Hi =randy and welcome to our community
Sorry to hear about your issues. Not sure what to advise on
the audio bits. You might want to click Start > Settings >
Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Audio tab and
ensure the Default device is properly set for Sound recording. I'm
guessing it is, since you say Skype and other apps find it with no
issue.
I know version 2 of Captivate had an issue with RealTek sound
cards and that was addressed with a patch. But you are saying you
have Captivate 3. This would probably be the first report I've
heard where Captivate 3 doesn't like the microphone. You should
definitely report the issue via the Bug Reporting form. You may do
that by
clicking
here and completing the form you should find there.
As for not finding the .DAT file, I assure you it is there.
You may simply be not seeing it because of the way Windows is
configured. I believe that by default, it hides this area. So
before you search for it again, please make the following changes:
Open Windows Explorer (Not Internet Explorer,
Windows Explorer the file browser)
Click Tools > Folder Options... > View tab
Choose the option labeled "Show hidden files and folders"
DE-select the check box labeled "Hide protected operating
system files (Recommended)
Click the OK button and search for the file now and I'm
betting a dollar against a used gum wrapper you will find it.
Sincerely... Rick