Unable to record audio (streaming or otherwise) in Win 10 pro

Hello everyone! Ok, I'm about at my wits end here and hopefully someone here can help me out. I am currently unable to record any audio - either streaming from the internet or from any audio / video player. The OS on my Dell Optiplex 980 is Win 10 pro. I have done quite a bit of searching on the net on how to resolve this issue - I even updated the NVIDIA audio drivers - but I'm still faced with the same problem. One of the results of my search led me to this site. Here's the thread that highlights the issue:

Sound Recorder not recording sound from Internet after 10 upgrade - Windows 10 Forums

I read that thread and was like, "Yes! This is exactly the same problem I'm having." Now, I've done just about everything I can think of, but apparently I'm still not hitting the mark. When I bring up the Sound box and look at the Recording tab I see Microphone listed twice. I have even done the right click and nothing there is hidden. I would post screen shots so I could illustrate what I'm seeing (in device manager, sounds, etc), but apparently I'm not able to. Any ideas on what the issue might be?

The Optiplex 980 is a relatively old PC and not supported for Win 10 by Dell. Thus you may be limited to, I suspect, the generic, basic function Windows installed "High Definition Audio" Codec (driver). This does not have the needed Stereo Mix to be able to record streaming audio. Thus the suggested alternative of buying the Virtual Audio Cable program will be needed, or buy a USB connected sound "card" that is Win 10 compatible and offers Stereo Mix.

One of the solutions I've used before is a splitter cable off the stereo out that gets pumped back into the microphone jack if that still appears in your audio input options.

Everyone - you're all stars! Thanks for your replies on this and educating me as to why I'm having this issue and what I can do to solve it.

It's free.

Great. Eliminates the software cost.

The mic jack is not stereo, its mono so running the stereo output to a mic only gets one channel. However, if there is a "Line In" it is stereo.

I use Audacity with the WASAPI Loopback, as described by the How-To Geek here...


How-To Geek | How to Record the Sound Coming From Your PC (Even Without Stereo Mix)

Moo0 Audio Recorder ...

Simple, smart and lite..., any PC sound, lots of options...



SoundRecorder.exe is no longer available in Windows 10...