USB Mic Doesn't Show Up in Windows XP

I can't seem to get a usb mic working properly on my MacBook Pro. I've tried an Andrea with a 5370 usb adapter and a couple of other usb mics, but none of them show up anywhere on the Windows side.

The mic does have a check mark in the Parallels console device list, so Parallels thinks it is connected. However, it isn't actually available in Windows. I've tried Dragon Nat Speak, the WIndows recording utility, and Audacity for Windows.

The only sign there a mic connected is that a 'USB composite device" icon with an exclamation mark appears in the WIndows xp Device Manager.

I have released the mic on the mac side, both in System Preferences and the Midi utility.

I've also tried the Audacity workaround for the clipping sound problem but still can't get the mic to appear anywhere. My MacBook Pro's internal mic is the only one available.

Other people have functioning usb mics, so I must be doing something wrong. Any idea what it is?

Thanks,

numa

 

still a problem?

Did you find a solution to your problem with the Andreas mike? I was also having the same problem with that mike and Dragon. I sent parallels a tech support message to ask about a solution. Let me know when you work out a solution to the problem, it would be great if we could get voice recognition working on the Mac!

Thanks, Roger

 

USB headset microphone recognition finally solved however...

I had success with bootcamp and Dragon naturally speaking but the file communication issue with my macbook pro OS X files made me tried Parallels (having to reboot systems all the time etc).

With Parallels, I struggled without success for 2 days to have differents USB headsets recognized by Windows XP (a Labtec; a Plantronic; a Emkay - all used with a Griffith usb adapter - the equivalent of the iMic) .
I solved my problem today. They all work. However I still have a suboptimal (but quite acceptable) quality - At least I can talk to Windows XP and being heard through my headset. I will try to solve the quality problem later

Here is how I did it (sorry - I'm not sure I understand the rationale - maybe it is a question of headests being the main USB thing to run - we know USB handling is problematic with Parallels)

-In mac OSX plug in you USB headset directly to you computer (not in a hub)
-In Mac OSX system preferences -sound - make sure that in and out are set to iMic USB audio
-open Parallels and the virtual Window machine
-When Windows has loaded, using ctrl-alt, go back to Parallels and in its upper menu "Devices" and click USB -iMic USB audio system
-go back to Windows
-unplug any USB devices BUTyour you USB headset (in my case, I had to unplug my hub)
-go to configuration pannel (sound) and test the device in the Voice tab. In my case it worked for the first time. I could see the mic and the level move. I could use MS recorder.
-re-plug your hub or other USB device. I got an error message saying the USB device was used by another process - I said Ok and then, I have my headsets working

I hope this solution it works for you as well ...

 

Here is my solution to this problem:

http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=2721

 

Sound quality improvement for Dragon - Audacity ?

To increase sound quality I installed Audacity in Windows XP
but I got an even worst quality with more robot-like voice. Good thing I had a point of restoration of my system.
I must admit I'm not familiar with this kind of program, graphics and options, so it must be my clumsiness. Can you give more directions ?
Thanks

 

I made this as detailed as possible here in hopes that it helps you get things working, if I made it too detailed then just skip the parts you know

A few things to make sure of:

1) Install audacity... then shutdown (start->shutdown) your VM
2) Shutdown PD entirely.
2) With your VM turned off, plug in the mic.
3) Goto Prefrences->sound and set the input device and the sound level (do not change these while the vm is running, it messes things up)
4) Start your vm
5) After you log in, start audacity and left click on the sound meter (see attached picture)
6) Minimize audacity (do not quit it, again this messes things up)
7) Use your sound application

Suggestions to keep it working:
* Make sure no programs in Windows access the mic before Audacity starts. Do not have a voip
program or Dragon loaded on startup... (MSN messenger accesses the mic if you have it log in,
so does Skype)
* Do not change any other options in Audacity, all we want it to do is set up the sound card. It
should be 2 clicks after you start the program. One on the sound meter, one on the minimize
button.
* This does not work with the Macbook's built in mic.
* Do not unplug your USB mic while the VM is running.
* Do not standby your laptop while the VM is running (this is because MacOs disconnects all
USB devices except keyboards and mice while it is sleeping).
*Do not open the sound prefrences pane whilt the VM is running. (opening the pane wont break
things, but changing ANYTHING in it will)
*Make sure that ALL the settings in the Applications/Utilitites/Audio Midi Setup program are set to
default. If you have changed them you will have to change them back to default and reboot your
Mac before my trick will work. (If you have never run this program then dont worry about it.)
* I find that sometimes the Mac autoselects the correct mic for you when you plug it in, and
sometimes it does not. It does remember your volume for you though.
* You can not switch your input devices (From one USB mic to another) even while parralels is
not running with the guest OS in standby. You have to reboot the guest OS in order to change
input devices.
*Make sure the Parallels tools are installed.
*Make sure no Mac programs (like ichat) are using the microphone.
*Make sure that sound is automatically turned ON when you start your VM.


After all that, the hack sometimes failes after a few (2-3) hours of dictation, and then I have to reboot the VM to get it working again. It's far better to have working dictation for a few hours in Parallels then to have to reformat my drive for Bootcamp...

I really hope they fix this in the next release....

 

Thank you so much for these details

Now, all my headsets work wonderfully with an excellent sound quality now.
I chose to use my old Labtec for Dragon dictation and it is very performant.

 

Perfect, thankyou. I presume that it is necessary to keep Audacity running whilst I am in my VM.

 

yes it should be running

It will monitor sound for 3-4 hours. After that you have to reopen it

 

imac usb microphone

I'm unable to get winxp to recognize a usb microphone. any suggestions are appreciated. the audacity workaround didn't seem to work, nor did the update release candidate upgrade fix this. the usb monitor does not allow me to check the usb microphone port.

 

On bottom right corner of Parallels wndow is a USB icon. When I clicked on my USB Microphone, I get the following message:



USB device you are trying to connect to the virtual machine is being used by another process. Wait 5-10 seconds, then try to connect the device again. If this does not help, find the application that blocked up the device and disconnect it manually.

I can't figure out which application they are talking about.

Any ideas?