Mixboard Woes. Need assistance if possible.

[Moonvamp]

Greetings.

I have just recently upgraded my computer tower and gotten myself a Bose Companion 20 Multimedia Speaker set to accompany it. So, soon afterwards, I went to plug in my Alesis Multimix 8 USB FX into the tower, and then my computer suddenly went mute. I then found out that the speakers needed to be plugged into the mixer that I had in order for it to work. Sadly, they didn't tell me which adapter to use in order to connect it so. So, would it be a jack adapter that was 1/4 inch to a mini 3.5mm, or something completely different? Or, if there's no possible way to connect the two, would my best option be to get an XLR-to-USB cable and sell the mixer?

I've been falling behind on my lines because of this issue, and I hope to get some support for this soon. Thank you kindly for your time.

[reteo]

Have you checked to see what sound device is being used by the system as the default? From your description, it sounds like the system is setting your mixer's audio interface as the default, when you want the system sound to be default. While the mixer is plugged in, check your default audio device, and change it if it is set to your mixer. Then the system sounds will be piped to the speakers again.

[Moonvamp]

Well, I finally got it to work. I disabled one of the speakers that had the mixer's sound device as a function, and I could hear the sound nicely. But now I'm in another predicament. I have four fans in my new tower and they're HIGHLY noticeable in the recordings. Is there a way to eliminate them from it through Mixcraft 5 at all? Or perhaps there's a way to halt the noise coming from the tower?

[reteo]

You can try using an expander plugin to expand the dynamic range between the volume level of your voice and the computer fans, or you can use one of several "noise removal" plugins available to remove the noise, but the most effective method of removing the sound is not to have it in the first place. This means you will need some room treatment to absorb the fan noise; hanging up packing blankets, such as those found at U-Haul, are pretty effective as a low-cost solution, although dedicated room treatments would be more effective. Additionally, lower-speed "quiet fans" are available for desktop systems that can help cut down on the noise pollution. If you are using a condenser microphone, try to use a dynamic microphone instead, as their design tends to make them more resistant to noise. Finally, ensuring that your computer is not on a line-of-sight basis with the microphone can help a lot as well.