Syntrillium Backup Forums :: View topic - Problem accessing device settings in Windows

sync · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 4:41 pm

I'm trying to record telephone conversations with my voice modem. When I go into Window's Sound & Audio Properties in XP a number of the buttons are greyed out, including the Advanced button in Sound Recording. I believe this is where I'm supposed to set the sample rate. Could my M-Audio driver have disabled these buttons?

Mycroft · Location: USA

If you're using an M-Audio card, I think you need to use the M Audio Delta Control Panel. I don't think you can record modem conversations with it though.

Buy a cheap SB-Live! card and you should be in business. It will allow you to record "what you hear".

sync · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 5:46 pm

The voice modem device shows up in CEP. But when I try to record I get a message that I should convert the sample type to a compatible setting and then CEP crashes.

I downloaded a demo telephone recording program and it works fine.

AndyH · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 6:34 pm

Do you get the message regardless of the sample rate you choose in the CE recording dialogue? If this sounds like a dumb question, perhaps you should enlighten us on what happens, step by step.

sync · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 7:08 pm

I'm not sure what you mean by the CE recording dialog. Do you mean the dialog where I select the Recording Device? That doesn't have an option for sample rate.

AndyH · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 7:22 pm

If you click on the red record icon, the first thing you see is a window (labeled New Waveform)wherein you select Sample Rate, Resolution, and Stereo/Mono.

If you start a file some other way, e.g. File/New, you get the same dialogue (window). I don't think you can ever get into recording mode without going through this step.

sync · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 8:16 pm

I switched to Edit View and now I get that dialog. In this mode is the recording device selected in the Windows mixer? I can't access the Windows mixer. If I choose Options - Windows Recording Mixer I get the message "Volume Control - There is a problem with your sound hardware. To install mixer devices... click add hardware". I tried that and Windows doesn't find any hardware that isn't installed.

sync · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 8:43 pm

I did some research and discovered the sndvol.exe file is now missing on my system. That explains why so many buttons are greyed out in Sounds & Audio Devices. The only info I found on restoring this file doesn't work in XP.

sync · Posted - Thu Feb 20, 2003 8:59 pm

It turns out that file wasn't missing. It's just in a different place in XP. And it doesn't have anything to do with the Windows Record Mixer anyway.

AndyH · Posted - Sat Feb 22, 2003 4:03 am

In Edit View the input device is selected under Options/Settings/Devices. I don't know anything about XP and the Windows Mixer.

sync · Posted - Sat Feb 22, 2003 9:12 am

ozpeter · Location: Australia

In Cool Edit Pro 2.0, it's options > Device properties.

- Ozpeter

sync · Posted - Sat Feb 22, 2003 5:08 pm

Thanks. I didn't realize that actually selected the device.

ozpeter · Location: Australia

The word 'properties' in windows systems tends to cover loads more than the word normally conveys in plain english - perhaps MS should have used 'settings' from the outset? It would be interesting to know how much thought was actually used in deciding on such terms, or whether they were plucked out of the air after a liquid lunch as a temporary name, and stuck. All of which is neither here nor there.

- Ozpeter

sync · Posted - Sat Feb 22, 2003 5:23 pm

There's nothing to stop CEP from using the term 'settings', or is there. Evil

ozpeter · Location: Australia

No, but (rightly or wrongly) 'properties' has become the standard term. Unless it's in Options > settings..... Actually, this brings me to comment again that although it initially takes time, when first using any new package it's a good scheme to look at every single menu option just once, just to see what's there and what can be done (as often the bare name can't convey the full function of the option). I usually find myself doing this like a kid with a new toy, ripping the paper off every neatly-wrapped option!

- Ozpeter

sync · Posted - Sat Feb 22, 2003 5:50 pm

I am the type of person that does check out all the options. I used Options - Device Properties for figuring out what bit rate the voice modem device supports. But I didn't realize it also selects the device for recording. It's also available in Track View where it doesn't function as a device selector.

ozpeter · Location: Australia

At a glance at mine, to confirm what I thought, it's got device selection in both places, surely? (It's amazing what one can have a long thread about Smile

!).

- Ozpeter

sync · Posted - Sun Feb 23, 2003 9:09 am

I don't mean to make a big deal out of this. You can select a device in Track View using Options - Devices Properties, but it doesn't actually do anything, as far as I can tell. In this view the devices are set individually for each track using the Rec button.