A WAV file is a format used for storing recorded music. There are many such formats - other formats are WMV and MP3. WAV preserves all the detail of the recording, but at the cost of giving large files. Most people's ears can't hear that much detail, so formats like WMV and MP3 save space by trimming off bits that your ears won't notice, giving you much smaller files.

I remember having used AVRack in the past. I hated it, and ditched it in the end. I recommend uninstalling it. Your PC will then use Windows Media Player to play stuff, and that's much more user-friendly. For recording, it's better to get something designed for recording - good easy-to-use programs for this are Total Recorder and Sound Forge.

WAV files are a fairly basic thing. This is kind of leading me to the conclusion that you're new to the PC game. This isn't a put-down, just an observation.

Have you considered taking a course in this? Seriously, there's a helluva lot to learn, and it doesn't all come naturally. Otherwise you're pretty much in the position of buying a Porsche without knowing how to drive - you'll work it out for yourself in the end, but the stage in the middle might be expensive in terms of time and damage (not physical damage, but loss of files is almost guaranteed if you're not sure what you're doing). If you can justify $600-1000 on a laptop, you should be able to justify justify spending $100 and an hour or two a week on a course to learn how to use it properly.

Alternatively if you want to learn at your own pace, head down to your nearest bookshop and find some "dummies guide" books. They're good tutorials - they'll take you up to being competent in most of what you're going to need, and don't assume that you already know it all.

Graham.