[WriteLog] USB -Audio

[Georgens, Tom]

I recently acquired a new T61 Lenovo laptop and have run into a problem
with the sound functionality.  In Writelog, in SO2R mode, the mic will
be routed to the left channel but not to the right.  Every other laptop
I have ever tried (4) has worked fine.  All the settings and audio
displays look correct.  The recorded messages correctly play on both the
right and left channels, but not the mic.  
 
I do not believe that this is a Writelog problem since I can see the
same symptom in standalone mode.  If I speak into the microphone and
slide the master volume control all the way to the left, I get audio in
my  left ear only.  As I slide to the right, I get a gradual mix of
audio in both ears until the right ear dominates.  This works until I
reach the right limit and then there is no audio in either ear.  I
loaded a newer version of the audio driver but it did not work either.
 
On top of that, this is the first laptop that cannot transmit audio
while recording messages. (6F on the sound board check)
 
I never expected a new computer to have both a major bug and a
regression in functionality.
 
I see that there are USB to Audio adapters that are very cheap.  Before
I start a trial and error process, has anybody out there had good
experiences with any of these, and do they support full SO2R
functionality.
 
Thanks
 
Tom W2SC