How do I force PC to 'see' line-in socket?

[tallonius]

I need to use my line-in socket on my PC (running Win 7) but can't get it to work. The sound card is on the motherboard and is identified as:

Audio: onboard - Asus MCP73 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec: Realtek Semiconductor 662 High Definition Audio
Audio driver version: 6.0.1.5490
Direct X: 10.0
Audio Controller: HD Audio
Audio Codec: ALC883/ALC662

Speakers on the front and rear both work OK and I also have a skype phone plugged in to a USB socket that works fine.

If I click on the Realtec HD Audio Manager in the tray, it tells me that the line-in sockets are enabled, working, and the drivers are up to date. In the diagram that it displays, it shows that the line-in on the front panel is working although I notice that line-in and mic-in on the REAR panel are greyed-out (pastelled-out?) - not sure what this signifies, but they don't work either.

If I click on 'sound' in control panel i can see two entries for 'Recording' both of which state 'Not Plugged in' even when a mic is plugged in (it's not the mic - it works fine on other equipment).

If I click on volume control it shows Speakers, System Sounds and Skype but nothing for line-in or mic or recording.

It seems to me that the machine just isn't 'seeing' the line-in despite stating it's all working correctly.

Is there any way I can force it to recognise the line-ins and configure them?

PC Spec:
Asus P5N-MX version 1.xx
Intel Core2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00 Ghz
2Gb Corsair DIMM DDR2 memory
Windows 7

 

[goombawaho]

If the drivers are installed in the Device Manager, take a look at the following.

"If I click on volume control it shows Speakers, System Sounds and Skype but nothing for line-in or mic or recording."

^^^^ When you click on the volume icon in the task bar, is there another item in there that says "ADVANCED" where you can view the status of the Line In and Mic. Sometimes those are not displayed by default and are DISABLED (via a check box) but they are installed and functioning in terms of device manager.

Look at this and see where it says "the line-in connection to your sound card is muted by default"

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Tips-for-fixing-common-sound-problems

 

[rclarke250]

MIC doesn't get connected to a line in port, it goes to the mic port in a 3 port gang. Blue is line in, Green is speaker out, and red/pink is mic in. Also check if you have the correct pin out for the front panel, they are not all the same. Newer cases will have both of the standard audio connectors, some will only have the old, and this can cause issues trying to get all of the ports working right.

 

[goombawaho]

Good point about the mobo connections if it's a self-built computer.