Is it me or is it my microphone?

[Guest]

I need some help recording sounds in Windows XP. I have a microphone that
came with a tape recorder, and I assumed it would also work on the computer,
but when I plug it in and try to use sound recorder, I get nothing. so my
questions are:

a) do computers need a different kind of microphone than tape recorders?
b) is there a way to test whether my computer is even recognizing the
microphone?
c) What kind of settings do I need to enable in Windows XP in order to
record from a microphone?

Input would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Go to start/run, and type:
SNDVOL32
Choose Properties on the Options menu. This will display the radio buttons
for 'playback' and 'recording'. Dot the 'recording' item, and OK.
This displays your input devices. The sliders for Mic, and Line in can be
cheched to allow the sound recorder to 'hear' their input.
Another thing to be aware of is sound recorders one minute limit to
recording. Record one minute of silence, save the file, and use the menu to
'insert' one minute segmentsd into a file till it is long enough to overwrite
with something you put in, like speach by mic, or input from line-in (a
recorder or player). Save the long file, and use it for the recording, later.

 

[Guest]

That is a useful way of getting to the recording properties. Thanks! (But it
turns out the problem was my microphone was plugged too far into the jack.
Oh well.)