Recording sound, be it your singing, playing a musical instrument, or just speaking, is one of the most striking multimedia functions of computers. But with the recording, there may be some problems that even a novice user can easily fix.
Twenty years ago, the simplest home recording and processing required rather complex, specific and not always available equipment. Now these functions are fully implemented in the computer, with the help of which you can make audio recording for both amateur personal use and professional tasks that require a high level of quality. These tasks are completed without any difficulty. If this function does not work, then it is better to take a closer look and exclude the following common errors.
Pay attention to hardware errors. The recording process involves a microphone, sound card, and connecting wires. Make sure your sound card is working by turning on your speakers or headphones and listening to any recorded sound (song, movie, system alert sounds). If your computer does not play sound, check for a driver for your sound card and, if it is missing, download and install the appropriate program. In Microsoft Windows, you can find out about its presence in the "Device Manager", which is accessed from the "Properties" tab of your computer or Control Panel in the "System" tab. If the driver is installed, but sound is not recorded, you should try reinstalling the driver after downloading its latest version.
Special attention should be paid to the microphone. If you have a laptop, netbook, or tablet, most of the time it has a built-in microphone. It is possible that the problem of the absence of a signal is in it, and the easiest way to diagnose it is to connect a fully functional computer microphone. It should be noted that in the absence of a professional sound card, it makes sense to use only special microphones for a computer. Professional models, even when using an adapter, may not work due to the inappropriate current resistance for them. To use professional microphones, you will have to acquire a special sound card and a mixing console.
Often the problem is a wrong connection or poor condition of the wire. Make sure to insert your microphone plug all the way into the appropriate jack. In some models, a very thin long wire is used, which is easy to crush with a chair leg or just ruin it with a strong jerk.
Make sure your microphone is enabled programmatically. This can be verified by opening your operating system's audio mixer. It can be either standard or installed together with the driver for the sound card. Check if the microphone is on and what the set signal level is. Perhaps he simply does not have enough recording volume.
If you are using special programs, check their settings. Each has options for the source of the audio stream that will be recorded. Experiment with these settings. Remember that there are a lot of similar programs, and there is always the opportunity to try alternative options.
