On 02/01/2016 13:34, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Micky"

I'm running Vista but it's a lot like 7.

I'm looking for a program something like sndrec.exe, just to record
and playback from my microphone. If it did more things that might be
nice, but not worth paying extra for.

Does something come with Vista? Or another recommendation.

Thanks.

Nil has provided, arguably, the best solution.

Audacity not only allows one to record from the microphone but also from
Line-In. It also allows one to edit the audio track and modify and
transform the audio track and then save it in various compressed ( like
MP3 ) and uncompressed formats ( like WAV ).

SoundRecorder is a junk, stock, utility. Audacity is an Audio creation
and editing application.

http://audacityteam.org/download/


I use Audacity. I also use WavePad which is also good. Both are free -
but there is also a Pro paid-for version of WavePad, but the free
version does everything I need.

http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/ [Click on the link in the paragraph which
begins with "Get it free . . ."
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

In message , Roger Mills
writes
On 02/01/2016 13:34, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Micky"

I'm running Vista but it's a lot like 7.

I'm looking for a program something like sndrec.exe, just to record
and playback from my microphone. If it did more things that might be
nice, but not worth paying extra for.

Does something come with Vista? Or another recommendation.

Thanks.

Nil has provided, arguably, the best solution.

Audacity not only allows one to record from the microphone but also from
Line-In. It also allows one to edit the audio track and modify and
transform the audio track and then save it in various compressed ( like
MP3 ) and uncompressed formats ( like WAV ).

SoundRecorder is a junk, stock, utility. Audacity is an Audio creation
and editing application.

http://audacityteam.org/download/


I use Audacity. I also use WavePad which is also good. Both are free -
but there is also a Pro paid-for version of WavePad, but the free
version does everything I need.

http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/ [Click on the link in the paragraph
which begins with "Get it free . . ."

Audacity will record almost anything you hear in the speakers. While
there won't be any problems with a microphone, there are some computers
won't let it record streamed audio (it depends on the sound card).
Although I've been using Audacity for years, on a couple of my latest
machines I've had to buy and install Total Recorder (which seems to work
OK).
http://www.highcriteria.com/
--
Ian

On Sat, 2 Jan 2016 11:31:49 -0500, Stan Brown
wrote:

On Sat, 02 Jan 2016 02:29:54 -0500, Nil wrote:
A decent free full-featured audio recorder is Audacity
(http://www.audacityteam.org/).

Oops -- I saw this after I had posted my recommendation of the same
program. But I lazily failed to give the URL.

I don't think it's lazy to not give the url. I'm the one wanting a
favor and it won't hurt me to look a little for the program.

On 02 Jan 2016, Micky wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

On Sat, 2 Jan 2016 11:31:49 -0500, Stan Brown
wrote:

Oops -- I saw this after I had posted my recommendation of the same
program. But I lazily failed to give the URL.

I don't think it's lazy to not give the url. I'm the one wanting a
favor and it won't hurt me to look a little for the program.

I made a point of giving the URL because there's also an old Audacity
site, hosted by Sourceforge.net that should be avoided. They are no
longer associated with the project and they only supply an old version
whose installer may contain foistware. The link I cited is for the
official site and is safe and up-to-date.

On 02/01/2016 22:03, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Roger Mills
writes
On 02/01/2016 13:34, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Micky"

I'm running Vista but it's a lot like 7.

I'm looking for a program something like sndrec.exe, just to record
and playback from my microphone. If it did more things that might be
nice, but not worth paying extra for.

Does something come with Vista? Or another recommendation.

Thanks.

Nil has provided, arguably, the best solution.

Audacity not only allows one to record from the microphone but also from
Line-In. It also allows one to edit the audio track and modify and
transform the audio track and then save it in various compressed ( like
MP3 ) and uncompressed formats ( like WAV ).

SoundRecorder is a junk, stock, utility. Audacity is an Audio creation
and editing application.

http://audacityteam.org/download/


I use Audacity. I also use WavePad which is also good. Both are free -
but there is also a Pro paid-for version of WavePad, but the free
version does everything I need.

http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/ [Click on the link in the paragraph
which begins with "Get it free . . ."

Audacity will record almost anything you hear in the speakers. While
there won't be any problems with a microphone, there are some computers
won't let it record streamed audio (it depends on the sound card).
Although I've been using Audacity for years, on a couple of my latest
machines I've had to buy and install Total Recorder (which seems to work
OK).
http://www.highcriteria.com/

I've always been able to record streamed audio with WavePad by setting
Stereo Mix as the default recording device.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

In message , Roger Mills
writes
On 02/01/2016 22:03, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Roger Mills
writes
On 02/01/2016 13:34, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Micky"

I'm running Vista but it's a lot like 7.

I'm looking for a program something like sndrec.exe, just to record
and playback from my microphone. If it did more things that might be
nice, but not worth paying extra for.

Does something come with Vista? Or another recommendation.

Thanks.

Nil has provided, arguably, the best solution.

Audacity not only allows one to record from the microphone but also from
Line-In. It also allows one to edit the audio track and modify and
transform the audio track and then save it in various compressed ( like
MP3 ) and uncompressed formats ( like WAV ).

SoundRecorder is a junk, stock, utility. Audacity is an Audio creation
and editing application.

http://audacityteam.org/download/


I use Audacity. I also use WavePad which is also good. Both are free -
but there is also a Pro paid-for version of WavePad, but the free
version does everything I need.

http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/ [Click on the link in the paragraph
which begins with "Get it free . . ."

Audacity will record almost anything you hear in the speakers. While
there won't be any problems with a microphone, there are some computers
won't let it record streamed audio (it depends on the sound card).
Although I've been using Audacity for years, on a couple of my latest
machines I've had to buy and install Total Recorder (which seems to work
OK).
http://www.highcriteria.com/

I've always been able to record streamed audio with WavePad by setting
Stereo Mix as the default recording device.

I think it was 'Stereo Mix' (which, I believe, is payware) that I once
tried on a W7 Dell D630 laptop because it had no native mixer stereo mix
function, and Audacity wouldn't record streamed audio. As it was
payware, I only tried it - and as I could use Audacity on another PC, I
didn't buy it.

I note that on this website
http://bit.ly/1RXZrmI
it says you can also use Audacity’s WASAPI Loopback. I don't recall
Audacity showing this on the W7 Dell D630, and it's not present on this
XP machine. I didn't notice it either on my Vista machine (Emachines
4264, using the motherboard audio).


--
Ian

On 03/01/2016 17:03, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Roger Mills
writes


I've always been able to record streamed audio with WavePad by setting
Stereo Mix as the default recording device.

I think it was 'Stereo Mix' (which, I believe, is payware) that I once
tried on a W7 Dell D630 laptop because it had no native mixer stereo mix
function, and Audacity wouldn't record streamed audio. As it was
payware, I only tried it - and as I could use Audacity on another PC, I
didn't buy it.

I note that on this website
http://bit.ly/1RXZrmI
it says you can also use Audacity’s WASAPI Loopback. I don't recall
Audacity showing this on the W7 Dell D630, and it's not present on this
XP machine. I didn't notice it either on my Vista machine (Emachines
4264, using the motherboard audio).


The Stereo Mix I referred to is certainly not payware - it's part of the
Win 7 Professional (32-bit) which came with my Dell laptop.

When I right click on the speaker icon at the right-hand end of the
system tray, and then select Recording Devices, a dialogue box appears
which shows what's available. The built-in options include External Mic
and Stereo Mix - where the latter is defined as "IDT High Definition
Audio Codec". [I have an additional option which is the microphone in my
USB webcam - but that only appears when the webcam is plugged in.]

It's possible that the standard options may depend on what sound card is
built into your computer. A long time ago, when I had a desktop computer
with lots of audio inputs (can't remember whether it was running XP or
W98!) it had a built-in audio mixer with lots of individual volume
sliders - for mic, line input, MIDI synthesizer, etc. My laptop doesn't
have that, but whatever the speakers are receiving - including streamed
audio - still gets fed to WavePad when I specify Stereo Mix as the
active recording device. [It's usually necessary to disable the others
temporarily].
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

In message , Roger Mills
writes
On 03/01/2016 17:03, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Roger Mills
writes


I've always been able to record streamed audio with WavePad by setting
Stereo Mix as the default recording device.

I think it was 'Stereo Mix' (which, I believe, is payware) that I once
tried on a W7 Dell D630 laptop because it had no native mixer stereo mix
function, and Audacity wouldn't record streamed audio. As it was
payware, I only tried it - and as I could use Audacity on another PC, I
didn't buy it.

I note that on this website
http://bit.ly/1RXZrmI
it says you can also use Audacity’s WASAPI Loopback. I don't recall
Audacity showing this on the W7 Dell D630, and it's not present on this
XP machine. I didn't notice it either on my Vista machine (Emachines
4264, using the motherboard audio).


The Stereo Mix I referred to is certainly not payware - it's part of
the Win 7 Professional (32-bit) which came with my Dell laptop.

When I right click on the speaker icon at the right-hand end of the
system tray, and then select Recording Devices, a dialogue box appears
which shows what's available. The built-in options include External Mic
and Stereo Mix - where the latter is defined as "IDT High Definition
Audio Codec". [I have an additional option which is the microphone in
my USB webcam - but that only appears when the webcam is plugged in.]

It's possible that the standard options may depend on what sound card
is built into your computer. A long time ago, when I had a desktop
computer with lots of audio inputs (can't remember whether it was
running XP or W98!) it had a built-in audio mixer with lots of
individual volume sliders - for mic, line input, MIDI synthesizer, etc.
My laptop doesn't have that, but whatever the speakers are receiving -
including streamed audio - still gets fed to WavePad when I specify
Stereo Mix as the active recording device. [It's usually necessary to
disable the others temporarily].

My previous two XP desktops have had lots of mixer sliders - including
'Stereo Mix'. Audacity recorded fine. This one (a Dell Optiplex 210L)
also has quite a few - but it has no 'Stereo Mix'. Instead, it has a
'Mono Mix' - and Audacity won't record streamed audio. I can't recall
offhand what the Vista 4264 PC, but as I said, Audacity won't record
either.

As for the 'Stereo Mix' being part of the Win 7 Professional (32-bit),
that's exactly what my Dell D630 laptop has - but as I said, I'm pretty
certain that there was no Stereo Mix slider (certainly not if you don't
plug anything into the 'Mic In' connector (also serves as 'Line In').

As for WavePad, I've Googled, and found lots of it:
http://bit.ly/1OteYJ7
I use loads of freeware, but I don't recall using WavePad - so I'll give
it a go, and see what happens.


--
Ian

Ian Jackson wrote:


I think it was 'Stereo Mix' (which, I believe, is payware) that I once
tried on a W7 Dell D630 laptop because it had no native mixer stereo mix
function, and Audacity wouldn't record streamed audio. As it was
payware, I only tried it - and as I could use Audacity on another PC, I
didn't buy it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_card

"Crippling of features

Most new soundcards no longer have the audio
loopback device commonly called "Stereo Mix"/
"Wave out mix"/"Mono Mix"/"What U Hear" that was
once very prevalent..."

Well, that section is a bit hyperbolic. HDAudio devices
are highly likely to have the path in hardware. It's a
matter of unticking the "disabled devices" in the sound
control panels of Windows, to bring it back. Microsoft
says "it will confuse people", but of course that's
bull****. It's disabled to make people think their
hardware company is heartless.

Some of the more expensive sound cards, use separate
I2C DACs and ADCs. And you might theorize that this
sort of design would prevent the feature from working.
But the main chip that hosts the I2C busses, has
mixers inside it, and the mixers will have the
same standard audio design as before. Complete
with the stereo mix path.

I've only seen one chip so far, where the
designers screwed up. One of the first HDAudio
chips (basically derived from older AC'97 designs),
they managed to forget to put the microphone
boost section into the chip design. Later
chip model numbers, had that put back in.
So that one chip ends up with microphone
input you cannot really hear.

Manufacturer audio drivers have rather large
INF files (15KB of text). And a lot of the
internal routing is done in there. It would
only take a "slip of the pen" to lose features
in that mess. But generally, the stuff is all
there, as long as the software is willing.

When HDAudio first came out, the datasheets for
the devices were written in "widget-ease", a kind
of useless text description of functionality. A
big missing item, was a diagram of the mixer paths.
(The hardware designers need this, to make sure
they don't forget something!)

Fortunately, some less kooky datasheet writers
have survived, to write more conventional datasheets
for modern devices. And the all-important mixer block
diagram is included, where you can see for yourself
that a stereo mix path is in the hardware. So
I can confirm there is no RIAA conspiracy at the lowest
levels of the hardware.

So the next time you don't have a stereo mix, at the
very least you can look up the datasheet for your
HDAudio chip, and see if there is a mixer block
diagram. Then find a Windows Recipe for putting the
item back where it belongs.

Paul

On Sat, 02 Jan 2016 18:28:04 -0500, Nil
wrote:

On 02 Jan 2016, Micky wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

On Sat, 2 Jan 2016 11:31:49 -0500, Stan Brown
wrote:

Oops -- I saw this after I had posted my recommendation of the same
program. But I lazily failed to give the URL.

I don't think it's lazy to not give the url. I'm the one wanting a
favor and it won't hurt me to look a little for the program.

I made a point of giving the URL because there's also an old Audacity
site, hosted by Sourceforge.net that should be avoided. They are no
longer associated with the project and they only supply an old version
whose installer may contain foistware. The link I cited is for the
official site and is safe and up-to-date.

Oh. If he knew that, then he's right.

BTW, I tried it last night and I like it. Will have to take voice
lessons, however.