Recording in 4.0

[ddouglass]

What you are looking for is this:
Actual source impedance: 600 ohms (that is what the symbol means)

Now what we need to know is the input impedence of the sound card. Do you have separate Line In and Microphone jacks or is there only one?

[Skybird74]

I have an HP laptop with a microphone in. I've never seen a laptop with a "line-in" in addition to the microphone in - do you know which models have both?

I went to HP re troubleshooting "recording". Below is what they had to say: (the microphone boost was already disabled - would enabling it help?)

Fixing feedback, noise, and static problems
If the Microphone Boost feature is enabled, noise can interfere with recording. Use the following steps to check for and disable the Microphone Boost feature:

1. In Windows XP, click Start, and then Control Panel.
   In Windows 95, 98, and Me, click Start, Settings, and Control Panel.
2. In Windows XP, click Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices, and then Sounds and Audio Devices.
   In Windows 95, 98, and Me, double-click Sounds and Multimedia or Multimedia.
3. Click the Voice tab.
4. Click Volume inside Voice Recording or Voice Capture.
5. Click Advanced inside the Balance adjustment for the microphone. If the Advanced option window does not display, select Options and click Advanced Controls (Advanced Controls may not be available on some models).
6. In Advanced Controls for Microphone, select 1 Microphone Boost or +20dB Gain.
7. Click Close and close all Windows. Try recording again.

[ddouglass]

Here is a good article on microphones and impedence:
http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/mi...impedance.html

Most of the laptops I've seen have either. If it is a line-in jack then it is usable for an external player too. Your better quality desktops with a full soundcard will have both as separate inputs. ANy idea what sound card is in your laptop?