Question about USB Headsets and SL

It seems that when I use a USB headset I must plug in the headset before starting up the viewer or if I am logged into SL I have to re log if I want to plug in my headset and use it. Is there any settings that could be changed to allow me to plug in and use my headset without restarting the viewer?

I've been trying to get my USB table mic to work with SL with no luck. It works fine otherwise, just not with SL.

If there is such a setting anywhere, I have failed to find it. I have found this practical in instances where I wish to get sound from SL on speakers and Winamp on headset, but other than that it's a (minor) annoyance.

unfortunately there is no setting for it. I've been using USB headset with SL since voice first came. SL only polls the device list for input/output when SLvoice first starts, after that your outta luck. At least it's not as bad now as it use to be, where anytime you TP'd sound would reset to 'windows default' completely ignoring your ingame settings.

Toggling voice off and on again will cause SLVoice to restart and look at the devices again, I think.

Try to think of your USB headset as your built in soundcard. In fact the USB headset IS a headset AND soundcard.

So what would happen if you tried to use any program's audio portion on your PC without a soundcard? It wouldn't work.

Most programs require sound devices to be connected prior to running the program. Connecting a sound device while a program is running does not always alert the program that such has happened. Some programs, however, do allow USB microphones to be plugged in while they're running but I've found those few and far between.

So... leave the USB headset plugged in, set your audio in and out device preferences in the Voice tab of SL's preferences, and use your PC's control panel to select your default (i.e. your built in audio soundcard for playback if that's your preference).

Cheers.