Imac 24" internal mic volume issues

Hi,
Im having a problem with the volume of the internal microphone on my 24" imac (2.8 ghx, osx 10.6.4). When I am trying to use msn video chat (yeah i know i shouldn't use msn at all but my girlfriend insists on it) the volume keeps dropping while I am trying to use it, sometimes to the point where the other person cant hear me. I can watch this happening in the settings but all i can do is turn it back up. Ive checked on google and other people seem to ave had this problem but i couldnt find a solution.
Any help with this would be hugely appreciated,
Thanks
Adam
Message was edited by: ralph1471
Message was edited by: ralph1471

some say a resetting of the PRAM at restart worked.
but it did not for me:
Same problem here:
neither in Skype nor in Quicktime audio recording does the microphone pick up a reasonable level.
The mike does not seem broken though, as if I put the input level at maximum in the system preferences pane: sound (and check "use ambient noise reaction") there is some reaction if I tap on the frame of the iMac or literally yell into the iMac. (the Quicktime recording then registers the voice, but only faintly).
I have done a Pram reset/restart, to no avail so far and am hoping for some bright solution in this forum.
One reason for the error might be that when a local Apple store recently replaced the Airport antenna-module on my iMac (it had failed completely after around 3 years) they might have done something to the mike wiring...

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Kernel modules: sdhci_pci
02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 02)
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03:00.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): LSI Corporation FW643 [TrueFire] PCIe 1394b Controller (rev 08)
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The microphone works in Mac OS X, so it's not a hardware issue. I've scoured the Wiki and forums and tried a few different things (experimenting with alsamixer, loading a few kernel modules), but nothing has worked.
Any help is appreciated.

Yes, I've tried that. My /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf looks like this.
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
alias sound-slot-0 snd-hda-intel
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alias char-major-116 snd
alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0
# module options should go here
# OSS/Free portion
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alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0
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High pitch noise when recording audio using internal mic

The issue I am having is with the internal mic. When recording audio using quicktime or garageband.It is a high pitch noise that stays whether i am speaking or not. The fix i found was to lower the input volume of the mic in system preferences. However, this causes my voice to be recorded so low that audio is barely usable unless volume is all the way up. Looking around the web I found this gem:
http://www.usingmac.com/2009/6/18/recording-speech-with-garageband-2009
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8235.html
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kestark
This is Vista.
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Hello thetoolwiz2,
I'd recommend resetting your computer's PRAM, as there may be an issue with its settings that is preventing you from being able to properly switch inputs.
About NVRAM and PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Cheers,
Allen

Imac 24" internal mic volume issues

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