Jumped in late to this thread and so, if not helpful, simply disregard,
You can try and RIP to hdd using an audio ripper, something along the lines
of CDex, AudioGrabber, or perhaps Total Recorder (really cheap!)...
Freeware examples:
http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/features.php
http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/
Note: Audiograbber became freeware Feb 2004.
Really Cheap!
http://www.totalrecorder.com/
Freeware Audio Editor:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
My personal favorite - Audio - do-everything app:
http://www.goldwave.com
Alternatively, your sound card may offer a record input option called
something like "What You Hear", or "Stereo-Mix." Using your favorite sound
recorder app, select "Stereo Mix" (or "What You Hear") as the input source,
and the audio from your player application should be available for recording
to hdd.
SoundBlaster Live! (Creative) places a "What You Hear" input in the
Recording section of the Windows Volume Control dialog box by default. In
the case of Turtle Beach (Santa Cruz) and other OEMs, the "Stereo Mix"
record option is usually accessible from...
1.. Control Panel | Sounds and Audio Devices | Volume tab.
2.. Click on the Advanced button.
3.. Select Options | Properties.
4.. In the Adjust Volume dialog, select the Recording option.
5.. In the "Show the following volume controls:", enable "Stereo Mix"
As a last resort -- and this method requires a trail & error approach
because you won't have the use of speaker outputs -- one can forcibly map
the line output to microphone/ aux input, by using an inexpensive adapter
cable purchased from Radio Shack.
At the rear of your soundcard (or front), insert one end of the male-to-male
stereo adapter into Line-Output and the other end is then inserted into
auxiliary or Microphone-Input jack.
With this method, you can then use your favorite sound recording app by
selecting the Aux/ Mic input as the recording source. Finding a correct
balance between output/ input levels will take some care, but it does work
better than placing live microphones placed in front of speakers.