# Recording volume slider cannot be moved ## Causes The recording slider is purposely disabled if it cannot directly manipulate the operating system's slider for the sound device, or if that device has no system slider. Turning down the Audacity slider to prevent distortion would be inadequate unless it also turned down the system slider. It would only make existing distortion quieter instead of removing it. ## Fixes * If the slider is disabled, check first via **Audio Setup -> Recording devices** that you are selecting the correct device. Audacity should be able to control the recording level of most built-in sound devices subject to the device having appropriate Sound Device Drivers. * External recording devices such as USB turntables or tapedecks or interfaces may not have an operating system slider, especially on Mac. For all cases where there is no system slider, try to adjust the playback level on the recording device itself. * Sometimes, switching the host via **Audio Setup -> Host** may help. {% hint style="success" %} If the troubleshooting steps aren't working for you, feel free to ask in our communities: * [Forum](https://forum.audacityteam.org/) * [Discord](https://discord.gg/audacity) {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://support.audacityteam.org/troubleshooting/solving-recording-problems/recording-volume-slider-cannot-be-moved.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.