Silent feedback from microphone after pressing the record ready and or input monitoring buttons

Question

Hi Community,
So I am running a microphone(xlr cable)-->mbox mini--->macbook and have been able to successfully record many songs in the past. Just recently I have run into an intersting issue which I hope someone can provide a solution to.
When I hit the ready record button or the input monitoring button my level automatically shoots up about a third the volume bar without me even singing into the mic (My monitors are muted and I am wearing headphones). After recording, the wavform looks like there is a thick bar on the top half. I can still hear vocals but they are very faint, unlike how i used to get a clear, quality sounding recording. My input on the interface is also at about halfway and my phantom power is on.   Here are some pictures to give you a better understanding of what I am looking at.
I hope this is clear
If ANYONE has a solution to this issue please let me know
-J

Answer 1

Trying another interface is probably the next step. I would also make sure the Mic is ok, do you know anyone with an interface or mixing board that supplies phantom power? Make sure your cables are good, a shorted mic cable can blow an interface op-amp in less than a second.  The Mini may have blown on it's own, as I recall the mBox series did have some problems along those lines.
The general rule with phantom power is, do not plug (or unplug) any device with it on, this holds true for the interface into the computer or to XLR->Mic / XLR->Interface.  After turning off phantom power I usually wait at least 15-30 seconds to let voltage drain from the circuits before starting to remove cables...etc.
As you can tell, I'm on the cautious side when it comes to phantom power and mics/mixing boards, I worked at a studio that had mics valued at $5,000 - $10,000 and a mix board that cost far beyond that... always play it safe.