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Sound Balance

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by var1016

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Hello all. Once again thanks to those who so kindly helped with my dumping Vista and installing XP; I am very happy with the results.

My question: is it possible to adjust the volume level of the various Microsoft "noises" - clicks, and other sounds relative to other material e.g. video soundtracks, CD replay, radio etc? I have been stumped for a long time with this one. I believe that these noises are called "Wav" but lowering the level of WAV in the controller lowers everything else too.

Thanks in advance

9 replies

by robo_dev

do you see separate sliders for Wav, SW synth, CD, PC speaker, etc?

You may have to go into the properties of the volume control to enable all the sliders.

If yours does not act properly with all the sliders visible, you may not have the correct or latest driver for your sound card, and it may also be helpful to locate and install the 'audio mixer' for your sound hardware.

What sound hardware do you have? (as listed in Control Panel >system >hardware >device manager> sound video and game devices)

by var1016

Thanks Robo.

It looks as though Old Mycroft has the answer, but in response to your question I have Realtek Audio: the driver is dated 19th Sept 2007.

Paul

by older mycroft

Having previously experienced Vista, which you quite rightly dumped in favour of XP, you have nonetheless unfortunately perhaps, had the chance to use the one aspect of Vista that I like - the capability to adjust ONE application's volume levels relative to everything else.

This capability, strictly speaking, does not exist within XP.

You can however work around it.

I advise that you familiarise yourself with 'Audacity' which you can download from this link:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Have a fiddle around with it, applying it's effects to some sound source of no importance, say a copy of an MP3 or whatever. Once you have figured out how it works you can use it for your Windows XP "noises".

Audacity can amplify & attenuate sound, ie make it louder or quieter depending on your preference.

Create a directory and copy ALL your Windows XP "noises" into it. The "noises" can be found at [u]C:\Windows\Media[/u] - copy them all into your new directory.

You can now load each into Audacity, alter as appropriate then save out again. You can either swap the entire bank of sounds around OR redirect the sound module to the new sounds directory.

This will give you louder or softer sounds while not affecting other sounds within Windows applications such as Video or Games.

Unfortunately Vista has the nifty trick of being able to do this on the fly, but having seen all the detritus it comes with, I prefer to have a fiddle with the odd sound level now and again. I've always enjoyed fiddling anyway! ;)

by var1016

Thanks, Mycroft: I will give it a try later today.

By the way is the Diogenes Club really located in Tain??

Best wishes

Paul

by older mycroft

The slightly fictional address of the local Chapter of the equally slightly more fictional Diogenes Club. :)

The Tain Chapter has a slightly more select (and smaller) membership though.

"[i]The Diogenes Club is a fictional gentleman's club created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and featured in several Sherlock Holmes stories, most notably "The Greek Interpreter". It seems to have been named after Diogenes the Cynic (although this is never expanded upon in the original stories) and was co-founded by Sherlock's indolent older brother, Mycroft Holmes.[/i]"

[i][b] "There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubable men in town. No member is permitted to take the least notice of any other one. Save in the Stranger's Room, no talking is, under any circumstances, allowed, and three offences, if brought to the notice of the committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My brother was one of the founders, and I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere."

? Sherlock Holmes.[/i][/b]

[u]I feel that rather sums me up![/u] :^0

It renders me a great relief to have the presence of an educated man within my immediate list of contacts.

Thank you, Paul. :)

by var1016

Thanks again: Audacity is excellent - and like XP, it WORKS!

Hurrah

Paul

by older mycroft

The 'Old Mycroft' thing is two-fold in its creation.

Other than what has previously been discussed there is also the case of a Computer Technician who fixes a life-support/civil administration Computer on a Lunar penal colony. As a means of precise diagnosis the Tech gives the Computer the power of speech, in order that it might adequately describe it's system problems.

In conversation with the Computer, the Tech suggests that the Computer should have a name and advises the Computer to scan all available human literature, then decide on what it should take as a name.

The computer decides on 'Mycroft' because it's the name of the elder brother of the most famous detective in Human History! - Without realising that Mycroft and the entire Holmes family was a work of fiction!!

[b]The Book:[/b] [i]The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress[/i]
[b]The Author:[/b] [i]Robert Heinlein[/i]

;)

by var1016

I recall an English master at my prep school saying that anyone who had not read "Treasure Island" was illiterate; I feel that the same applies to Sherlock Holmes! - although I have often wondered what happened to Watson's second wife! And for a MD, he was remarkably inconsistent about the location of that famous Jezail bullet (shoulder or leg?)!

Thanks for your kind words

Paul

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