Fix for a common microphone problem

[Lucky Red]

This problem has been posted before, but I haven't seen anyone post a specific and/or consistent fix for it. Attempts to contact Steam about it result in a reply a week later that they cannot support all commercial microphones.

If you notice that your mic works first game out, then stops working, try the following.

In Windows 7, go to Control Panel -> Sounds -> Recording -> Microphone -> Properties -> Advanced -> Exclusive Mode. Un-check the default checkbox for "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.".