I’ve scoured my friend’s system trying to find this function. In XP you can use the default Sound Recorder program to record the sounds off of any playback-i.e. if I want to record some audio clips from a DVD I can just play the DVD, hit the record button on Sound Recorder, and no hassle. On Vista tho this functionality seems not to work (I get silence), or at least I have not found the Hidden Toggle ™ which would get this to work. Any clues?
When I want to record something off of the computer with Vista’s Sound Recorder, I use a cord my roommate has that plugs into the headphone and microphone jacks and and then I start recording. It works a treat and I don’t get any background noise from the other people yelling and slamming doors. I think the cord is a line in recording jack or something? When I’ve tried recording without it, the record is really quiet. Maybe your volume isn’t up high enough?