Help Please with recording!

[Guest]

I'm trying to record instruments and voice thru my line in (mic) input.
Regardless of which program i try to use (windows sound recorder, cool edit,
sound forge) the following happens : as soon as i access the recording
monitors, (that is, the actual volume level monitors within the program) but
before i even hit the record button, the sound cuts out, the monitor bars
stop registering an incoming sound, and the computer goes completely mute
until it is reset. this happens whether or not i'm actually putting sound
into the comp or not- it even happens when there is nothing actually
connected to the mic jack.

every now and then i manage to hit record before this happens, and what
occurs is that the monitor seems to spike suddenly, i get maybe one second of
recording time, and the computer goes silent again. i've gone through every
setting and diagnostic tool i can think of, but nothing can bring sound back
until i reboot.

some more info that may be pertinent:
-when the computer goes silent, the sound controls on ALL sound related
programs stop responding
-diagnostics and the device manager don't detect the problem
-my computer used to record sound no problem, but this has been happening
since i reformatted it

thanks.

 

[Guest]

ok, i forgot to add in the following:

Device manager looks clean
[Sound and Audio Devices][Sound recording] looks right.
Event viewer is clean
Mixer Line-In/Microphone are NOT muted.
Mixer Line-In/Microphone volume controls are working.
Input devices (mic and mixing board) work fine

 

[Guest]

Use the below program, not XP's Sound Recorder which is limited to 60 seconds.
Audacity (sound file editor, recorder)
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

 

[Guest]

Use the below program, not XP's Sound Recorder which is limited to 60 seconds.
Audacity (sound file editor, recorder)
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

i don't think that's the problem, i've used cool edit and two different
versions of sound forge and still nothing.

 

[Guest]

You may have an alternative. Completely reinstall your soundcard from scratch.
In other words, delete/uninstall it and reinstall it from the CD that came
with
your PC. If that doesn't work, recommend you go to your nearest Circuit
City or
Best Buy and purchase a decent soundcard, about $50 to $99. You can also
check
at eBay for some good soundcards at low prices.