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As can be imagined, the problem was never solved. Plugging the same iMic into a different (Dell) laptop also running Vista did not have the same problem, apparently some issue between Vista, the iMic, and the HP Laptop's USB port drivers. and both HP and Microsoft just refer you to the manufacturer of the device.So, it sits in my drawer and I continue to play audio out the headphone jack of my laptop. I purchased the iMic for my HP Laptop computer running Windows Vista because I wanted better quality line-level audio playback than the headphone jack on most of these computers provides. Unfortunately, there is absolutely NO Vista support for this device, which I found out when I had problems with it.Vista recognizes the iMic just fine, and it does indeed channel the audio from programs like iTunes and Media Player out the USB port to the device, but for some reason my particular laptop was putting out strange digital audio spikes that sounded like you were playing an old, scratchy record. Griffin just refers you to their FAQ help on the website along with denying any support for Vista (hello, Griffin, its been out for over two years, how about getting up to date).
Your software needs to allow you to have a 2 sound card configuration which is normal in most DJ software. That means that you can line-out from your computer to a sound system and separately line-out to your headphones. This is a great little device for any Laptop DJ. The Griffin iMic allows you to use it as an 2nd output from your computer. This allows you to preview one song while simultaneously playing another.
This is a good and simple product to hook up and get started with digitising your records. Also very good is Finyl Vinyl although I have had some "bumps" along the way but their staff is very easy to get a-hold-of and they are situated in the USA and are very helpful without being imtimidating.
It comes with Audacity--a very versatile freeware program for digitizing, editing and cleaning audio. You would think they could have spent the extra 10 cents to equip a $600 laptop with a stereo input jack. The iMic is a very useful product to interface almost any audio to a usb input at a very reasonable price. The 44khz sample rate is often referred to as "cd quality"--good enough for me. and make at least one of them stereo. My laptop downloaded the driver for the iMic immediately on connection--plug and play. The iMic has a little slider switch for choosing "line" or "mic" level.
Oddly enough, my Mac laptop is older than the Toshiba and it features a stereo audio in jack. I use it with an analog mixer board, so have used only the "line" setting. It is a bit flimsy, but with a little TLC, I expect it will last a while. After owning a Toshiba Satellite laptop for over a year and a half, I discovered that it only has a MONO mic input. Note to laptop manufacturers: MORE AUDIO INPUTS. Very simple: It has one sample rate (44khz), so no messing around with multiple settings.
There was a little bit of messing around with the sound settings in "control panel"; you can make the iMic the "default" audio input or just choose it from the list whenever you use it. It also come with a short stereo mini-plug to RCA phono jack adapter which even features a "ground" screw for use with direct connection to a turntable--another feature I haven't tried. I purchased the iMic for use with both Mac and pc laptops. Enter the iMic--the lowest-priced device I could find to get two channels of audio into my laptop. Set-up is even easier on a Mac.
For basic "just get the audio into the computer" needs, the iMic is a great little device. Coupled with Final Vinyl, and getting my old record collection digitized is a snap.
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