Ubuntu 8.04, Dell Studio 15: How do i make internal microphone work?
 

I just got this computer with Ubuntu a month or so ago.

The problem started with Skype; nobody could hear me speak, though i could hear them. Then went to Applications: Sound and Video: Sound Recorder to check, and all my tests were coming up silent. What should i do to fix this?

run alsamixer and check to see if anything is muted. normally it is not but in your case it could be. you might also want to run alsaconf to try and reconfigure the sound on your system.

Double click Volume Control and make sure all the "Recording" or "Input" sliders are set high and unmuted.

Then (and only then!) go to the Sound preferences of Skype and try different input sources until you find one that works -- it might not be the default.

Good luck! This worked for me.