Mic Usability Is Spotty

[mleader0]

I'm running Windows 10 upgraded from Windows 8, on a Lenovo G50-70. I have a headset with a microphone plugged into a combiner, plugged into the audio and microphone combo jack. For some reason, the microphone will generally work for a little while when I reinstall the driver, but decides to stop working after an hour or so of use. The laptop comes with Conexant SmartAudio HD. It does not usually start working again with a system restart. The headset does not show up in the Playback devices, nor does it show up in the Recording devices, sections of Sound. It only ever shows the original device (Conexant SmartAudio HD) that came with the laptop. I need to figure out how to get stable use from my microphone as I, currently, have limited use of my hand and arms, and am trying to use the Speech Recognition software more to meet the demands of my Computer Science homework.