Alright, so switched to my XP boot, plugged it in Onboard audio and updated drivers.
Mic sounds fine across Onboard...except I dunno, it doesn't pick it up as well as my Soundcard does, it sounds a bit less clear and I hear some noise. Wow, I guess having a soundcard really did make a difference.
Uh, is there any rule against plugging the Headphones into the SOundcard, and Mic into Onboard, or would that just not work?
It seems the noise canceling is better in XP too, dunno, or maybe it's just the onboard.
So I guess we've narrowed it to down to my Soundcard, which I've already tried re-seating and updating drivers. It all started when I used some custom drivers and now even on XP, using default creative, it has issues. Le Sigh.
I guess this means my Soundcard is busted. I got it at BestBuy over a year ago, I hope I can just just walk in with the receipt & soundcard in a box and get a replacement, shipping back to Creative and all that would take a long time.
I guess this is my penance for always saying getting a Soundcard didn't make much of a difference, I can clearly hear it now.
Now that we've narrowed it to my SOundcard, is there anything I can other than returning it and getting a new one?