To set up a microphone

Microphones vary greatly in design and purpose. They will continue to develop and become more specialized. Consult the microphone manual for hardware and software specifics; however, most models install in a similar fashion.


  1. Locate the sound connections and connect the microphone jack to the computer. Most computers use an internal sound card and often the connections will be in the back of the system.
  2. These will be a series of connections the same size and diameter as the microphone jack. One will be labeled as the microphone connection, either with a small icon that looks like a microphone or explicitly labeled as such.
  3. Plug the microphone into that connection.

To test the connection:
  1. Open Speech in Control Panel.
  2. Select the Speech Recognition tab.
  3. Speak directly into the microphone. The sound level should register in the Microphone Level indicator.

Notes