Having some trouble when I load MC 5.0.6 on Windows Vista system, my speakers quit working? Everything looks right, but the speakers don't play any sounds...no windows sounds, no audio outside of the MC program, and no playback on the program.
 
The speaker level is jumping up & down like it's playing the track/feed...but no sound is coming out?
 
Any ideas where to start?

Disregard...got it figured out.

Welcome to the forum.
So what was the problem? in case someone else with Vista comes along with the same glitch.

It was trying to send the playback feed to the mic on a "USB port"...once I figured that out, I just had to reset it to my speakers. For some reason during the set-up phase, my computer was "seeing" the mic as speakers too?

Thanks for the welcome....I'm sure there are many more dumb questions to follow. :)

So... are you using a USB mic? 

If so........ MC thinks a USM mic is a sound card. And it is.... and in effect, you have 2 unsynched soundcards in the same computer. 

yeah, I'm using the "First Act" mic that came with the program.

yeah... not the best way to do things.... 

you essentially have 2 different sound cards that are not synced to each other. While not impossible to make work..... not the best way to record.  At some point this will become obvious. 

We do suggest if you are planning to make this an on going hobby, and you want to record with out to many issues and workarounds, that you eventually look at a dedicated musical interface. 

Until then, enjoy the recording hobby  and we're here to help when and if you need it. 

yeah, this is really just for me to use to laydown some acoustic tracks <guitar/dobro> for some "front porch" style demos of my songs to share with friends...I don't need anything fancy, but I sure don't want added frustration/problems to the process either....getting a couple of good tracks outta an old hack like me is hard enough without throwing technical problems into the "mix". :)

Can you recommend an affordable interface for what I'm doing, keep in mind that I ended up with the "$35 from Target" set-up because I'm cheap! I do have a Dell laptop dedicated for recording.

Keep in mind that the interface you use is the heart of the recording system.  So when buying one, don't skimp. If you look around....check Beagle's web site, he has a listing there of interfaces.....also look to see what other long time users are using in our studios...... 

Determine how many inputs you need.....MC only supports 2 so the lower cost interfaces are perfect since they only have 2 inputs,,,,,,, do you work with audio- you need 2 inputs, and be sure the interface has good preamps on those inputs..... some do, some don't..... do you use MIDI.... you may want a midi input...... how many outputs do you need/want? And of course, your budget. 

Presonus, M-Audio, Focusrite are among the better known names. Be sure they support ASIO drivers, which the better ones will. 

ask questions before you buy something ....we can steer you clear of making a mistake

so, this whole "running two sound cards that are not insynch with each other" thing...is this why I just laid down a perfect 2nd guitar track and when I play them back they are not in time with each other at all????

Thanks for the help...couple of questions...

1 - Any way to clip the front of one and line the tracks up?

2 - Any thoughts on the Scarlet 2i2 model from Focusrite? I think that two inputs are all that I'll need for what I am doing and GC has them for $149.