microphone

cant get mic to record at all...
when i click on speech in control panel i get error message saying... the requested task cannot be carrried out because the necessary engine could not be created. Please select a different engine and/or a different audio device

in speech properties...

language is M/S english ASR v5 engine (no other option)

microphone audio input is highlighted but configure microphone is faded out

all i want to do is to be able to record my kids singing

 

 
The Speech applet is not really where you should be. Speech-recognition, etc. is not needed for simple recording.

Try the Sounds and Audio Devices applet. Go to the Audio tab and Sound Recording to be sure your audio device is specified.

If you don't have the volume control in the tray, you may want to enable that under the Volume tab since the microphone is often disabled or the volume is set very low. This can be controlled by double-clicking the volume control in the tray.

Your sound recorder is probably in Programs--> Accessories--> Entertainment. If not, find sndrec32.exe and make a shortcut to it, or start it from the Run box in the Start menu (Run: sndrec32.exe).

If none of this is any help, we may need to look at drivers.