What Is Stereo Mix? If you have ever wanted to record sounds as they come out of the speakers of your computer, then you must have felt the need for a proper tool. Stereo Mix is that tool that you need in case you want to record the output stream of your computer, e.g., speaker outputs, broadcasting radios, live streaming audios, etc. Stereo Mix is inbuilt software that comes as default with some sound cards. But this feature often remains “disabled” in most windows 10 devices. So in this article, you would learn how to enable Stereo mix step by step in windows 10 in more than one easy method.
How to Restore Missing Stereo Mix on Windows 10?
Follow the below step-by-step guidelines to fix No Stereo Mix Windows 10 error. The process to download, use and activate Stereo mix is explained in 6 different ways.
Way 1: Downloading Stereo Mix Driver
This way will come in handy if your computer does not have the Stereo mix driver installed in it. All you have to do is just download the Stereo Mix driver and then install it in order to be capable of using it.
1. First, go to the Windows icon and right-click on it. You would find an option called “System.” Click on that. Else, go to “Settings” and click on “System”.
2. Click the “About” tab on your computer.
3. Next step is to check your device’s type, whether 32 bit or 64 bit. Open the Realtek website on your computer and Install Codec from their site. Make sure to match the system type before you download Codec.
4. Tick on a box called “I accept the above,” and fill in the necessary gaps and put your valid email id.
5. You would find the “Download the file” option, click on that said option.
6. Now determine where you want to download and store the application package.
7. After all the above-said steps are done correctly, click on the “Save” option and close this window.
8. Press the Windows key and E together on the keyboard to open the File Explorer window.
9. Open the location where you have saved the Codec package and double click on the same. Now tap on the “Next” option for installing this package now.
10. Once installation is complete, click on the “Finish” option.
11. Press both the Windows key and R key together on the keyboard, and the “Run” window would open.
12. Now you have to type “mmsys.cpl” and press the enter button.
13. Now go to the “Recording” tab once the sounds utility opens on your PC.
14. You would be required to right-click anywhere in the window and then go for the option called “Show disabled devices.”
15. By now, Realtek Stereo Mix should be visible in the list. Right-click on the same and click on the “Enable” button.
16. To know whether this feature is enabled or not, you can check the icon of the same. There should be a green sign beside this feature if the same is enabled.
17. Finally, you have to click the “Apply” option and then press the OK button to save all of these changes.
Way 2: Enabling Stereo Mix from Sounds
Enabling Stereo Mix on your computer is not a very hard task if you already have it on your computer on default. You just have to enable the feature to enjoy the sound recording facility.
1. Press Windows + R keys together to get access to the Run window.
2. Now you would have to type “mmsys.cpl” in the command prompt, and the sounds facility will open. After that, you would have to press the OK button.
3. Go to the “Recording” tab once this Sounds tab is open on your screen.
4. Now right click on a random space and tap again on the “Show disabled devices” options.
5. As you notice the Stereo Mix option visible in the list, right-click on that said option and activate the “Enable” option.
6. Now press on the “Apply” and “Ok” button to see the changes you have made so far.
Way 3: Checking Disabled Devices
If Stereo Mix is disabled in your device, this method will guide you through enabling it.
1. Open the “Run” window by pressing Windows key and R key together.
2. Now run the command “mmsys.cpl” and press the OK button.
3. The “Recording” tab would open on the screen. There would be two options, “Show disabled devices” and “Show disconnected devices.” Check on both boxes by right-clicking on them.
4. Now the Stereo Mix would be enabled on your device.
Way 4: Microphone Access Activation
1. Press both the Windows and I key together.
2. Tap on the option ”Privacy” in order to open it.
3. On the left-hand side, you would find the Microphone option.
4. Turn on the “Microphone access for this device” after tapping “Change” option.
5. Now you have to scroll down until you find the option called “Allow desktop apps to access your microphone settings.” Toggle this microphone access setting on.
6. Check if the Stereo Mix has been activated on your device or not.
Way 5: Conextant HD Audio
Now, this is a special hack we are giving you an insight into. This trick will save you a lot of time if you have installed a Conextant HD audio device on your PC.
Step 1: Download PSPad Version
1. The first step is to install the PSPad on your computer by clicking on that icon on your PC.
2. Now you can download this portable version of the device by clicking on “PSPad portable version.”
3. Download the zip file and run the PSPad.exe file in order to run it on your PC.
4. After the device pops open, click on the search bar and tap on the “Search/ Replace in files…” option.
5. Open the “Text to find” box and paste the following line in the box
;HKR,%EPattributePath%\EpSettings\StereoMixEnable,Enable,1,01
6. You would find the Radio button beside “Selected directory,” which you would have to click on.
C:/Windows/System32/DriverStore/FileRepository/
7. After all the previous steps are followed, click on the OK button to confirm this configuration.
Step 2: Full Control Activation
1. Press the Windows and E keys together.
2. C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\CALCC2WA.inf_amd64_07118bd8a2180658 Go to the location mentioned above, the File explorer tab.
3. You would find a file named “CALCC2WA.inf_amd64_07118bd8a2180658”, go to the Properties section.
4. Now tap on the tab “Security” and then press on the “Advanced” option.
5. Besides the “Owner” option, you would find “Change,” click on the same option.
6. Tap on that “Add” option after the window appears.
7. Press on the “Select a principle” option you would find in the tab.
8. Now again, click on the “Advanced” option at the bottom of the page.
9. Tap on the “Find now” option and choose your specific account name from the given list.
10. Tap on OK and then tick the “Full control” option. Again click on OK to save the settings.
Step 3: Using Notepad
1. Tap on the file “CALCC2WA.inf_amd64_07118bd8a2180658” and open it with Notepad.
2. Press Ctrl+F on the keyboard after the file pops open on Notepad.
3. After typing Stereo in the box, you would be needed to tap on the “Find next” option.
4. Erase those semicolons from the three mentioned lines in notepad, as you can see in this following image, containing stereo search strings.
5. Find “File” from the menu and “Save” these settings.
Step 4: Uninstalling the Driver
1. Open the Run windows by pressing Windows and R keys both at the same time.
2. Type “devmgmt.msc” in the command prompt and tap on the OK button.
3. You would find the “Sound, video and game controllers” section. Make sure to expand the tab.
4. You have to right-click on the audio driver in order to uninstall it, next find the “Uninstall device” and tap on it.
5. Click on Uninstall button to ensure successful uninstallation of the said driver.
6. Restart your PC in order to see the newly made changes.
Way 6: Audio Driver Updating
1. Open the Run window by pressing Windows and R keys on the keyboard together.
2. Write “devmgmt.msc” on the prompt and then click on the OK button.
3. Tap on that option “Sound, Video and Game controllers.” Click on option “Audio device” and then tap on the “Update driver” option.
4. Opt for the “Search automatically for drivers” option, and then Windows would install the updated and latest version of the audio driver on your pc on its own.
5. Now you should be able to record sounds on your pc by using the updated driver easily.
Conclusion
If your Windows 10 Stereo Mix missing, you must have got an answer in this article on how to enable it on your PC. We have researched the best and the easiest methods for enabling the Stereo mix on Windows 10. Here, you would find 5 easy ways to do your job quite easily without help from experts. These 5 methods would come in handy in activating the Stereo mix differing slightly in the process. We hope you have enjoyed this article and found it to your use.