Deciphering TheMouseForLess

Using Yahoo Chat's Voice Feature
By Michael Boyer - 9/26/2001

There are several places on a Windows based computer that you can go to adjust and "play" with your sound and recording settings. They vary significantly depending on the type of audio hardware you have installed in your computer.

The first of the two most common locations is the volume control, otherwise known as the audio mixer which can be found by double-clicking the icon which looks like a speaker on the right side of your windows taskbar. What many people don't realize is that the audio mixer has settings for BOTH playback AND recording. The "slider" bars that appear initially only control PLAYBACK volume of various sound components in your computer. To switch to the RECORDING "sliders", click on the "Options" menu item and select "Properties", then select "Recording" under "Adjust Volume for" and click OK. A different set of "slider" bars will now appear which will allow you to adjust the INPUT/RECORDING levels of your microphone and other audio input devices. You probably want to experiment with the RECORDING sliders, NOT the PLAYBACK sliders!

Also, on the same "Properties" panel, note the box at the bottom which all the check-able volume controls which can be displayed. Make sure they are ALL checked for BOTH playback and recording!

Then all I can tell you is to EXPERIMENT! Adjust the various sliders to determine which one is controlling your microphone and set it appropriately. BE CAREFUL AND TAKE NOTE of the "Mute" checkboxes. They can fool you! You can adjust a slider all you want, but if it is muted then it will have no effect at all!

Second common location to adjust audio settings is the "Sounds and Multimedia" Control Panel Applet under "Settings" on your Start Menu. This is VERY hardware dependent though and I cannot describe your specific options here. You will once again just have to experiment. GOOD LUCK!