Muted or "too-soft" microphone solution

I use a microphone pretty frequently for online phone calls through Skype but after a recent reformat, it didn't work anymore.

I was pretty sure it wasn't nothing to do with the hardware. It was a fresh install after all and the microphone has been working all along. The problem was left alone for months until finally today I decided to poke around and fix the problem.

After trawling, it seems like quite a few have the same symptoms. No sound or waaaay too soft sound. Mic volume adjustment options are all greyed out and therefore unadjustable.

Some people ask me to pester manufacturer for drivers. In my case, Realtek. It's nothing to do with drivers or hardware.

The solution I use, though strange, was this:

Part 1: Make sure the volume control for the jacks are maxed out.
1. Use the usual Volume Control.
2. Under the menu, choose "Options" Then "Properties"
3. Under "Show the following volume controls", check the one you plug your mic into. (It's usually pink in. Whether rear or front, only you'd know where you plugged yours)
4. Click OK.
5. The option that you check now appears for volume adjustment. Max it out.

Part 2: Getting the mic to work
1. Go to Control Panel.
2. Double click "Sound and Audio Devices"
3. Go to the "Voice" tab.
4. Click the "Test Hardware" button and follow the rest of the instructions there. Adjust the recording volume in one of the steps if need be.