I agree with all the complaints I’ve read about Vista Sound Recorder. It definitely lacks the versatility of previous versions.

Vista Sound Recorder is a big step backwards for Microsoft. Why in the world would Microsoft choose to subtract usable features from any program?


My main complaint is that you cannot open existing sound files in Vista Sound Recorder. Therefore, it lacks the quick & easy conversion capabilities I used to appreciate in XP Sound Recorder.


Although I have Audacity, I used to use XP Sound Recorder frequently for quickie conversions: to reduce the file size of a Wav for emailing, for instance.

By having saved a name for the compression attributes I wanted (Convert to MPEG 3-Layer 32Kbit Mono 22,050Hz), it was a very simple matter to quickly convert & compress a Wav in XP Sound Recorder… in seconds.

Of course, I can accomplish the same thing in Audacity, but not nearly as easily or quickly.

I’ve read Richard Urban’s explanation of how XP Sound Recorder can be used in Vista (below).

Can anyone verify that this will work?

Where can I download a copy of XP Sound Recorder?

Originally Posted by Richard Urban

>…the sound recorder from Windows XP can be used in Vista. Copy the file and then save it to C:\Windows\System32. Create a Shortcut (suggest calling it Sound Recorder XP) and place the shortcut in your accessories folder. Now you can use either one.
>The first time you run the old version of Sound Recorder, run it with administrator privileges, as there are registry entries that must be allowed to be written. The next time, and all times after, you can run Sound Recorder normally.
http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/74519-sound-recorder.html

I got the XP recorder from my old XP machine and installed it in Vista as advised in this thread. Then followed the instructions from Brady Lee for changing the l3codeca.acm at the following web :

Help...This Missing CODEC thing is making me crazy

Voila... you can compress Wave files again to MPEG Layer-3.
Just one sting.... : Could not compress below 20Kb... ( I used to compress to 18Kb for webpages and/or html e-mails....)