Windows Vista - My desktop has microphone problems.

Verify Microphone (Mic) is plugged in
  1. If the Mic is a stand-alone microphone, verify connection to the system.

  2. If the Mic is attached to a headset, verify red connector is plugged in (not black connector).

  3. Verify the Mic is connected to the correct jack. Desktop system may have a microphone jack in the front and back. If the desktop has two microphone ports, verify the jack connected to is not muted.

Verify the Mic is enabled.

  1. Click Start, Control Panel, and then click Hardware and Sound.

  2. Under Sound, click Manage audio devices. The Sound dialog box with settings opens.

  3. If No audio devices are installed is displayed, go to Verify Audio Drivers are installed.
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  4. Click the Recording tab.

  5. In the box that displays the settings, right-click in the empty area under the displayed devices.

  6. If not already checked, place a check in the box for Show Disabled Devices.

  7. Repeat the process for Show Disconnected Devices.

  8. Once all devices are listed, verify that the Microphone is in a "Working" state.

  9. If the Mic is in a "Disabled" state, or "Currently unavailable" state, move cursor over device to highlight, right-click, and select Enable. Click OK.
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Adjust the properties of the Microphone
  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: sound. In the displayed list, click Sound.

  2. Verify Mic is in a "Working" state.

  3. If there are two Mic jacks, select the Mic location from the displayed entries.

    4. Note: For this example, the Front Mic is selected.

  4. In the Front Mic Properties dialog box, click the Levels tab.

  5. Move the Front Mic slider completely to the right (+10.5 dB).

  6. Move the Microphone Boost slider to the right until the boost is at the desired settings.
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  7. Click the Enhancements Tab.

  8. Select the desired enhancements. Typical enhancements available are displayed in the following graphic.

  9. Click Apply, for enhancements to take effect.
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  10. Click the Advanced tab.

  11. If desired, changed Default Format.

  12. If desired, change Exclusive Mode.

  13. Click Apply for Advanced options to take effect.
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Verify microphone functionality.

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: sound. From the displayed list, click Sound.

  2. Verify the indication bars change as you speak into the microphone.

  3. If Mic does not function, complete all the previous actions using the other Mic jack.

  4. Retry the Mic connected to the new jack.
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Verify Audio drivers are installed correctly.

  1. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: sound. From the displayed list, click Sound.

  2. In the Sound dialog box, the message "No audio devices are installed" is displayed.
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  3. Click Start. In the Start Search box, type: Device. From the displayed list, click Device Manager.

  4. On the UAC, click Continue.

  5. In Device Manager, locate the entry for Sound, Video and Game Controllers.
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  6. Under the device, if a Black down arrow is present, right-click the device and select Enable.

  7. If a Black Exclamation point is present, use Gateway Recovery to install the Gateway driver.

  8. If no errors are present under Sound, Video and Game Controllers, verify customer has made apps and drivers disk.

  9. Uninstall the device driver and restart the system.

  10. After restarting the system, Windows installs a native driver. Use Gateway Recovery to install the Gateway driver.

If following the above procedures did not resolve your problem, please contact Gateway through one of the following methods: