I've done a little recording using my tape deck. Here's a hint I got from the guy at Radio Shack. Turn off all the appliances in the house, everything that hums, blows or ticks. Turn the fridge to its warmest setting, the furnace to low or the a/c to high. All these environmental sounds are what create a hum on your recording.

Once I made a long tape of dulcimer music. By the end of it, my poor cat was huddled on top of the tape deck, the only warm thing left in the house. When she started to mew piteously, I declared the project done.

You are right about the bad writing in the directions for your software. Bad writing seems to be the industry standard.