You will need a program that will record (to the hard drive) "what you hear" - what is playing on the speakers.  The Sound Recorder won't do it, it records from microphone and has a limited recording time.  Depending on what media players/recording software you have on your PC, you may have something that will do this. 

I have Roxio Easy Media V7 (formerly Easy CD Creator) and there is a recording program in that package that will do that.  I also have several other programs for "recording" to the hard drive that will do it. 

thank you, what are the other things you have apart from Roxio?

CharlesCollins,

I do not agree with fireberd's assessment of Sound Recorder. I have Win98SE, and I can record what I hear from a radio stream.

Fireberd is correct about the length of time for a Sound Recorder recording, however the time limit can be handled with a little expertise. Fireberd is also correct that you will be better served by using audio recording/editing software, which is designed specifically for something like this (e.g. Creative WaveStudio, or Creative Recorder, or Goldwave, or MusicMatch Jukebox...just to mention a few); but, as I have said, if you do not want to purchase (or download) something similar to one of those, then it is possible to use Sound Recorder.

The first thing that you will need to do is go into your Windows master volume controls and then click on your properties for recording, then make certain that you have checkmarks for: line-in, wave, microphone, and lastly that none of these are muted (when you return to the master volume controls mixer panel).

After you have ascertained that you have those settings, then open your Windows mediaplayer and begin playing a radio stream. While it is playing, open Sound Recorder and click on the recording button. If you do not see any movement in the sound bars, then perhaps fireberd is correct. On the other hand, if you do see movement..., then after the 60 second time-limit of the recorder has expired, you will need to extend the Sound Recorder's time limit. For directions on that see: here, and here.

There is the possibility that the reason all of this works for me is because I have a SoundBlaster Live 1024 sound card which came equipped with recording/editing software and a mixing panel that might overrule Windows master volume controls (and settings). Yet, if this is the reason, then that goes beyond my technical knowledge or expertise.

xley

adawayne,

You wrote: "...but is extremely cumbersom ...[and] the saved file is in 8-bit, 22050HZ. mono format..."

I believe it is possible to reformat the silent file in its early stages to a more preferable 56-bit, 44100HZ, stereo. For example, if you want a 5-minute file: After you have recorded the first 60-second Sound Recorder file, reformat it using the Convert Now Windows conversion, then insert the the newly converted 56-bit, 44100, stereo SILENT FILE 5 times, finally saving the 56-bit silent file as a 5-minute mpeg layer-3, stereo.

Cumbersome? Yes, slightly. But the entire process does not take much more than 6 to 7 minutes, and probably less if you are familiar with the process.

As I stated earlier, it is not preferable to a editing/recording program like Total Recorder, but it is an OK procedure that will work on a lonely cold night in January when you have nothing better to do. :smileytongue:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
xley wrote:
...then perhaps fireberd is correct.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

fireberd is correct in that the ability to record a signal of even marginal quality directly from streaming audio in WMP does not appear to be within the capability of Sound Recorder, when used in conjunction with a number of standard audio devices and related applications that make up the bulk of Dell's product line. It doesn't appear to be within the capability of most (if not all) of the integrated audio devices/drivers/software that Dell furnishes with desktop systems, nor does it appear to be possible to achieve much in the way of a quality recording with the standard ESS audio devices/drivers in many notebook PCs, including the I3800, CPiD, C600 (see system specific test results below) or D600. To date, I'm aware of one Dell OEM version of a Creative card for desktops that offered an option of this sort some time back, but that would certainly seem to make this more of a rare exception than a rule. There are a number of other exceptions - for example, the OEM version of the Turtle Beach Montego II, while a very capable card under Windows 98 with the original Aureal drivers, loses a good deal of functionality and options when used with Windows XP, as the user is limited for the most part to the default drivers installed by XP. No Audio Station 32, etc., and the MIDI playback quality is but a shadow of what the Aureal drivers delivered under 98SE. Windows ME users didn't have things much better, as the only available Montego II drivers for that OS offered a fraction of the quality that was available with 98SE. Any variations from a stock OEM configuration of this sort may very well result in more audio limitations, including (but not limited to) less Sound Recorder functionality.

I tried this with an Optiplex GX110 SFF, using a Creative Audio PCI card (ES1371, ES1373), and the default WinXP drivers. While there was actually a barely audible signal on the test loop, the volume and quality were so poor when compared to the original WMP signal as to conclude that the test should be considered a failure. A similar test on a Latitude C600 with ESS Maestro PCI audio yielded slightly higher volume, but the playback quality was again so poor that this too was considered a failure. A third test using a Dimension 4100 with a Creative Live! Value card yielded worse results than the Optiplex, with an even lower signal volume - indeed, it was necessary to turn the controls on a rather healthy speaker system all the way up in order to hear anything at all (and the volume control on that speaker system goes to 11 ). As an additional note, converting the default 8 bit recording to 16 bit/48k after the fact resulted in no appreciable change in volume or quality on any test system. Attempting to record in any format other than the default resulted in the loss of even the low level/low quality results achieved using the default settings, so that doesn't appear to be an option. These tests were conducted using music from several WMP radio stations. One might be able to achieve somewhat more acceptable results on a particular configuration under certain circumstances if recording only spoken voice content, but music doesn't fare well at all. Note that these tests were conducted using WMP 10, which is not available for use with Win9x operating systems.

Goonboy,

That's an interesting read....

And if I accepted the validity of your endeavors, I would never have attempted to record the following 2-minute and 7-seconds file.

However, Don't Worry, Baby was recorded via Sound Recorder by using the following procedure. [note: the file format is 56 kBits/, 22050HZ, stereo]

Whether or not the recording's quality falls within your standards for an acceptable file is really a subjective matter. But I can assure you that its volume--if set on my Dell Dimension L433c, with Altec Lansing ACS340 system's maximum settings--is sufficient enough for me to annoy anyone sitting in another room...; moreover, set on reasonable settings, it is acceptable.

This silly exercise was duplicated by an impartial tester on his Inspiron 3800, Windows XP Pro. He seemed satisfied to discover that he could use his Sound Recorder for greater lengths than 60-seconds, if he elected to do so.

To Increase the length for Sound Recorder

1. Open Sound Recorder and click RECORD.
   
2. After the "recording" has recorded a "silent file", click Save and save it on your hard drive as "60seconds". (*see above, or read Microsoft Knowledge Base article # 82215])
   
3. Now, return to your Sound Recorder and use Edit|InsertFile to insert "60seconds" 3-times, for a maximum of 180-seconds.
   
4. Then right-click your systray volume icon and open volume controls. Make certain that your wave-direct slider is set on maximum.
   
5. Now open a stream somewhere on the internet, and play it through a mediaplayer such as Windows Media Player version 6.40.
   (I have used WMP 6.40 just for simplicity. I imagine that later versions will work was well.)
   
6. When you are ready to record your radio stream, click the Sound Recorder RECORD button and watch the sound bars.
   
7. After you have completed your recording (i.e. 3-minutes), play it back. The volume should be acceptable, and the quality reasonable, and/or enjoyable.
   
8. If you wish to save your file, in a format other than Sound Recorder's default, then click Save As, then Change format, and save it as something such as mpeg layer-3, 56 kBits/, 22050HZ, stereo.

One final note, as long as you are recording someone else's copyrighted material you should be aware that the fine for copyright infringement is $150,000.

xley