Mic isn't working -- potentially a hardware issue

[ktm407]

Hi, I tried to use my microphone today and it's not picking up anything. It's just flat, no fuzz, nothing. I plugged in a different mic and it's the same thing. I tried to record with different programs -- nothing. It worked fine before today... and I use my mic daily.

I haven't change any of my recording settings. Today I was playing with my Nvidia environment thing, speaker wizard and my Winamp EQ, but nothing that should have affected recording whatsoever. I set my Nvidia thing back to default settings to see if it'd fix it, but it didn't. The mic is not muted or anything obvious like that.

Could this be a hardware problem? I got a new computer custom-built about 3 weeks ago. The motherboard is a DFI LanParty UT nF3 250gb. It had all the ports and stuff (mic, keyboard, mouse, usb, ethernet) on the back. And on the front it even had mic, speaker, and USB with the Xion case I got. I tried all 3 mic ports, nothing. It has an integrated sound card (Nvidia nForce).

It's been working fine since I got it and suddenly today I went to record and it wouldn't work. I really need my mic. What do I do? Do I need to replace my motherboard or something (I can't seem to find my warranty... but I have my Newegg order history I think) or are there some settings that can fix this? Please help me!!

 

[sniperruff]

is the sound working?

 

[ktm407]

Oh, I forgot to mention that. Yes, sound is perfectly fine. I can hear stuff... It's only recording.

 

[sniperruff]

try re-installing the sound driver?

 

[ktm407]

I just used the disc that came with my motherboard and reinstalled the audio driver. Still not working.

This thing is picking up NOTHING. Not even a little bit of fuzz like you get with line in or something.

 

[Sforsyth]

did you check in the Entertaiment Volume controll in the start menu alot of time this will be muted or not selected under recording, do you use Skype or something simular MSN IM with a web cam ? sometime these programs will change the setting on you.

 

[ktm407]

Yes, I checked the Nvidia volume controls AND the windows volume controls. And I didn't use any programs that should've changed my sound settings -- but I doubled checked anyway to be sure.

I also want to add that I tried plugging my mic into the line-in port as well. No dice.

 

[ktm407]

Do you guys think that it's my motherboard? Should I try to replace it? It's only a few weeks old. Should I call DFI or Nvidia? I can't have a computer that won't record -- and after paying $700 for all new parts, I wouldn't expect to either. I really need some guidance. I'm not very good with computers.

 

[Continuity28]

Do you have 2 speakers or more?

Maybe you changed the audio mode to surround sound, which may switch around the microphone or line in?

Unfortunately this seems like one of those problems where its hard to solve without seeing it...

Look into all alternatives before replacing though, if it turns out NOT to be defective, you may run into the problem again in the future and be in this same situation.

 

[ktm407]

I have 2 speakers and one bass sub woofer. I did do the speaker set-up with Nvidia and it detected 2 speakers and said it optimized everything. But then when I discovered that I was having recording issues I set the Nvidia mixer to default. It's not in surround sound.

I find it peculiar that the microphone line is totally and utterly flat. It's just absoutely not responding. My friend said one day his computer stopped recording too. He hasn't done anything about it and it hasn't worked for months for him.



Will Newegg or DFI replace this even if I can't find my warranty? I have everything else, the manula, the box, the newegg order... I think the guy that built my PC for me might've thrown the actual warranty slip out...

 

[Continuity28]

If you have 3 audio ports, under stereo mode (in your case 2.1) you'll have Line-Out, Line-In, Microphone. Try putting the microphone on line in, and don't change anything, see if it does something. Then change the recorder settings so that recording has Line-In checked instead of Microphone, of course, check all volume settings. If you can't hear anything on Line-In or Microphone then I'm not sure...

I have no experience with returning parts to Newegg, but I'm really sure DFI won't take it back, motherboards get replaced to the point of purchase not the maker, I believe.

 

[ktm407]

I already tried the line-in too. I've tried all the combinations of settings and input ports. I'm really dumbfounded, I've done everything that makes sense. I'm thinking something is really screwed with this sound card. I guess I'll call the kid who built my computer tomorrow... how annoying.


I'm open to any other ideas and suggestions, everyone! Please!

 

[Continuity28]

If you're going to replace the motherboard anyways, you might as well try a reformat of Windows first, reload all the drivers and services packs etc, if it doesn't work after a complete reformat, then I'd return it.

 

[ktm407]

If I do that, I will lose everything. I would really like to not lose everything because I just went through the hassle of trying to back up things and losing other things a few weeks ago. And I really truly feel that refomatting Windows will not fix it. I did reinstall the audio driver that came with the motherboard and I did Windows update too tonight (after the problem arose).

I guess it's apparent there's no clear solution anyone has for me. This sucks pretty bad.

Thanks for trying all.

 

[Continuity28]

Originally posted by: ktm407
If I do that, I will lose everything. I would really like to not lose everything because I just went through the hassle of trying to back up things and losing other things a few weeks ago. And I really truly feel that refomatting Windows will not fix it. I did reinstall the audio driver that came with the motherboard and I did Windows update too tonight (after the problem arose).

I guess it's apparent there's no clear solution anyone has for me. This sucks pretty bad.

Thanks for trying all.

If you buy a new motherboard, you'd need to reformat anyways. That's why I said do this as the last resort before buying a new motherboard.

 

[Continuity28]

Anyways, what do you record with, any special programs?

 

[ktm407]

Oh man... this blows! Is there anyway I can reformat with one hard drive and keep my other one in tact? I have one 127 GB hard drive and a removable 104 GB hard drive. I don't know why my hard drive came that way, but it did. I thought it was just a 250GB hard drive from Western Digital...

I record with Cool Edit Pro 2.0 to record my songs and stuff. I tried AIM Talk and Sound Recorder too and nothing was wooking though, so I know it's not Cool Edit that is the problem.

 

[Continuity28]

Originally posted by: ktm407
Oh man... this blows! Is there anyway I can reformat with one hard drive and keep my other one in tact? I have one 127 GB hard drive and a removable 104 GB hard drive. I don't know why my hard drive came that way, but it did. I thought it was just a 250GB hard drive from Western Digital...

I record with Cool Edit Pro to record my songs and stuff. I tried AIM Talk and Sound Recorder and nothing was wroking though, so I know it wasn't Cool Edit.

When you say removable, do you mean external? You only need to reformat your system drive, put all your important data on the other drive, programs will still have to be reinstalled, but at least you won't lose your music and spreadsheets, etc.

Which is your current system drive? (C: by default)

 

[ktm407]

No, it's not external. Which I found confusing. It's bundled with the other drive like a normal internal drive but the kid that built my computer said I could remove it and put it in another computer if I needed to. At the bottom of my screen, a removable storage icon is on my screen all the time and he told me that it's my hard drive and not to stop it. My C: drive is my 127 GB drive. My F: is the rest of it.

 

[Continuity28]

Originally posted by: ktm407
No, it's not external. Which I found confusing. It's bundled with the other drive like a normal internal drive but the kid that built my computer said I could remove it and put it in another computer if I needed to. At the bottom of my screen, a removable storage icon is on my screen all the time and he told me that it's my hard drive and not to stop it. My C: drive is my 127 GB drive. My F: is the rest of it.

That removable drive is likely Serial ATA, which supports hot-swap. Your main is likely IDE.

It seems like your friend is knowledgable, I'd get a hold of him first before going forward with anything related to reformatting, I can't help you from here if you're formatting, but he can.. assuming he knows as much as I think he does I mean.

What you're likely going to have to do is put all your data on the smaller drive, and reformat as a last resort (erasing only the bigger drive). Try redoing everything from scratch, and if results stay the same, you're all set for a new motherboard anyways.

It's cases like these I wish I was geek patrol going to people's houses or using a program to take control of the PC, because solving a problem first hand is much easier than online.

 

[ktm407]

Yes, he said it was a hot swap, I believe. He is pretty knowledgable with computers. That's his job, he's a computer guy for a large firm around here and he runs their network so... he knows what he's doing. I just hate bothering him because he is actually my brother's friend, not my friend. But I pay him everytime he helps me with something -- hmph!

Is it weird that a motherboard would do this after a few weeks of use? The sound works, just not recording. Weird.

Thanks for the help. It's hard explaining things to people online... it's like when my mom e-mails me from working asking me how to do the simplest things, hahah, so frustrating. I appreciate it though, I was running into a brick wall here unsure what to do.

 

[Continuity28]

Originally posted by: ktm407
Yes, he said it was a hot swap, I believe. He is pretty knowledgable with computers. That's his job, he's a computer guy for a large firm around here and he runs their network so... he knows what he's doing. I just hate bothering him because he is actually my brother's friend, not my friend. But I pay him everytime he helps me with something -- hmph!

Is it weird that a motherboard would do this after a few weeks of use? The sound works, just not recording. Weird.

Thanks for the help. It's hard explaining things to people online... it's like when my mom e-mails me from working asking me how to do the simplest things, hahah, so frustrating. I appreciate it though, I was running into a brick wall here unsure what to do.

It's not common for this to happen, that's why I'm not saying return it so quickly. If this were more common, I'd have said it's likely better to just return it by now.

 

[ktm407]

Okay, thanks. I'm gonna leave my computer guy a message telling him what the problem is and then I'll call him tomorrow to see what he thinks about it. Thank you again.

 

[madun]

:|

Hi mate,

I just wanted to drop in with some extra info....

I have been into computers since year dot and work with them daily at corporate level. I recently decided to buy myself a new pc for my home. I went for the same board as you, and guess what, my mic has never worked. I got this board two weeks ago, and I got time to catch up installing skype etc. I come to use my mic and experienced all the problems you were getting.

I tried previous and recent version's of drivers and direct x with no success. I also tried using the line in like you also. Your not alone !!

I did however update the bios before I installed anything, and I installed the latest drivers from Nvidia as the first installation.

I have tried everything I know in my ability. Funny enough I also have 2 Creative speakers with one sub woofer. The only options I can see, are;

1. Reinstall windows .....

2. Buy a USB or Bluetooth Mic

3. Send the board back and try a fresh one !

As time is so precious to me and costly I may just opt for option 2, and save myself a headache....

I would appreciate your findings as we have a similar setup ..... btw my mate's got the same board, he's had his a year with no probs !

Cheers MaDuN