Fixing the Microphone in Steam Games with Realtek HD Audio

With the release of Team Fortress 2 on steam I was eager to get back into first person shooters and besides I've always enjoyed Team Fortress Classic. In any case I went to use the in game voice chat with steam and ended up annoying the hell out of my team mates when my microphone spewed out static and looped back sounds from the game. This is what I did to fix it:

1. Downloaded the reference drivers from Realtek's website, to my computer.
2. Uninstalled my old drivers
3. Rebooted
4. Reinstalled my new reference drivers.
5. Opened the Windows Control Panel >> Sounds and Audio Devices
   
6. Click the "Volume" Tab
7. Clicked Advanced...
8. Clicked "Options" menu then selected "Properties"
9. Click the drop down list and selected "Realtek HDA Primary Input"
10. Selected the check mark on "Stereo Mix" to mute it
11. Saved the settings by closing it.
12. Opened the Realtek Control Panel (Windows Control Panel >> "Realtek Sound Effect Manager")
13. Clicked the "Mixer" tab
14. Under the "Record" section mute the "Stereo Mix" again
15. Done