Internal mic not working

Clive,

           Its not working online other wise ok. For online i neeed to use head set??????????

Please help

Look on the Sound properties Recording tab. Is Microphone/Line In IDT High Definition Audio Codec selected as the default device?

For online i neeed to use head set??????????

Not sure if I understand. If you do NOT want to use headset then select  Microphone Array IDT High Definition Audio Codec and set it to be the default device.

Hi,

I have Dell Vostro 1400 windows vista 32 bit.  The built in microphone does not work nor the external one (headphone mic). In troubleshooting window everything looks fine & working. When I speak in the sound recorder the sound bar does not move up.

Any help please

I have Dell Vostro 1400 windows vista 32 bit.  The built in microphone does not work nor the external one

For the external mic, go to the Sounds properties Recording tab and select "Microphone/Line In Sigmatel High Definition Audio Codec as the default recording device.

If you just see "High Definition Audio Device" and not "Sigmatel High Definition Audio Codec" then the Sigmatel audio driver is not installed. In that case install the Sigmatel R171786 driver.

It could be that the devices are disabled, in which case

1. Go to Start>Control Panel>Sound>Recording tab
       or Start>Control Panel>Hardware and Sound>Manage Audio Devices>Recording tab

    2. Right click in blank area of the Recording tab

    3. Select "Show Disabled Devices"

    4. "Microphone Array" or "External Microphone" should appear

    5. Right click on "Microphone Array" or "External Microphone" and select "Enable".

    6. Set to be the "Default Device"

To set the levels of the mics or to mute/unmute, select one of the device and click "Properties".

For the mic array to work you might need to start Webcam Central:

   1. Click Start
   2. Click All Programs
   3. Click the Dell Webcam
   4. Click Webcam Central to start the program.
   5. In the lower right-hand corner of the Dell Webcam Central window, click the drop-down arrow next to the picture of the microphone. Select Microphone. Make sure it is not muted.

Hi I am also having an issue with my old Dell Inspiron 640m. The Audio is Sigmatel High Definition. I upgraded my OS to win 7 and it works fine though not advisable for this type of model. All of a sudden my microphone did not work. So I tried system restore no go. So I downgraded my OS to Vista 32 thought that mic would work but apparently its not working still even my usb webcam with microphone is not working as well. I can see my mic in the recording tab however its not receiving any signal only buzz and static sounds. I reinstall the Audio driver still not working on the Recording Tab it shows both mics are working but not picking up any signal. I tried the control panel to setup the mic but its not detecting it the Green bar is not moving regardless of which mic option I should choose. Tried it on Skype still didnt work. Is there a way that I can resolved this issue? Thanks.

All of a sudden my microphone did not work.

Hello. Was that the external mic? This has not come up in years but in my old notes I had written that the 640m did not have an internal mic. Back in those days most of the Dell laptops did not have them but some did and I tried to keep track, but I could have been mistaken about some of them. For the most part the manuals did not indicate it so I had to depend on information supplied by owners.

o I downgraded my OS to Vista 32 t

Did you follow the Dell order of installation? If not,

> download and install the Notebook System Software and restart.

> download and install the Intel Mobile Chipset Software and restart.

> re-install the Sigmatel R171788 audio driver and drivers of any other devices that don't work.

In Sound properties set a mic to be the default recording device. Open the Windows Sound Recorder and configure it for mic recording and then do a test.  Alternatively run the mic tests in Dell's PC Checkup.

If still not working it could be a hardware failure. Surely you no longer have the Dell Diagnostics on your hard drive but back then the laptops shipped with a Utility or Resources cd with the Diagnostics on it. The tests included a mic test for both internal and external mics. The difference between these tests and PC Checkup tests is that failure in Dell Diagnostics means a hardware failure, but in PC Checkup it could be software because it uses the installed drivers and Windows.

All of a sudden my microphone did not work.

Just had an afterthought. To be sure we are talking about the same thing, when you say it is not working do you mean that when you record something and play it back you do not hear anything? Or do you mean when you speak into it you do not hear yourself? Because those are two separate issues.

When I speak into it i dont see any signal at all, I used the USB mic same thing no signal. For the USB mic at the Record Tab section the bar is totally Green but no activity when I speak Up. The sigmatel on the other hand dont show any green bar at all but it shows both have the status of "working" so not sure what to do? BTW, the usb mic i have is a plug and play and no drivers needed it works on the other computer.

It has a post on the left side with mic and audio, it works fine when and suddenly it can detect the microphone but wont receive any signals. I did reinstall my OS to Vista since this old lappy doesnt support Win 7, I have done reinstall all the drivers in orders via the side ot Del. Still didnt work I have run Dell diagnostics and everything went ok no HW failure.

On the Recording tab, is this what you see for the external mic in the side?

"Microphone/Line In

Sigmatel High Definition Audio CODEC"

When you insert the mic plug into the laptop's jack socket, the laptop does not know if it is a mic or a line-in, so you have to tell it. Go to the Control Panel>Sigmatel and open that. You should find an option to "allow popups" or something like that. Check that. When you next plug in the mic you should get a dialog box that asks you to select the type of device, so select "microphone". That will reconfigure the jack to work with a mic.

Something else you can try is to right click in blank area of the Recording tab. Select "Show Disabled Devices".

If you see "External Microphone" right click on it and select "Enable". Set to be the "Default Device".

I've done all those with no luck. So last night I've downgraded my OS from Win 7, Vista and now I'm using XP hoping to get the microphone work. Unfortunately samething. The mic is detected and it shows device is enabled however, it still wont detect any signal. The Sigmatel shows popup and I've selected mic still not working. Not sure what to do now.  :emotion-9: I've ran the diagnostics again and same thing all HW are fine.

I've ran the diagnostics again and same thing all HW are fine.

Which diagnostics exactly?  it should be the Dell Diagnostics audio "Record & Playback" test. The test is interactive -- you have to plug in the mic, speak into in, listen to the playback, and then tell the test if you heard yourself.

Dell Diagnostics looks like this after you boot to your Utilities cd and the PSA tests finish:

The PC Checkup mic test "might" be helpful. I don't know if it works with an external mic or not -- I have not yet tried it. looks like this: