Getting the Microphone to work with a Realtek HD Audio Chipset

I finally sat down willing to spend some time tinkering with my audio settings on my desktop after a particularly long and busy day at work–a day that started at 2:00 AM this morning. After some ineffective Googling, I finally found the solution that had alluded me.

Ever since I ordered and received my new desktop, I have been unable to get my Logitech headset and microphone to work correctly with Skype. Skype never heard any sound from my device. The other strange thing was that I could not alter the volume of the microphone inputs–either the rear input jack or the front jack on my desktop.

The Dell Vostro 400 desktop I use at home uses a Realtek HD Audio codec–specifically the ALC888 chipset. I decided first to see if I had needed a new driver. My search took me to Realtek’s website, and I installed the latest version of the driver, version 1.90, for Windows XP. After a reboot of my machine, the driver did nothing to ameliorate my problem. I would try the Skype test call, and Skype would report that it could not hear my voice.

I finally found the solution to my problem here. While walking through the steps outlined in this post, I discovered that the Realtek audio control panel had both of the microphone volume controls disabled for the Realtek HD Audio output settings on the Mixer. Once I enabled them, I had microphone volume controls. I fired up Audacity, and things worked just as I expected them to. I could hear the dulcet tones of the voice made for radio–mine.

I further tested it out by using Skype to make a voice call to my uncle. I had finally been able to reply to his calls, considering that I had never been able to reply before. We had a nice chat, and I can actually now use Skype again from my home desktop.