Read audio inputs not working on Inspiron 3268

Sorry, only just noticed I posted twice! The second one is the more relevant one.

And one more thing...

When things stop working correctly, look in Device Manager and see if there are any "unknown" devices listed. If you see any, right-click and Uninstall, then click Action>Scan for hardware changes on Device Manager toolbar.

Don't know who marked it "answered"...

Lets try some basics:

1. At the desktop, open a CMD prompt window, Run as administrator
   
   
2. At the prompt, type in: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press Enter
   Be sure to include one space in front of each / and copy any error messages when that's done
   
   
3. Assuming no errors in #2, at the CMD prompt, type in: sfc /scannow and press Enter
   Be sure to include a space in front of the / and copy any errors when that's done
   
   
4. Reboot

See if that helps, assuming no error messages were reported above...

Thanks again Ron.

I did actually fix the USB2.0_CRW device before my last post.  I had tried those actions a couple of times before, but it seems I hadn't installed the Card Reader drivers correctly after all (as setup said I had).  I hadn't extracted the zip folder, and thought because setup worked that they'd been extracted automatically. 

Anyway, that's all fine now - no unknown devices in Device Manager, no warning signs on anything.  

I've just completed the DISM and scannow processes.

No errors from DISM.

scannow returned this message:

Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at
windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline
repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag.

I restarted, and I'm afraid things are the same as before. 

The mic input works to start with - if a mic is already plugged when the PC starts up - but as soon as I unplug it it reverts to the situation in my screenshots above.  Both mic and line are assigned to Front Panel 3.5 mm Jack, and say "Not plugged in" even when something is plugged in.  As I said, it seems the system is not recognising the rear inputs at all.   This is the Audio device list in Device Manager:

The front panel jack works as a headphone out, but not as an input.

Anything else I can try, or any other details I can provide?  (CBS.log is a massive file, but is there anything to look out for within it?)

I do appreciate all your help so far!

Do you have Waves MaxxAudio Pro installed on this PC? (It may be installed as part of the RealTek audio driver.)

It it's installed, make sure it's set to load at boot on Task Manager's Startup tab. Maxx has several mic and playback settings so you may need to poke around in there to make sure everything is enabled correctly.

The only other thing I can suggest is to uninstall and re-install the Realtek audio driver, now that sfc has fixed some things. (No need to post the log.)

Let me see if I can get one of the experts on audio stuff to chime in...

I was asked to comment.  

First suggestion I have is to uninstall the Behringer interface and drivers,  Also if you installed ASIO4ALL that is a known program that can mess up audio. Sadly ASIO4All requires a complete reinstall for some to fully get rid of it.

Get it back to just the basic PC and eliminate potentials such as any recording interface units.  I once had a Focusrite Saffire Pro 20 recording interface in my recording studio and when it was plugged in it took over the PC and I had no regular PC audio.

It seems I need to correct my post above.  After some more experimenting, it seems the mic input is now working consistently.  Even when I unplug it and plug it back in, it reappears!  Without having to restart the PC!   Not sure what I did, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

However, the record level is pathetically low, even - as i said before - with the level at 100 and a +30 boost.  (I'm using a condenser mic with a phono pre-amp, but it's much the same with a dynamic mic).  Recording with the Behringer is much more efficient.  

Uninstalling the UMC didn't improve the mic input performance.   I had suspected that it might be taking over or otherwise interfering with the PC audio, but it doesn't seem to be doing so now.  In any case, it seems far more effective for recording than the PC mic input.  If it does mean I lose the use of the PC mic input - if that's the price I have to pay to keep using the UMC - so be it.   (As I said way back at the beginning, I only wanted to get the mic input working because I thought I might be able to get more level from it than I can get from the UMC.  It seems - from current experience - it only gives me a lot less.)

I don't know if I have ASIO4ALL  How can I check?   (And when you say a "complete reinstall", you mean of what?)

Thanks for your continued help (both of you), but I seem to be running out of options here.  If I have to work with my set up as it is, I can do that.  My original problem was my mic level when on Zoom meetings: the UMC wasn't quite giving me enough.  But the PC mic level is way lower, and would be unusable (I mean, unless there is another fix I've yet to try?).  But I may have some other hardware solutions here.

Waves MaxxAudio Pro is installed, but was set to disabled on Startup.  I switched it to enabled (and restarted),but it's made no difference.  I can't find any settings on it to do with recording, other than level (and various effects, not relevant).  I did try this before.  It records properly from the UMC interface, but I can do that much more easily from my Audacity software.  Because the mic input is not working it records nothing from that.  

When you say uninstall and re-install the Realtek driver, you mean from control panel (and scan for hardware chnges)?  I tried that, and it made no difference either.  

On a lot of Dell PCs, you need Maxx running to get full volume on mic and speakers. If I disable Maxx, I can barely hear speaker output, even when speakers are set to their max volume.

If Maxx is detecting your mic, click the Voice icon on its main page and make sure the slider on left is turned to On, and then move the slider at the bottom to higher level. You can click the ? to see what settings are available on that page.

And on Maxx's Recording screen, turn Effects on and then turn the Louder knob up too. There's another microphone volume slider on that screen near bottom. Not sure if it has the same effect as the slider on the Voice screen.

BTW: You might be having a USB time-out issue with USB microphones. Open Device Manager and expand the list under USB. Open each USB entry and if it has a Power Management tab, UNCHECK the box "Allow PC to turn off...".  Then do the same thing for all entries listed under Human Interface Devices that have a Power Management tab. Exit Device Manager when done.

Next, open the Windows Power & Sleep screen. Click Additional Power Settings. On next screen identify the active Power plan and click Change Plan Settings. On next screen, click Change Advanced Power Settings.

On that last screen, disable Hibernation, Hybrid Sleep, USB Selective Suspend, and PCI Express Link State Management. Be sure to Save the changes to the Power plan and reboot.

I think fireberd meant having to reinstall Win 10... 

And if all else fails, you could always use your phone (land or cell) and a headset (or internal speakers and mic) for Zoom meetings. That's what I do because I don't have a PC mic. When I log into a Zoom using their app, I enter my phone number and it instantaneously calls me back. Gives me flexibility to use either my landline speaker phone, or a headset with my cell phone.

There have been times when Zoom's video on my PC has frozen, but audio on the phone continues uninterrupted, so I don't miss a single word while logging back into the meeting on the PC.

Unless I missed it, what type of mic are you connecting that has low level.  If its a standard P.A. type mic it will have a low level, you need a standard "computer" mic which is at the proper required level.

Thanks once more.  To report back on those suggestions:

Waves MazzAudio: the On button in the Voice page (headset icon) is greyed out.  It says "Recording device is not available".  However, the mic is still working, and recording works.

To give you an idea, I compared the levels when recording normal speech, around 6" from the mic.  With the UMC I'm getting around -12dB (that's with the mic going through a phono pre-amp first).  With the same mic direct into the rear PC input I'm getting around -30dB..  

I changed all the other settings as you suggested and rebooted, but there is no change in the above. 

By the way, there is no Hibernation entry in my power setting ("Balanced (Active)").  I think this may be because I set up a sleep button on my desktop some while back, to save the additional key presses or mouse clicks (yes I'm that lazy(.  I seem to remember it was part of the instructions.  But also it may be because I've set "Put the computer to sleep" to "Never".  (The display turns off after 30 minutes automatically, but I prefer to put it to sleep myself.)

My Zoom use is for music teaching, so a headset mic won't work for that.  I haven't had significant problems working without headphones (me and students alike) - occasionally some echo is evident, and I'm not sure if that's due to my settings or the students' (they don't all get it, and not all the time).  Of course, I have Zoom's audio optimised for music.

As I've said, I can work with my current settings (via the UMC), I could just use a little more volume, to save me having to speak uncomfortably loud at times. (When students have had problems hearing me, their volumes have been at max.)   

It occurs to me I could use a headset for speech in one channel and the other channel for my guitar (acoustic).   I suppose I was hoping not to have to buy more gear - and not to make students think they had to buy the same gear too.  

Sorry, I didn't specify the mics I'm using.  I've tested various options with three different mics.

The one I'm currently using is an old Sony ECM-MS907.  It's a stereo condenser mic with a 1.5V AA battery, and I'm connecting it via a phono pre-amp to the UMC USB interface.  This works perfectly well with the input volumes around 2 o'clock (70%?) - I get clipping much beyond that.  As mentioned above, testing in Audacity, I get a level of around -12dB from normal speech around 6" from the mic.   But a lot less than that when the mic is connected directly to the pink input jack (without the pre-amp of course, and connecting the left channel, as I assume the jack is mono).

I've also tried a Shure SM57 and a Behringer C3 (the latter with its own pre-amp).  These give a much lower signal - whether I go via the UMC, or straight into the real panel. 

When I first started teaching on Zoom, I had been using those two (in the UMC), but I found I needed to speak very close to one, and have the other very close to the guitar.  But then I remembered I still had the ECM from years ago, and found that worked a lot better.  The sound quality is not quite as good, but the volume level is much better.  

However, while it's definitely usable, picking up both my voice and guitar well enough from a foot away or more, I can't get a maximum level from the PC sound system.  The UMC input in Sound Panel is on 100 - it gives a very usable level for recording, but seems underpowered on Zoom (audio settings as recommended for music).  I still occasionally find myself having to shout, or move closer to the mic (and then it risks clipping).  And when the mic is inserted straight into the pink jack ...

... ha! and now, having just tested the Sony straight in to the rear panel pink jack, its stopped working again!!  Interestingly, both left and right  connections from the mic did give a signal (both equally weak).  But now neither one is, and the Properties are back to showing "Front Panel Jack".   (Am I somehow screwing this up by plugging and unplugging?)  The rear jack does start working again after a restart, but I can't keep doing that all the time it fails.

I'm wondering about the Sony with the battery.  On a computer mic jack there is +5 volts DC on the "ring" connection.  Could there be some voltage bucking and why a restart is needed to get it back working?

I would get a "real" computer mic to use for all the trouble shooting.  They are inexpensive and may eliminate  a lot of headaches.

As I see it, you need to get down to just the PC only, no Behringer, and a computer mic.  Get the system working and stable with that before reintroducing any external devices.   

Thanks. I guess that makes sense about the computer mic jack.  It is when I unplug the mic that the jack disappears from the input devices - and it doesn't happen every time, because (yesterday and today anyway, following some of the above fixes) I was able to unplug and re-plug a few times before it failed again.

It also makes good sense to get a dedicated computer mic! Obviously I've been working with the hardware I've got, just going with whichever bits seemed to work best.  

I see no reason at the moment to get rid of the interface.  After all, there's nothing wrong with it and it's designed to work as I'm using it (for recording).   But - for working on zoom - I'll put a PC mic on my shopping list.  Any recommendations (seeing as I need it for music, not just speech)?  I'll maybe consider a headset too.  My partner also does a lot of work on Zoom (speech only), and if I don't use the latter, she might.

Although I think you've hit on the nub of the issue, I won't mark this thread solved just yet, in case anyone else has anything useful to add. (PC mic recommendations at least...)

Thanks again

Jon