Troubleshooting FAQ: Microphone

If your microphone doesn't seem to work:

1. Make sure that you have a microphone, and that it is plugged into your computer correctly, according to the directions that came with your computer or microphone.
   
   Microphone requirements:
   • Noise-cancelling required.
   • Headset preferred (or people will hear the sound coming from your speakers when you talk).
   • Microphone must be plugged into your computer (not a webcam mic).
   
   Note that some computers include built-in microphones.
   
   

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2. hotComm VoIP Settings
   
   
   1. Right-click the hotComm Mic icon , which opens the VoIP Settings window.
      
      
   2. On the left, under Recording Properties, click the down arrow at the far right of the Device Box to list available devices. Likely is is set to System Default. Simply try something else that might make sense, like USB headset (if you have one), Speakers, etc. Hit Apply, although you might have to exit hotComm and restart and re-connect for this to take effect. You can't hurt anything, just play around.
      
      (If you don't know which is the right device, click the Audio Playback Controls button. In Windows Vista, the Sounds Properties window lists devices, and the device usually has a green circle with a white checkmark. In Windows XP, in the Volume Control window, click Options, then Properties, and the correct device is usually the one shown for Mixer Device at the top of the Properties window.)
      
      
   3. Click Apply, then OK.
      
      In some cases, you may need to restart your hotComm client, or in VERY RARE circumstances, restart your computer.
      
      

   
   
   

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3. Windows Mic Test
   
   Test your sound and microphone through Windows. This usually identifies problems with your sound and microphone hardware. Please correct any problems before continuing.
   
   
   1. Open Windows Start menu, then select Control Panel, then select Sounds and Audio Devices.
   2. In Sounds and Audio Device Properties, select the Voice tab.
   3. Click the Test Hardware button.
   4. Go through the steps in the Sound Hardware Test Wizard as prompted.
   
   

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4. DirectX
   
   Check your DirectX revision, ugrade to DirectX 9.0 if necessary, and run the DirectX DirectPlay Voice Options test.
   
   To check your DirectX revision:
   
   
   1. Close any running applications (recommended but optional).
   2. Click your Windows Start button.
   3. Select Run.
   4. In the Open (or Command) box, type: dxdiag.exe
      
      
      
      
   5. Look for the revision number. Revision 8.1 is required. Revision 9.0 is preferred, because it contains microphone tests as well as audio tests.
      
      
      
      
   6. Upgrade DirectX to 9.0
      
      To upgrade DirectX, Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/downloads/default.asp.
      
      
   
   

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5. DirectX DirectPlay Test
   
   To test with DirectPlay Voice Options:
   1. Run dxdiag.exe as above.
   2. Select the DirectX Network tab.
   3. Click DirectPlay Voice Options.
   4. Go through the steps in the DirectPlay Voice Wizard.
   5. Make any corrections you need as a result of those tests.
      
      
      
      
   
   

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6. Sound card drivers
   
   Update your sound card drivers. Check with your sound card vendor.
   
   Often, updated drivers for your sound card can be found through Microsoft Windows Update, at windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Look specifically for updates for drivers.
   
   

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7. Hardware accellerator
   
   Reduce your hardware accelleration.
   
   
   1. Open Control Panel
   2. Open the Sounds folder
   3. Select the Audio tab
   4. In Sound Playback, click the Advanced button.
   5. Select the Performance tab. Move the Hardware accelerator slider down to the first mark after None. Click Apply.
   6. Turn your microphone off and on again.
   
   
   

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8. Truespeech codec
   
   If your microphone still doesn't work and you are using a non-XP version of Windows, check for the Truespeech codec. See Truespeech in the “I can't hear anyone” aricle.
   
   

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