To check the input sound levels

  1. Open Speech in Control Panel.
  2. On the Speech Recognition tab, the Microphone box displays a linear register of the input sounds. If the microphone is accepting input, a bar is displayed indicating the sound level. Normal speech should register slightly less than halfway on the graph.
  3. If no sound registers, make sure the microphone is turned on; a few models have a mute switch. Also, double-check the connections to the computer. Some systems have several locations where a microphone can be plugged in.

Notes