Music Creator 3 No input

Ive installed  Cakewalk MC 3 on a very basic setup. when I try to record I,m not getting a signal at the meter when an audio track is armed. I,m recording through a mixing desk via the main stereo output bus. I,ve checked the cable,have set the bit depth and done everything I can think of,including setting the levels of the Windows mixer. Using the PC,s soundcards line in socket,I get a minus 15 dB signal on both right and left segments of the meter;but there is no response when I increase the level at the desk. I tried the MIC socket of the PC SC;this sends the  Cake meter well into the red,again with no response when I lower the signal at the mixing desk.
  Ive installed the same software on another PC ( which died) with no problems and took note of the settings which I replicated on the "new" PC. I,m now at a loss as to what to try,any help would be most appreciated.
  Lastly I,m using Windows XP I forgot to list this in my profile,thanks for taking the time for looking,Andy

Welcome to the forum.
Under Options>Audio in MC, what driver mode are you using? What is the latency set to? What is listed and selected under the drivers tab and Playback and Recording Timing Masters?
In the Windows mixer, have you muted the mic input and enabled the line in?
In the MC track, have you selected the correct input (choosing an S/PDIF input when nothing is connected to it, for instance)?

There are two mixer panels under XP. If you see a Mute option, you are looking at Playback mixer.
That's not where you want to be.
For the signal to be properly routed, you will want to be using the Recording mixer.
Check out this thread:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=1370491
It was set up for the track bleed problem with stereo mix, but illustrates the proper routing through your onboard sound card.
As you have noticed, ASIO is a no go with the SoundMax. WDM is iffy, if possible at all.
Set your sample rate to 44100, bit depth to 16. It is unlikely a sound card of that vintage can handle 24 bit. Set your file bit depth to 16 as well.
The fact that your fader on the Fostex has zero effect suggests that you may be connected to an output other than the one that you think you are controlling. I am not familiar with that unit. Double check your connections.
Use only the Line Input. Do Not use the mic input. It was intended for the electret mics included with computers at that time. It is inappropriate for a line level input.
Let us know how it goes.