When setting up the USB audio interface, there isn’t very much configuration that can be made, so I don’t quite understand why you had to configure so much stuff. The audio quality settings are fixed at 16 bit / 44.1 KHz, and the input volume is not adjustable (at least on Windows XP). The small device lives up to USB spec’s claim of “Plug and Play”.

If you want to use the stand with other mics, screw off the mic clip, and take a look into the female connector on the clip. You should see a small metal adapter, which converts the thread size from 3/8″ to 5/8″ (the clip is of the latter size, and the stand is of the former; most boom stands are the larger 5/8″ size). The adapter can be removed by unscrewing it with a coin, and inserted in the clip or shockmount of a condenser mic in a similar fashion.

As far as the mixer goes, yes, it’s very basic. It’s not quite designed for doing huge multitrack recordings.

The only cables you really need to connect to record are the mic, CD/Tape out (to the inputs of the USB interface
), and power, and the headphones if you want to monitor the sound.

Agreed. The headphones sound pretty decent, but can get hot and feel tight after pretty short periods of use.

I’ve played with my friend’s Xenyx 1204 FX, which is a very cool mixer. Don’t bother with the effects, which are mostly for reverb. The “paddles” on the faders are made of plastic, but feel durable, and the faders themselves glide very ncely. (You were referring to faders when you talked about sliders, weren’t you? The official industry name for that type of control is fader.)