Turn LPs and cassettes into digital media files

Once everything is connected properly, you'll need to set the monitoring and recording levels on your PC. To do this, look for the speaker icon on your taskbar. If it's not there, open Control Panel's "Sounds and audio devices" applet, click the Volume tab, and check the box next to "Place volume icon in the taskbar." Click the Apply button, and the icon should appear on the taskbar. Double-click it to open the Volume Control window. You'll see a collection of faders, one of which is labeled Line In. This controls what you hear while recording the music to your PC. If you don't see it, select Options > Properties to display a list of available volume controls, check the Line In and Volume Control boxes, and you're done. Back in the main Volume Control window, make sure Line In's horizontal Balance fader is centered, the Volume fader is about half to three-quarters of the way up, and the Mute button is unchecked. Do the same for the master volume control.

Next, adjust the Line In settings in the Recording Control window by choosing the Options > Properties > Recording button from the Volume Control window. This controls the level at which the music is actually recorded, which is what really counts. Now you can power on the preamp, turntable, or tape deck and start playing an LP or tape. Gradually bring up the fader or volume control on the preamp.

The program you're recording into likely has a recording-level meter. Make sure this level doesn't consistently stay in the red zone. If it does, the recording level is too loud, and you'll get unfixable digital distortion.

Double-click the taskbar's Volume icon a second time to open a duplicate Volume Control window and choose the Recording option in that window. Now you have both the Playback and Recording controls visible at the same time.