Mic Problem with Realtek HD Audio Input

...

I think I should remind you guys that the Microphone sliders in the output section are really for output, except for the boost, if you unmute them and put the volume up you should hear your mic input in your audio output device so stop that bs, we need a new driver.

read thru the threads on RealTek problems- tnx to all. it seems to me that my Athlon-based PC was fine a few months ago - I could record from the stereo-mix channel of my wave-recording software (Magic Audio), and I mixed a few mic based waves for my jazz webcast at live365.com. I'd always used Sound-Blaster cards in the past, and was pleased that Realtek offered the same versatility.

suddenly, the 'mix' channel picks up nothing, and the mic volume is so low that, although I ran MicCal, and Volume Boost, etc etc, when I record a wave via the 'mic' channel, even if I amplify it 1000% in Magic Audio, there is no sound.

I can live without mic recording - what I can't get is that the 'wave' channel of Realtek HD audio output does NOT have a corresponding channel on the 'recording' side (Realtek HD audio input). there is a 'stereo mix', but it ain't picking up the 'wave' channel. I removed/re-installed to the latest Realtek software (May/07). I can only assume that with the daily rigours of living in a Win-XP system, Realtek drivers begin to deteriorate.

unless someone has a quick answer, I may just scrap Realtek and go back to SoundBlaster. (in these newer PC's, the sound is hard-wired to the motherboard. upgrades can be messy.) did anyone experience/overcome this problem?

Stereo Mix

My problem was never the mic, the mic was the easiest part to fix. Even without the 20 people explaining it over n over in this thread.
The main problem is stereo mix, it seems it doesnt like stereo mix in XP anymore, I installed my other board with soundmax chipset audio and I had no stereo mix on that either, I also tried an old creative soundblaster live and also no stereo mix. It seems to be the same thing amongst all the big names.

-lilschnowyguy

ilschnowyguy - tnx..! I think yer bang-on. Btw: with XP, have you experienced 'stereo mix' for awhile - then, suddenly, it just drops? my old XP PC did that (a SB card then) - finally, I had to do a clean re-install of WIN-XP anyway.. and the stereo mix ('what you hear') channel came to life, my wave recorder was back in business, and I was very careful about what programs I installed after that. 'Stereo mix' still works on that (not very busy) PC. So, this is the 2nd time with XP I've lost the feature. if anyone with Realtek and this symptom also re-installs XP, and also resolves the problem, please post it so that we know there is no other workaround, huh? save some grief all-around. A couple of techs I talked to opined that it's really a complex XP 'registry' problem -- and that a re-install/clean registry is the only way.

13-Jun-07 - happy to report that my wave recorder via stereo mix has come back to life.. I changed nothin' - same board, drivers.. (well, I actually have an Audigy card from eBay sitting in a box beside PC ready to be installed... maybe the RealTek software caught sight and decided to behave?)... there have been some auto Win updates from MSN (Win-XP Home) installed, but I have no idea what impact that might have had... hmm .. wonder if the mic works now, too?

Hi,

I'm having the same problem as most of you. My mic whilst talking on teamspeak is really quiet, and people get a huge amount of very loud feedback from me. I've tried most of the stuff people have said on this forum and I can't say any of it has worked for me.

Sometimes I get unusual noises coming from my mic aswell, such as when I'm testing it on Teamspeak or Sound Recorder. Loads of my settings are greyed off so I'm unable to change them. I rememeber somebody saying that plug the jack in the back of the computer and a balloon will come up saying a jack has been plugged in, so click the balloon and let it recognise the mic... when I tried this nothing would come up when I clicked the balloon. Thats been the most hopeful way around it for me.

I'm currently on a Realtek ALC660 (Onboard), and I'm starting to get a little impatient as many people have been spending months trying to find a resolution, and I'm not the smartest when it comes to computers. Because of this, I'm thinking of buying an external sound card for my USB, so I can use it just for the mic (as the sound of the is fine, its just the mic). I've looked on Ebay for these and they are going for like 99p, would these be very reliable and any good? I use my mic a lot whilst talking to friends over Teamspeak.

If you know how to get round this... please help!!! otherwise, could anybody give me some advice on what or what not to buy for an external sound card. I'm willing to spend only up to about £15 on it.

Any help or support would be great!!!
Thanks
James

I fixed my mic!!!!!

ITS FIXED!!!!!!!! Yahoooo!!!!

I had the exact same problem as the original poster here with my mic recording at super soft levels. I toyed around with the sliders, putting them down then back up and oddly enough that worked a few times, but as soon as I'd reset the computer it would go back to being quiet. After doing that a few times it stopped fixing the problem... I dunno how.

But anyways... I emailed Realtek and got back a picture of how the sound manger is supposed to look like. The essence of the reply I got was that I needed to enable the mic boost.

I almost replied back stating that I couldn't even access the mic boost since the 'advanced controls' option was grayed out.

I decided to dig around before sending back hate mail and I discovered that you can get the 'advanced controls' (and therefore the Mic Boost) to show up. And its easy.

In my master volume window I only had "Master Volume", "Wave", "SW Synth", and "CD Volume" with their sliders showing. For those 4 sound sources there are no advanced controls, which is why it was always grayed out for me.

I clicked on 'Options' then 'properties'. While viewing the "Realtek HD Audio output' mixer device, make sure to check the box to wherever you have your mic plugged in. For me it was "Rear Pink In". (I had looked through the list before, but was always looking for "Mic In", not this pink crap).

After checking "Rear Pink In" and hitting OK, go back to the Master Volume window and hit Options. You should now be able to select "Advanced Controls". The "Advanced" button should then appear below your mic input ("Rear Pink In" for me). Hit that and enable the Microphone Boost in the next screen.

That has completely solved the quite microphone problem I was having.

i have tried every ways which mentioned in this thread. my mic was all silent still.
i installed Realtek Driver R1.50, pulling "Front Pink In" and "Rear Pink In" up, ticking "mic boost" and blah blah blah

BUT i can use "mic" to record now!!! Indeed my "mic" is not really a mic... it is an earphone!! LOL! it sounds odd and stupid but it does work!!
so far i had tested on a JVC HAF120P ear bud headphone and a Sony's earphone (dunno its model), they both work well =)! i think it may related to the "stereo microphone" in which kikebabe had talked about before...

I'm having a similar problem to a lot of people in this thread. Although, I can alter the microphone recording volume and I can select 'Microphone Boost', the recording is still pathetic. Even with Microphone Boost on, the microphone has to be pretty much IN my mouth in order to record anything at all. I know it's not the microphone as it has worked on other systems, and I don't need to actually eat the microphone in order to record anything XD

Just for reference, I'm using Realtek AC'97 onboard sound. I have a Gigabyte nVIDIA GA-K8NSC-939 motherboard.

illogical

why are my mic boost settings in the output settings? like most others in this thread my mic was literally useless. i have a gigabyte ds3 mobo and windows xp pro installed. my mic is plugged into the rear pink input. i had to go to the output settings, unmute the rear pink input, then i was able to enable the boost when the advanced button was enabled.

BUT

now when i talk into my mic it spits it out of my speakers. i want to disable that "feature". i want my mic to be used for input for skype, chat, etc... w/o that loopback.

hello.. new here...

just stumbled upon here because of this RealTekm Stereo Mix issue .....

the choppiness of the microphone output..
i had it removed by decreasing master volume..
and unChecking that Mic Boost :/


i can use it now on Skype.. i can use it w/ the driver included in the CD...
and is still working w/ the new one from their site...

still no STEREO MIX options tho

My Solution In Detail

Realtek and my computer case front panel do not work together. (Some sort of HDA compatability issue)
This solution may not work for you!
My problem generated from playing Counter Strike (CS) and whenever I use my mic it gets extremely staticky, fuzzy, and other players hear it as a loud deafening sound.
I have tried several settings and this is the best possible closest quality that I am supposed to have in game when using voice.
If your front panel mic does not work at all, you can first try solving that problem by checking the option to Disable Front Panel.



HOWEVER, by doing this I can only enable mic functionality for simple programs such as Microsoft Sound Recorder. The bigger problem still occurs when I play games. This may be the same problem when people use certain applications!

My setup is a EVGA 680i mobo with Realtek HDA 1.71 (latest drivers as of July 2007) and my case is a Lian Li V1200B Plus II with a front panel mic and head phone jacks as well as USB and firewall. (usb and firewall work fine and are not related to this issue)

THIS SOLUTION SOLVES THE STATICKY PROBLEM WITH REALTEK HDA AND CERTAIN GAMES (AND MAY SOLVE THE PROBLEM FOR CERTAIN APPLICATIONS).

Firstly, ditch the front panel mic. PLUG IN YOUR MIC INTO THE BACK PANEL! If you have headphones like me, plug it into the back as well. The following settings will not solve the problem completely if you use the front panel mic jack! Why? Because the quality is still pretty bad and not the way I know it should be. If you manage to get it to work properly, please write a detailed post of how you did it cause i'd like to know. THANKS.

Next, go into your Realtek HD AUdio and make the appropriate settings as shown below. I've added some amateurish explanations just so everyone has some sort of shared understanding. If you can make it sound more nerdy and professional, please feel free to reply to my post. I'd be happy to learn. THANKS.




*Please note that these settings might not look like yours. For example, I know that some people have a Front Pink In and Rear Pink In, while I only have a Front Mic or Mic Volume (rear). However, you'll know if you have the right settings once you complete the next part. My explanations may not be correct either, but they sound right to me. So please forgive me if I'm wrong. =)*

**Also note, you want to mute the Realtek Hd Audio OUTPUT or else your mic will be ON as long as your computer is ON. When you use an application and you need to use the mic, YOUR COMPUTER WILL AUTOMATICALLY TURN ON THE MIC. That is why the Mic is MUTED in the OUTPUT and NOT MUTED in the Realtek HD Audio INPUT. Get it? Realtek was so smart so separate it like this.**

Now, once you make the appropriate settings they will be changed immediately. But you can click OK to close Realtek if you want.
Go into your Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices. Follow the pictures below.


Once you click TEST HARDWARE, follow the wizard to complete your computer's audio set up. It should detect stuff on its own or seem to do that. Speak into the mic and make sure your mic is picking up sound. When I speak normally, I can hit max easily (before I made all the adjustments above, my mic would only pick up 2-3 bars of sound and the quality was very Sh**ty.) Also make sure you can hear yourself properly in part 2. The quality won't be 100%, but it's the best you can do. Gotta love Realtek.

This solves my mic problem adequately enough that I can use my mic while I play games. This should also solve all mic problems for all the poor and unfortunately Realtek HDA users. However I haven't tested my mic on any other applications other than Microsoft Sound Recorder or in game (CS).

Now this better help someone cause it took a really friggin long time to figure it out, and then another really friggin long time to make this needed post for all the poor and unfortunate Realtek HDA users.

Best of Luck

Solution for me

I have an Acer laptop with the very low mic volume problem. Searching this forum gave a number of possible solutions - non of which seemed to fix it
But this did -
When I downloaded the latest Realtek driver, I installed it through Device Manager > Update driver. To sort the problem, open the driver in Windows Explorer and double click the Setup icon. This does an installation which allowed the full volume for the microphone.
Hope this solution helps someone - I know just how frustrating the situation can be.

I HAVE THE SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PURCHASE A USB HEADSET!!!!!! PREFERRABLY ONE THAT HAS AN ANALOG TO USB ADAPTER (AHS 422 by Altec Lansing)!!!!!!!!!!

I HAD THE SAME ISSUES YOU GUYS WERE FACING USING AN ANALOG MIC INPUT, HOWEVER AFTER PURCHASING A USB HEADSET (AHS 422) I COULD RECORD THROUGH MY MIC!!!!!!

AFTER YOU PLUG THE HEADSET IN YOU'LL SEE A WINDOWS SYSTEM TRAY MESSAGE TELLING YOU THE DRIVERS FOR YOUR DEVICE ARE BEING INSTALLED. AFTER THIS PROCESS COMPLETES YOU WILL HAVE THE OPTION OF SELECTING THE USB AUDIO DRIVER AS A SUB-DRIVER OF REALTEK HD AUDIO IN YOUR AUDIO DEVICE MENU. YOU'LL THEN BE ABLE TO RECORD INTO D.A.W.'S (Pro Tools, CueBase, FL Studio, ect.) AND OTHER AUDIO APPLICATIONS!!!!!!!

THIS IS WHY I TYPED THIS MESSAGE IN ALL CAPS!!!!!!!!

SPREAD THE WORD GUYS!!!!!!!

PEACE AND ENJOY!!!!!!!!

RonBot

Got working in Linux with aumix

I was able to boost the mic input in Linux/ALSA so that it was actually audible by using the "aumix" utility. Just make sure that you have the utility, then bump the "Igain" value way up. You can also do it from the shell with, "aumix -i 80", etc.

RealTek Microphone Boost - THANKS

Super. Thanks. I've been looking for a way to boost the microphone on my Toshiba laptop for weeks. A Google search finally landed me here.

Works! Thanks much.

Carl

Easy fix

I had the same problem on my acer travelmate 5720. The acer people told me to perform a system restore - BUT - i was reluctant and tried a few things myself based on these post.

The solution for me was to open the realtec HD audio manager (in my case version 5.10.0.5391). Goto the mixer tab. The top of the screen is the playback settings and the bottom of the screen is the record settings.

Click on the little dot under the front mic. Then click OK.

I reported this back to acer support and they said they would add it to the website. Hope this helps as there seems to be many people with the same problem.

Yeah but that doesn't fix anything about the mike connected through the jack, which is completely nonworking. Along with the line-in and stereo mix inputs of course. But it is nothing wrong with the hardware since it works under linux, oh well... I might as well just buy a PCMCIA or ExpressCard soundcard.

Fixed It!

i havent read all the posts, but after reading a few that didnt work, i found what i had to do to get mine to work, here are the steps i took...

1) Open up sound recorder (Start>Programs>Accessories>Sound Recorder)
2) Click "Edit" then "Audio Properties"
3) Under "Sound Recording" make sure that the right jack is selected (for me it was "Realtek HD Audio rear input")
4) You can then click volume, and check off microphone and turn the volume up


Im not sure if this will work for everyone but it is the only thing that worked for me (sorry if this has already been posted)

ULTIMATE SOLOTION, with evidence!

Hi, after suffering 3 whole days of realteks nonsense I finally found the correct settings in order to have a working mic... and posted this solotion to help you people out.

***In order for this method to work you must have your mic jack (Pink) plugged into the front terminals on your PC***

1. Goto Master Volume, by clicking the small SILVER speaker down in your taskbar.

2. Now click "Options" > "Properties"

3. You will see the following:

Now tick them all...

Do the same for Recording controls, which you can access by selecting "---- Audio Input" (dashes represent your device) in the drop down menu next to "Mixer Device" and clicking OK

Now that every box is checked in both Master volume and Recording controls settings...

4. Access both of them and put all the sliders in the positions shown below:

*These are my settings that work.

Hope this works for you

***The following solotion is for people who can hear themeslves, but very faintly***

1. Goto Master volume (same way as described above).

2. Go "Options" and tick "Advanced contols".

2. Then go "Options" > "Properties" and make sure the ticky box named "Mic volume" is checked.

3. Then return to the volume contols, and click the "Advanced Button" under the "Mic Volume" coloumn.


...After clicking the "Advanced" button you should see the following:


Check the "1 Microphone Boost" box

your propbelm should now be solved.