Mic problem with Realtek HD Audio

Hoping someone can save me what little sanity I have left and help me figure out how to fix my issue.

Basically, I can't get any mic to work using realtek hd audio drivers on my pc.

My system is:

Intel Core 2duo E7200 2.53MHz 3Gb Ram
Motherboard: Asrock Wolfdale 1333-D667 R2.0
Windows xp pro sp3
NVidia 9600 GT

I have browsed the forums for a few days and found similar issues in some threads, mainly in http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=148318.

-I removed all current Realtek Drivers
-managed to disable the UAA Bus so that I could reinstall the driver I downloanded from the asrock wolfdale webpage (was unable to remove as I got an error saying it was integral to bios bootup)
-went into volume control and made sure nothing was muted, everything was at max volume, and the rear and front jacks can work at same time
-smacked head on a wall, turned off computer and had a few beers and went to bed, came back next day
-tried some of the other fixes mentioned in the above listed thread with no success

After the above attempts and reinstalls, I once again have sound, but no mic. As well, a new issue has popped up,,, I no longer have the Realtek HD audio manager. The icon was visible in the control panel but no amount of clicking would bring it up, I tried a reboot and it has subsequently disapeared. After hitting my head on another wall and drinking another beer, I started the process of remove/reinstall all over again and the same problem occured.

Any help is welcome.
Kal out

 

:wave Welcome to Major Geeks! :major
Other than maybe trying a different a brand of beer, I don't have much advice... oh... wait... try this: uninstall your audio drivers (again) and reboot (again); cancel the hardware wizard if/when it starts; download KB888111 from this direct link but do NOT install it just yet; follow the steps in this thread to 'trick' Windows in to thinking you're running SP2 when you actually have SP3; in the steps listed in that thread, install your sound drivers between steps 3 and 4; finish the steps in that thread and reboot; have another beer and pray....
:-D Good luck!

 

Thanks for trying to help, it didn't work though, infact, I have no sound at all now. I tried it twice with no success. So I tried to revert back (delete, reboot, reinstall and go back to how it was) but that was unsuccessful. I am guessing it is due to the fact that I don't know where the kb888111 file was installed to so I can't uninstall/remove it.
However, the bottom line is, I now have no sound at all and can't seem to fix that problem either.

Kal out

 

Ok, well I solved that problem. My fault really, I mean, I should have realized that when the option "disable front panel jack detection" isn't selected your sound doesn't work. Ok, speakers and headphones work again, mic still a no go though.

Kal out