Vista Tutorial - Line-In Issues with RealTek HD

First post here, so howdy. I really hate to start this thread as I've been searching for 2 days, and can't quite seem to find anyone with the same problem I have.

I have Vista Home Premium 64 on my Dell 530, Intel Duo Core processor, Intel 3 Series chipset and Realtek HD Audio ALC888 (onboard). I have not made any software or hardware changes to my computer.

I play bass guitar, and have been running the line-out of my amp to the line-in(blue) on the back of my computer. I know an actual sound card would be better, but I'm just using these recordings for ideas, plus it has been working flawlessly up until last week.

Now the recording volume and playback volume sliders under "Line-In" in Realtek HD Audio Manager have stopped working. I am still able to hear my bass through my computer speakers, but only at a constant volume. The playback and recording volume sliders have no effect whatsoever when I move them. What's worse is now Audacity and Cool Edit Pro can barely pick up a signal from my line in. If I mute the speakers I can still hear the bass through them. I was even getting sound while I was rebooting the computer with no interruption!

I have updated the latest driver, I have uninstalled and reinstalled them, I have tried different ports, tried different cords, made sure I had the correct device selected in my audio programs, everything short of reformatting. When I plug my line into a mic input instead, the recording and volume sliders work again, just like they used to under the line-in port. The sound is not as good, and I get a big delay when recording in Audacity, so this is pretty much useless to me. I just want to get this recording setup working like it was a week ago.

Any feedback is much appreciated, and I apologize if this has been answered, but I sure can't find a solution. Thanks!

Vista Control Panel Classic -> RealTek HD Audio Manager -> RealTek Audio Router

1. Set the Audio Router to minimize to tray
2. Set your options
3. Minimize
4. Close RealTek HD Audio Manager

Enjoy