Many PCs come with microphone jacks pre-installed, and some laptops even feature built-in microphones. With increased global Internet usage, microphones are becoming a greater necessity for usage with webcams, podcasts and other web-based media. According to the Associated Press, such microphone-dependant activities are on the rise, with over 100 million users registered on the popular Skype service (see Resources). While hooking up a microphone to most computers is pretty self-explanatory, the process for fine-tuning the mic settings is not as straightforward. The process doesn't have to be a mystery if you know where to click on your computer; in just a few steps, you can change your microphone's settings.
Step 1
Right-click on the "Audio Settings" icon located at the bottom right-hand side of your main desktop screen. The icon features a white speaker symbol.
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Step 2
Click to select "Recording Devices" from the listing of Audio Settings options. This will bring up a new window showing all microphones currently installed on your computer.
Step 3
Click on the microphone that you want to adjust.
Step 4
Click on the button labeled "Properties" after you've selected the appropriate microphone. By default, this will open a Properties window set to the "General" tab.
Step 5
Click on the "Levels" tab. From this tab, you can click and drag the slider to change the recording levels.
Step 6
Click on the "Advanced" tab to access all the other microphone settings. From the Advanced tab, you can click a drop-down menu for changing the format settings, and you can also adjust some software settings related to the microphone.
Step 7
Click "OK" to confirm any changed made.