Plug your microphone into your PC, and switch it on, then double click the speaker icon that appears next to your clock in the right bottom corner of the taskbar. Make sure that your microphone is not muted, if the ‘mute’ option is checked uncheck it.
Then click Start -> Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices -> Click the “Voice” tab and see that everything is correct, form there you can test your hardware too (click the “test your hardware” button).

To start recording go to All Programs -> Accessories -> Entertainment -> Sound Recorder. Run the program and use to record and playback your masterpiece.