Inspect the sound card. There should be a ¼-inch input on the back of the sound card or on a breakout box. If you have a regular consumer sound card there will only be ?-inch inputs on the back of the card. This will determine the kind of patch cord needed.
Connect the patch cord to the soundcard. If the sound card has a ¼-inch input then insert both directly into the right and left inputs on the sound card. If not, use the ?-inch input which will be the microphone, normally color-coded red.
Connect the patch cord to the mixer/soundboard. This should be going into the main outputs.
Open the sound mixer. This is under \"Sound Devices\" in the Control Panel. Adjust the volume to mid-level.
Connect an instrument to one of the mixer's channels. Make sure the volume for that channel is turned all the way down. Play the instrument and check to see if the audio is registering. This should be coming through on the level meters on the mixing console (if it has any) or the mixer software. Gradually turn the volume up while playing until it reaches a comfortable level.