User:Billw58/Recording Computer Playback Windows

The following is lifted from the wiki: Mixer Toolbar Issues. I leave it (for now) for a Windows user to clear this up into a step-by-step.

There is often confusion over what source to use for recording sounds the computer is playing, and worse, this source is often hidden by default in the system mixer. The required source can go by various names such as: "Stereo Mix", "Wave Out", "Sum", "What U Hear" or "Loopback". The exact name (and even if you have such a source option) depends on the drivers of your sound device. Try to enable and select a suitable option in the system mixer as described below. Try updating the sound device drivers if there is still no suitable source.

Sometimes "Stereo Mix" can only be made to work by using the control panel supplied by the sound card manufacturer - this is often reported with RealTek inbuilt sound devices. Try launching the sound device control panel from the Windows Control Panel or the system tray (by the clock). If you see a volume control for Stereo Mix, try clicking to select it. Confusingly, some RealTek devices "select" an input by muting all but one, so in this case, mute everything except stereo mix. If you don't see Stereo Mix, click the wrench icon and enable Stereo Mix in the dialogue that pops up. In some RealTek versions the option to check is "Enabled recording multi-streaming". You should now see a volume control for Stereo Mix. Remember to select or unmute it as above. See this Forum topic for more help with RealTek.

Be aware that on some machines, the "Stereo Mix" option will never work because it is disabled internally by the driver settings due to copyright concerns. This is a known issue with Lenovo Thinkpad laptops, but sometimes editing the driver files can enable stereo mix. If all else fails, you can connect a cable from the line-out (green) port of the computer to the line-in (blue), and choose the line-in as recording source. If you need to hear what you're recording, you can buy a single stereo to double stereo adaptor that will give you a spare jack to plug the speakers into. Alternatively, try Freecorder 3.0 which is a virtual sound driver distinct from your sound device. It installs as a browser plug-in. Note that later versions of Freecorder from the manufacturer's site do not record to WAV, forcing you to record to the lossy MP3 format. Or buy an external USB sound card, which normally offer a "stereo mix" type of option, such as the Trust Sound Expert External.

Peter 17Jun11: For Windows users who cannot record streaming audio we normally recommend the TotalRecorder package. It costs a little at $17.95, but it works well - my wife uses it successfully on her new W7 laptop. It does export WAVs.

Next Step
Setting up Audacity to record from your chosen input