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When I record with audacity (I haven't tried other programs yet) I have loud parts and very soft parts in the recording. Some parts are just missing (flat line). The microphone didn't move and neither did the object creating the sound. The microphone is the built-in one in the Toshiba Satellite S50t-B008/0H, Windows 8.
How do I make sure the microphone records consistently?
Built-in mics typically have a massive amount of compression and also variable makeup gain and/or reduction assigned to it at the OS level prior to its input ever making into your DAW software. Likewise, depending on your system's setup, it might also have a gate on it, too, which could explain a lack of something recorded. The signal at that time of your recording might never have reached the threshold to open the gate. The gate, if present, might also be something that was enabled in Audacity, so look there, too.
Maybe look into getting a more decent USB mic (there are a lot of affordable models around, e.g. by Blue or Samson or Behringer etc.), and avoid the internal mic completely.
