Audiobox Won't Record...Except One Way

My computer recently “updated” to Windows 10, and now the only way Audacity will record is if there are no tracks in the project file, which is rather inconvenient when you’re recording musical arrangements. When I click record, no matter the device (I use audiobox primarily but built in mic won’t work, stereo mix won’t, etc.) a blinking cursor appears, and I get the notification that the cursor started before 0 because I have my latency settings adjusted.

If I record with no tracks, no problem. The moment I add another file of any kind it starts acting up. Been a long week man. Please help.

Edit > Preferences > Recording. If you’re overdubbing (listen to a backing track while you record new work), then [X]overdubbing should be selected, and [X]always record a new track.

Starting a track before zero is how Audacity compensates for Recording Latency. I’m not sure how you get a latency setting “stuck.”

Koz

Some postings said you can get around this by taking the Time Shift Tool (two sideways arrows), click and shove your backing track to the right. The problem appears when “zero time” on the track doesn’t match zero time on the timeline. The music starts too early.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/time_shift_tool.html

Again, I’m not sure how you would get a setting stuck…

Koz

The latency setting isn’t stuck, it’s just how I want it to be ha. No issues there. I’ll check the overdubbing box and touch base!

it’s just how I want it to be

It’s just how you want it to be for overdubbing. If you’re plain recording and press R, you expect the first note of your show to match the first note of the existing track. The Latency compensation has to vanish.

It’s only in overdubbing when you press R that Audacity has to start playing the backing track to you ahead of time in order to make up for the computer delays. Somehow that little dance has gotten out of step.

Koz

Sorry if I caused confusion. My single, exclusive problem has nothing to do with latency, it’s that with my audiobox, I press record and the cursor just blinks. Latency issues are not a thing here lol. I checked overdubbing and the box below it, they’re as they should be. The problem ceases when I use the real-tek hi-def recording option, which doesn’t help me.

Thesis Statement: I have Windows 10 and an audiobox, and audacity won’t let me record.

I press record and the cursor just blinks.

If the cursor blinks and doesn’t move, Audacity is not getting audio data, or it thinks it’s not getting data.

My two go-to steps are to do a deep shutdown of Windows. Shift-Shutdown, wait a bit and bring it up again. That resets more things than a simple shutdown or restart.

Then go into Windows control panels > recording and make sure the proper device display has the little green audio meter bouncing with the sound.

Then launch Audacity and I expect it to work.

Fine details of Windows data management are beyond me, so I’m going to slowly back away…

Koz