I had the same problem after I bought Dynex Usb Microphone. It did not record at all. After I played a while, I go to "Sound" screen, open "Recording type", R-click the Microphone icon, click "Properties", open the "Listen" tab, check the box --"Listento this device". Then I use "Sound recorder" and Skype ECHO to test. It works.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.