Fedora Core 9 "sound recorder" error

[disneydave at the-oasis.net]

When I run "sound recorder" off the menu (APPS > SOUND&VID > Sound  
recorder), I cannot get any sound to record.  I believe the problem is  
in alsamixer but it could be hardware or some other problem.  My mic  
does work on a FC9 Dell laptop but I cannot get the right config for  
my FC9 Compaq Deskpro EN.  I have checked volume levels in every place  
I can think of.  I can open alsamixer within terminal and press F4 for  
capture but have no idea how to tell if Mic or Line 1 is enabled.   
Volume controls in alsamixer are maxed.  How do I make sure mic is  
enabled in alsamixer? Thanks in advance for any help!