer while I was typing that first sentence and for some reason I can hear it through my speakers now but that LEVELS slider does absolutely nothing. The meters in Audition move but it just records quiet static.

The MIC jack picks up a signal if I plug in the wire half way and I can see the little meter moving but I hear nothing out my speakers.

I'm going to mess with this a bit more and try out Vista's sound recorder. It might have something to do with Audition.

Ion Todirel wrote:
how about this: Control Panel - Hardware and Sound - Sound - Manage audio devices?

also look at Speakers Properties (in Playback tab), for recording sounds you also can use Vista's built in tool accesible from Start - All Programs - Accesories - Sound Recorder.

dentaku

OK, after messing around a bit more I got Audition to record AND monitor the signal coming into the MIC jack (monitoring is always a bit complicated on a new installation of Audition) but Line-In just records static even though the meters move.
In Adobe Audition 2.0 you have to make sure Monitoring is set to Audition Mix instead of External if you want to hear what your recording.

Vista Sound Recorder records the signal from the MIC jack but I can't hear it while it's recording. Line-In does nothing.

I've come to the conclusion that Line-In just doesn't work in Vista yet and it probably has to do with the drivers being so unfinished.
Audition and Sound Recorder don't even know that the Line-In exists.

One good thing is that I can apply effects in real time and they seem react quickly. Maybe the latency is better in Vista.

Here's a screenshot. Notice that [01S] Microphone is the only input available, all the meters are moving (I could hear it too) and in the bottom right corner Monitoring: is set to Audition Mix.

Sven Groot
My name has 9 letters. Coincidence? I think not...

What happens when you set Line-In as the default? Is Audition still unable to use it then?

dentaku

Sven Groot wrote:
What happens when you set Line-In as the default? Is Audition still unable to use it then?

Hmm... I wondered about that but never tried it. I'll have to test that out tomorrow.

dentaku

Sven Groot wrote:
What happens when you set Line-In as the default? Is Audition still unable to use it then?

I just set Line-In as default and now the little meter moves but the levels slider still does absolutely nothing and Audition still doesn't seem to know Line-In exists.

The only way to set the levels is the move the volume on the device that's playing the sounds (the MP3 player in my case) but that's not a big deal.

The Vista Sound Recorder picks up Line-In now but that tiny little meter is pretty useless for figuring out if your levels are set correctly. What you hear out of the speakers is just a signal going straight through your soundcard and out of the speakers. It's not the actual sound that's being recorded. Your recording could be too loud or too quiet but you'll never know until you listen to the file you just made.

DigitalDud

I wish you could disable jack sensing. If Vista "thinks" theres no speakers plugged in it will disable sound output altogether. I have a machine at work with pretty flaky jack sensing that will think there's nothing plugged in intermittently.

When this stuff works though its pretty cool. Vista remembers volume levels when headphones are plugged in and switches volume when you plug them in again.

thenet411

With some sound cards, there was a recording option to record "What You Hear", IOW, whatever was being send to the speakers. I haven't been able to locate this option in Vista. Is this yet another symptom of incomplete drivers?

SecretSoftware
Code to live, but Live to code.

Why does vista list in the Volume Mixer, all applications even though they might not be audio enabled? Why does it not detect the audio enabled ones and list them in the Volume Mixer?

LarryOsterman

SecretSoftware wrote:
Why does vista list in the Volume Mixer, all applications even though they might not be audio enabled? Why does it not detect the audio enabled ones and list them in the Volume Mixer?

An application won't show up in the mixer until it makes a sound. Every app in the mixer has made a sound at one point or another.

LaBomba
Summer

LarryOsterman wrote:

SecretSoftware wrote: Why does vista list in the Volume Mixer, all applications even though they might not be audio enabled? Why does it not detect the audio enabled ones and list them in the Volume Mixer?

An application won't show up in the mixer until it makes a sound. Every app in the mixer has made a sound at one point or another.

Does that include PC speaker?

Mike2K

It appears that there is no way to run the microphone into the speakers as you could with XP? (So you can hear yourself while using a pair of headphones and a microphone, for example.) In XP the control to do this was clearly there. I don't see it in Vista at all.

fucker

Not freeware Sad

but check out Power Mixer, a must for audio producers using Vista.

http://www.actualsolution.com/power_mixer/

sodapop

I had this same problem with Vista. I was using the onboard audio on my dell (SoundMax), and i had no options to set line-in output volumes. I went and purchased a $30 Creative Audigy SE card and installed the Creative Beta drivers and now I have options in the Vista Mixer to change line-in output volumes. So it appears it is a driver issue and not neccesarily a Vista issue. I do with the generic drivers that whipped with Vista had this support.

julianekg

I had this same problem. Go to: http://fxaudioeditor.com/vista_recording_problems.htm
Big Smile

buggy123

under control panel > sound, if you select the recording tab, you can select wave out mix as the default recording device and can record what you hear. this feature might only be limited to certain sound cards. my sound card is a conexant high definition audio (not sure on specific model) , that came with my computer (and my computer came with vista)

buggy123

just another idea, get a peice of harware that allows you to plug your line in cable into the mic jack

KennsterDude

Hello:

I found a solution to the problem listed elsewhere (and here) as SoundMax Input Audio Monitor or Missing "EnableInputMonitor" registry setting. I have an HP NC8430 (HP Business Notebook) originally purchased with Windows XP Pro, and later upgraded to Vista Business. My microphone also functioned properly in Windows XP, but to my chagrin, there was no documented way to enable the input audio monitor. As it turns out, there was apparently a group of people colluding in secret (recording industry and and other large notebook manufactures) to limit copying of music... best I can tell because this functionality turned out to be DELIBERATELY disabled in my notebook's driver setup... read on.

I downloaded and installed the Soundmax driver's from HP's web site thinking that the new driver would solve my similar problem (no input audio monitor so I could play Karaoke) ... I was in for a journey!!

I tried all sorts of fixes wherever I found a solution posted, the closest thing I found and the thing that led me to own fix was in this thread: http://www.notebookforums.com/thread193323.html
which starts:

"Well I don't know if this applies to Vista but here is how I solved the problem with my XP installation on an IBM that had no Stereo Mix on the record side, only Mic in.

Basically the software (driver) is built to do everything including Stereo Mix . They are all that way. Well most of them are as it's much easier to design a driver to do everything and then disable functions in a config file. Redesigning a driver is very expensive. Disabling the Stereo Mix is a requirement that is artificially imposed so you don't capture (steal) audio streams. "

First, my solution assumes that anyone searching for it has already read a whole freaking lot about this problem and is familiar with ALL of the other proposed solutions, and therefore doesn't cover everything (like where in the sound control panel you would enable the microphone, etc) just what I did to get mine working.

I downloaded and extracted Soundmax the driver from the HP site, opened the ADIHdAud.inf file in the i386 directory, and armed with the knowledge that these settings were most likely present in the .inf file and that they would be intentionally disabled, searched for the term "disable".

Low and behold, at line 597 was section "HpMobileCommon.AddReg", and lines 601 & 602 read:

HKR,AD1981\\Disable, "MonR", 1, 01 ; Disable Mono Out Record
HKR,AD1981\\Disable, "MicV", 1, 01 ; Disable Microphone Playback

which I simply commented out using semi colon:
;HKR,AD1981\\Disable, "MonR", 1, 01 ; Disable Mono Out Record
;HKR,AD1981\\Disable, "MicV", 1, 01 ; Disable Microphone Playback

Then, lines 604 & 605:
HKR,AD1981, MicR, 1, 0B; Set Mic Record Slider
HKR,AD1981, LinR, 1, 0B; Set Line In Record Slider

I changed to:
HKR,AD1981, MicR, 1, 01; Set Mic Record Slider
HKR,AD1981, LinR, 1, 01; Set Line In Record Slider

After making the above modifications, I reinstalled the audio driver, and whallaH! the Microphone Slider magically appeared (muted) on the Speakers => Levels tab!!!! After simply unmuting the microphone (a little button next to the slider) ... I was able to sing my heart out... (by myself thank you!) ...

I started this last night (Sat evening) at 4:30 PM hoping to bring my laptop to my friend's party for some Karaoke fun, and spent 1.5 hours on it with no luck. I started working on this again at 9:00 AM this morning... called HP Technical support (who were completely and totally utterly USELESS!!!!!) and spent an hour and a half having to repeat myself and talk sloooooowwwly and clearly over and over and over and over again answering the same stupid questions over and over... At my wits end, I gave up and went shopping with my friend.

When I got back and refreshed enough, I spent another 2 or so hours this evening on the solution.

My pain is your gain.

J0hn

Hello,

Thanks KennsterDude...
thanks to your post I can now monitor recordings via my microphone port which I have been unable to do since I bought my laptop a year ago.

I have a Compaq/HP nx7400 running Windows XP SP2 and SoundMax.

I removed "HKR AD1981 Disable MicV" from the registry and rebooted. Now - for the first time ever - I have a Microphone Volume control on my Master Volume (playback) control panel which allows me to listen on the microphone port.

Thanks again

Manabi
Take back the web!

It's right at front of you. Tongue Out

J0hn

With respect, the only thing in front of me is the graphic you posted in your message.
As a software consult and someone who has been working in software development for over thirty years, I can assure you that there were no features/controls to allow monitoring sound on the microphone port on my machine until I applied the above registry change. In my particular case, these features were disabled when the SoundMax drivers were originally installed.

RadGravity

Hi!

I have the same problem as some of you guys had with no volume on the mic playback . The problem is that i dont have the SoundMax soundcard in my HP notebook, its a Conexant soundcard. I have tried editing the installation files to enable Mic Playback/Monitor but cant fint the right values to change.

Have anyone tried this or could give me some hints what to change to get this working?

This is how the inf-file looks like in the Conexant installation files: http://somebody.se/temp/wisvenza.txt