Win XP Home, SP.2.

Am TRYING to use the SOUND Recorder but the mic volume is very low.  I've checked the mic volume in the Master Volume control and it seems to be set correctly.   One suggested cure is to go to Control Panel>Sounds & Audio Devices>Audio and boost the mic in Sounds Recording>Advanced but the Advanced box is greyed out so cannot access it.

Can anyone assist please :-?

ThanksWhat sound recorder are you using? Sometimes its settings in the program its self.I guess this is Windows Sound Recorder.
Try shouting, lol.
Do any other programs capture the sound OK?
What sound card do you have?I suspect you need to access a control panel from software installed with your sound card and enable a microphone booster SETTING.  Where you find this setting is, of course, going to depend on the particular sound software installed on your system or, in other words, what came with your sound card.  Here's the panel where I set it in my system:


Again, I can not find this setting via Windows Control Panel, Sounds & Audio Devices.  To find it, I click on an icon in my Notication Area for C-Media MIXER.
 

And to add to all the excellent suggestions above is the mic hooked into the proper channel ? ?Another thing you might want to try is opening up Volume Control (just double-click the little Volume icon next to your CLOCK) and adjusting the Line In volume.

Also, have you tried this microphone on another computer?  Have you tried another microphone on your computer?  It's possible that you just have a cheap/faulty mic.