internal computer mic

hey I'm trying to use my sound card to record something. my laptop has an internal mic. I know, I know its retarded to try to use it but I'm going to anyway. I just want a scratch pad to screw around with. Anyway...when I use the internal mic there is so much background noise that the meters are always going. I've also tried plugging in an external mic and I can't get it to do anything. Any ideas? thanks

Since laptop mics are sitting in the same case as fan and harddrive it's no surprise that they pick up their noise. Use a noise gate to get rid of the noise, at least in pauses. But these mics sound terrible. What kind of external mic did you try? The mic input expects you to plug in a headset or at least some other kind of electret mic to work properly.

Just get one of these 2$ electret mics from a dollar store (you know, the kind used for Skype conversations, etc.) The quality of the mics themselves are usually pretty decent. It's usually the internal sound card electronics that gives you all this noise. Try it, it's not gonna break the bank...