Dell ships Inspirons with the ability to monitor the input jack turned off. For models with the Sigmatel 92xx audio chip & driver an edit in the Registry of the value EnableInputMonitor will restore the monitoring function. However this value is not included in the Registry of Windows Vista operating system and so you must type it in.
[Create a System Restore point before editing the Registry! To create a new Restore Point go to Start/Help & Support/System Restore and tick 'Create a restore point'.]
1. Go to the Start menu and click on Run.
2. Type 'regedit' without quotes and click OK to open the Registry.
3. Click on File/export and save a copy of the Registry to your desktop.
4. Using the + signs in the left pane, navigate through the registry to get to this location:
5. Click on the key SpeakerHP to select it.
6. In the right pane, right click and select New > Binary Value.
7. Type 'EnableInputMonitor' without quotes and then press Enter.
8. Right click on the new name and select 'Modify'.
9. In the 'Value data' box, add 01 to the existing 0000, then click OK.
10. Exit the Registry and restart the computer.
11. After restart, enable input monitor in audio properties.
(Thanks to forum member fuzzy34 for figuring this out on an E1505/6400.)
Finally something works!! Thanks man that worked great. My driver may or may have been different but it worked the same. Just a note after restarting computer. Right click you speaker in program tray. Click Playback devices. Right click on Speakers/Headphones and click properties. Click on levels tab. You will now see a box saying input monitor. Click the speaker picture. Voila !!!(thats it)
The solution we were discussing in this thread is about monitoring the signals that go through the input jack, whether they are from a mic, audio player or other device. It isn't about mic problems as such.
Are you using an external mic? What kind of tests have you tried so far, such as Dell Diagnostics external mic test and/or recording with Windows Sound Recorder? Here is a test you can try:
Open Windows Sound Recorder under Start/Programs/Accessories/Entertainment.
Click on the Edit menu, then on Audio Properties.
Click on 'Volume' under 'Sound Recording' (not Sound Playback).
Click on the 'Select' box underneath the 'Microphone' control.
Push the mic volume slider all the way up.
Click on 'Advanced' under the microphone select box. Check the mic boost box.
Click on the red Record button and then speak into the mic. If the green line moves then the mic is working.
I've tried this already. I've tried every single suggestion you can imagine.I had a little bit of better performance but it's not 100% yet. My mic works great in any other computer.
Now, check this: When the windows is starting up the mic works perfect!! As soon as I type my password to go to my desktop area the mic immediatelly stops working. Isn't it crazy?
I tested with voice recording... I can barely hear my voice. Not good ;((
Other thing I noticed was at "Regedit" area. There are other files related to sound devices. Do you think they need to be modified as well? I have no idea.. just wondering.
Anyways, I guess sooner or later Dell will come up with something. I can't believe they sell products with this problems. If I knew it I wouldn't have bought it.
Thanks for you help!! I'll be checking all over the internet for a solution. If you find anything new let me know.
Go to Start/Control Panel/Sigmatel and see if there is an option to allow popups and check it if there. If so, if you get the popup select mic as the jack configuration and see if that helps.
Most of the Inspirons with the Sigmatel 92xx audio chip have dual function input jacks and the popup box is where you select the function. however I'm not absolutely sure the 1505 has the dual function jacks.
My thinking is that if the computer is defaulting to the line-in jack configuration after you log in then the mic pre-amp would not be activated causing a low mic signal.
Would you happen to know the correct line to add/modify for vista (ultimate if it makes a difference). My e1705 came with xp media center, and I have upgraded it to vista. I am trying to follow your instructions, but its a little different in Vista towards the end.
I'm going to guess, that what I want is somewhere in the "mixer settings"?
in that submenu, there is
-eMicinTopo
-----PrimaryNode000
-----PrimaryNode001
-eSlavedHpSpeakerTopo
-----PrimaryNode000
-----PrimaryNode001
-----SecondaryNode000
-----SecondaryNode001
-pinconfigoverrideverbs
-powersettings
-waveportsettings
-----eslavedhpspeakerwave
When I plug in a stereo source to the line in, I can see the line in levels in the sound control panel, so the sound is there, I just can't monitor it.
The instructions in this thread are for Vista; see Chef Moore's initial post.
So you don't have the Settings\filter\SpeakerHp location. Everything is harder in Vista compared to XP. It is almost like somebody went out of their way to defeat folks from using their audio features.
I don't have Vista to experiment with. If you want to, just make sure to back up the Registry. I think, but not sure, that there are other locations where you can put the 'EnableInputMonitor' line. I'd first try -eSlavedHpSpeakerTopo because it seems the nearest to SpeakerHP.
Sorry I cann't be of better help. There is a way to get monitoring by altering the .inf files in the Sigmatel driver. If you want those instructions let me know.
Jim Coates
4 Operator
•
13.6K Posts
0
July 4th, 2007 11:00
[Create a System Restore point before editing the Registry! To create a new Restore Point go to Start/Help & Support/System Restore and tick 'Create a restore point'.]
1. Go to the Start menu and click on Run.
2. Type 'regedit' without quotes and click OK to open the Registry.
3. Click on File/export and save a copy of the Registry to your desktop.
4. Using the + signs in the left pane, navigate through the registry to get to this location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E96C-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000\Settings\filter\SpeakerHp
5. Click on the key SpeakerHP to select it.
6. In the right pane, right click and select New > Binary Value.
7. Type 'EnableInputMonitor' without quotes and then press Enter.
8. Right click on the new name and select 'Modify'.
9. In the 'Value data' box, add 01 to the existing 0000, then click OK.
10. Exit the Registry and restart the computer.
11. After restart, enable input monitor in audio properties.
(Thanks to forum member fuzzy34 for figuring this out on an E1505/6400.)
Jim
chef moore
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July 4th, 2007 14:00
Jim Coates
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13.6K Posts
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July 5th, 2007 11:00
Jim
rodsantos
4 Posts
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July 8th, 2007 13:00
Jim Coates
4 Operator
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13.6K Posts
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July 8th, 2007 15:00
The solution we were discussing in this thread is about monitoring the signals that go through the input jack, whether they are from a mic, audio player or other device. It isn't about mic problems as such.
Are you using an external mic? What kind of tests have you tried so far, such as Dell Diagnostics external mic test and/or recording with Windows Sound Recorder? Here is a test you can try:
Open Windows Sound Recorder under Start/Programs/Accessories/Entertainment.
Click on the Edit menu, then on Audio Properties.
Click on 'Volume' under 'Sound Recording' (not Sound Playback).
Click on the 'Select' box underneath the 'Microphone' control.
Push the mic volume slider all the way up.
Click on 'Advanced' under the microphone select box. Check the mic boost box.
Click on the red Record button and then speak into the mic. If the green line moves then the mic is working.
Jim
rodsantos
4 Posts
0
July 8th, 2007 19:00
Jim Coates
4 Operator
•
13.6K Posts
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July 8th, 2007 20:00
Jim
rodsantos
4 Posts
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July 8th, 2007 21:00
Jim Coates
4 Operator
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13.6K Posts
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July 8th, 2007 23:00
Most of the Inspirons with the Sigmatel 92xx audio chip have dual function input jacks and the popup box is where you select the function. however I'm not absolutely sure the 1505 has the dual function jacks.
My thinking is that if the computer is defaulting to the line-in jack configuration after you log in then the mic pre-amp would not be activated causing a low mic signal.
Jim
rodsantos
4 Posts
0
July 9th, 2007 00:00
codee
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August 1st, 2007 05:00
Jim Coates
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13.6K Posts
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August 1st, 2007 11:00
So you don't have the Settings\filter\SpeakerHp location. Everything is harder in Vista compared to XP. It is almost like somebody went out of their way to defeat folks from using their audio features.
I don't have Vista to experiment with. If you want to, just make sure to back up the Registry. I think, but not sure, that there are other locations where you can put the 'EnableInputMonitor' line. I'd first try -eSlavedHpSpeakerTopo because it seems the nearest to SpeakerHP.
Sorry I cann't be of better help. There is a way to get monitoring by altering the .inf files in the Sigmatel driver. If you want those instructions let me know.
Jim