How to enable "Stereo mix" on windows 7

Question

My current setup allowed me to have a "stereo mix" recording device back when i used windows XP, so I know its not a hardware issue. But it doesn't show up in the list of recording devices anymore.

I've already taken a look at the following resources:

• http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/39532/how-to-enable-stereo-mix-in-windows-7-to-record-audio/ - this is helpful, but doesn't give me enough information. Showing disabled and disconnected devices doesn't work for me. The guide mentions you might have to downgrade your audio drivers, but doesn't explain how to do that.
• Cannot find 'Stereo Mix' on Windows 7 - the answer isn't correct
• Windows 7 stereomix
• How can I get stereo mix for my Windows 7 computer?
• Stereo Mix does not work
• How to access "Stereo Mix" recording in vista?
• http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4826 - this is helpful, but I don't want to have to use a loop-back cable. I can, but that's not what this question's about.

So I've tried showing disabled and disconnected devices in the Sound -> Recording list. Doesn't work. So:

A. Are there any other methods (or programs) to help solve this problem (other than ones mentioned above ^)?

B. How should I go about downgrading my audio drivers, if that's the best method to take? What year, or version of drivers should I be looking for? Etc.

My specifics:

In Device Manager, under Sound, Video and game controllers, I see "High Devinition Audio Device" which has a driver from Microsoft dated 2010-11-19. I also see 4 instnaces of "NVIDIA High Definition Audio" all with drivers from NVIDIA dating 2013-06-16 (version 1.3.26.4).

Any ideas?

Answer 1

I had found some instructions on how to modify your audio driver to enable StereoMix. It seems audio drivers tend not to make StereoMix available now, though the drivers might still support it. I wasn't able to modify and reinstall my sounddriver as directed, but looking at the driver .INF file I did determine what registry settings could be changed to enable StereoMix. I did this on Windows 10, I believe 7 would behave the same. Anyhow, here are my notes:

• Find the INF file that may allow for StereoMix to be enabled with a text search

  • cd C:\windows\system32\DriverStore
  • findstr /s "StereoMix" *.inf

• Review the matches, updating registry as appropriate and reboot. (In particular look for StereoMixEnable, though this may have different names for different drivers)

Here are the registry modifications I ended up with:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e96c-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000\Settings\EPattributes\EPSettings\StereoMixEnable]
"Enable"=hex:01
"MixAssocSeq"=hex:e0,e0
"MuteGainSettings"=hex:00,00

Answer 2

Use VB Cable.

I had the same issue, and could not seem to get my audio apps to record what I'm hearing in windows. This driver installs a new input/output which you can use to capture the audio playing.

https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/

Works like a charm!

If you want to hear what you are recording in windows through your speakers, set 'Listen to this device' by right clicking on the new output channel created in your Sound > Recording window and checking 'Listen to this device', then in the drop down select your output/speakers.

Cheers!