How to Record Sounds on a Computer Using a Microphone

The "Sound Recorder" utility is used to record sound to a computer.

Windows computers have a built-in utility called "Sound Recorder." This is used to record sound into a computer file. It is primarily used to record a microphone connected to the computer. The recording created by "Sound Recorder" is saved as a WMA file. This file type can be by Windows Media Player, Zune and most other media programs.

Things You'll Need

• Windows computer
• Microphone

Instructions

1. Click the "Sound Recorder" icon in the "Start" menu. It is located in the "Accessories" folder.

2. Click the "Start Recording" button.

3. Speak into the microphone or place the microphone near the sound to be recorded.

4. Click the "Stop Recording" button.

5. Enter a file name for the recorded sound into the prompt.

6. Click the "Save" button to save the microphone recording to the hard drive of your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Turn off the computer speakers before starting to record the microphone. This will prevent the small possibility of feedback building up. Feedback is an unpleasant, high-pitched squealing noise. It occurs when the sound from a speaker is picked up by a microphone. This creates a loop causing the sound entering the microphone to become progressively louder. The high-pitched squealing noise occurs when the feedback exceeds the capability of the speakers.

References

• Windows Help and Support: Record Sound
• Microsoft Windows XP: Using Sound Recorder