Missing sound recording option "Stereo Mix" / "Record What you hear" / "Waveout mix"

Originally Posted by any ANONYMOUS forum user

hi

We're using Sony, Dell, HP and Acer laptops with built-in sound cards like (Intel Sound AC'97) in our network. All these laptops use Windows Vista or Windows 7. I have a couple of PCs that do have the Stereo Mix option if Windows XP, but don't have it in Windows 7 or Vista.

I can't find a working solution for recording sound internally via the mixer. There should be an option like "Stereo Mix" / "Record What you hear" / "Waveout mix" etc. listed in the mixer output.

Updated Sigmatel, Realtek, Intel drivers didn't change anything


Do I have to use an audio cable from output to input on the back on these laptops to "record what i hear" ?

Anybody with a hint on that subject ? Is there actually a tool for Windows Vista or Windows 7? Should we downgrade to Windows XP to be able to record sound?

We were not willing to switch to Linux, but safer Internet and safer office work almost without viruses and trojans looks promising. If we switch to Linux, will there be an option like "Stereo Mix" / "Record What you hear" / "Waveout mix" or similar? What Linux distributive is good enough for sound recording, office work, Internet browsing and VoIP?

Salutation

Windows 7 looks like a service pack for Vista, but it doesn't fix the audio recording problem. Microsoft is purposefully preventing us from recording sound.

First of all you need to try to enable the "Wave Out mix" ("Stereo Mix", "Record What you hear")

How to enable the "Wave Out mix" ("Stereo Mix", "Record What you hear") in Windows 7/Vista

1. Go to the Control panel and double click the "Sound".
2. Select the "Recording" tab
3. Right click on the background of the tab and select "Show Disabled Devices"
4. Find the "Wave Out mix" ("Stereo Mix", "Record What you hear") item, right click on it and select Enable.
   Now you can capture audio from any program in Windows 7/Vista.

The problem is that you won't be able to enable the "Wave Out mix" ("Stereo Mix", "Record What you hear") on many computers with built-in sound cards. But you can use software that doesn't need the "Wave Out mix" ("Stereo Mix", "Record What you hear") recording option to record audio from your sound card:

Direct sound recording software allowing to record audio without Stereo Mix/Wave-Out Mix/What U Hear

• Freecorder (Freeware) - sound recording program (Windows 7, Vista or XP),
• Jaksta Free Media Recorder (Freeware)
• Replay Music - shareware sound recording program that can split and tag songs automatically (Windows 7, Vista, XP or 2000),
• Replay AV - shareware stream recorder that is good for scheduling online audio recordings (Windows 7, Vista, XP, XP, Server 2003; x32 or x64),
• Replay Media Catcher - shareware stream recorder that can record audio from your sound card as well (Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000, Server 2003),
• Ask & Record Toolbar (Freeware) - sound recording program (Windows 7, Vista or XP)
• All Sound Recorder - shareware sound recording program with a scheduler (Windows Vista or 7)

Screencastign software allowing to record video with sound even if you don't have Stereo Mix/Wave-Out Mix/What U Hear

• WM Capture - shareware screen recorder that allows to record both audio and video (Windows 7, Vista or XP),
• Replay Video Capture - shareware screen recorder that allows to record both audio and video (Windows 7, Vista or XP),

Virtual Sound Card software

• Virtual Audio Cable - shareware software that creates a virtual audio device (Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003; x32 or x64)
• Virtual Audio Streaming - shareware software that creates a virtual sound card (Windows 7, Vista; x32 or x64)

As you can see, the programs work not only in Windows XP, but also in Windows Vista and Windows 7. In fact these programs can be the only way to record audio from your sound card.

Freecorder4, Replay Music, Replay AV, Replay Video Capture, Replay Media Catcher, Ask&Recorder Toolbar, WM Capture use a universal audio driver allowing you to record sound even on those computers that do NOT have a sound card!

The same sound card may have different drivers, and some of them can have the Stereo Mix / Wave-Out mix, while it won't be available in other drivers. You may need to try different drivers to find out which one will work for you:

• From the manufacturer of your computer (Dell, HP, Sony, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo, LG, Samsung,...)
• From the manufacturer of your sound card (Intel, Creative...)
• From the designer of your sound card (RealTek, Sigmatel,...)

You can also try to use a sound card driver from another manufacturer (for example, an LG driver for an Acer laptop), but make sure the driver is made for exactly the same sound card and the same Windows version that you have!

You can try different drivers, but make sure that a sound card driver is compatible with your hardware. Otherwise you can damage it!

To record from your sound card without the Stereo Mix/ Waveout mix, you can connect line-out of your cound card with line-in (or speakers out with mic in) using an audio cable (that has a 3.5mm mini-stereo male on both sides). Although this is not the best method. In many cases the quality deteriorates significantly when using it.

Another option is to buy a sound card that has a "Wave Out Mix" / "Stereo Mix" / "Record What you hear" or a similar option.
For example, some USB sound cards from Creative support Stereo Mix/Wave-Out Mix/What U Hear. Although if you use a laptop, you'll probably won't like to have an external sound card (at least this is the last option I would use).


See also Vendor specific solutions:
How to modify the installation package of SoundMax driver to enable the Stereo Mix option