2.2.1 RC2 Aborting / Crashing on Mac OS

I’m using a late 2009 iMac 2.8Ghz quad i7 with 8GB running Yosemite 10.10.5. The main drive is a 250 GB SSD.

I’m a relative newby with Audacity but was using v2.1.0 for a couple of years. I updated to v2.2.0 this weekend and it would not run. It looks like it launches and then quits / aborts right away.
I downloaded 2.2.1 rc2 and it does the same thing.
Watching the Activity monitor, I never see Audacity in the CPU screen, but if I try to launch Audacity multiple times, I sometimes see it listed in memory screen for a few seconds.

I do not get a CRASH dump but here are a few lines from the log that I get:

Dec  5 22:52:39 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69002]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: WARNING: The Gestalt selector gestaltSystemVersion is returning 10.9.5 instead of 10.10.5. Use NSProcessInfo's operatingSystemVersion property to get correct system version number.
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: 0   CarbonCore                          0x93124291 ___Gestalt_SystemVersion_block_invoke + 135
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: 1   libdispatch.dylib                   0x901893b7 dispatch_once_f + 251
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: 2   libdispatch.dylib                   0x90189477 dispatch_once + 31
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: 3   CarbonCore                          0x9309d69d _Gestalt_SystemVersion + 1050
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: 4   CarbonCore                          0x9309c7c0 Gestalt + 150
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: 5   Audacity                            0x00455002 _ZN27wxMacDataItemBrowserControlD1Ev + 130
Dec  5 22:52:48 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: 6   Audacity                            0x004637ac _ZN16wxAccessibleBaseD0Ev + 6940
Dec  5 22:52:54 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: Error loading /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/DVCPROHDAudio.plugin/Contents/MacOS/DVCPROHDAudio:  dlopen(/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/DVCPROHDAudio.plugin/Contents/MacOS/DVCPROHDAudio, 262): Symbol not found: __keymgr_get_per_thread_data
Dec  5 22:52:54 Schlack-iMac-i7.local Audacity[69025]: Cannot find function pointer NewPlugIn for factory C5A4CE5B-0BB8-11D8-9D75-0003939615B6 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x142e6d0 </Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/DVCPROHDAudio.plugin> (bundle, not loaded)
Dec  5 22:53:18 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69060]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:22 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69070]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:24 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69078]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:26 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69085]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:27 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69089]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:28 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69094]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:30 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69098]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:38 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69112]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:52 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69128]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:55 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69136]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:56 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69142]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:57 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69146]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:53:59 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1060488[69151]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:58:33 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1185448[69524]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 22:58:37 Schlack-iMac-i7 com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (org.audacityteam.audacity.1185448[69535]): Service exited with abnormal code: 255
Dec  5 23:00:33 Schlack-iMac-i7 kernel[0]: hfs: mounted Audacity 2.2.1 on device disk7s1
Dec  5 23:00:33 Schlack-iMac-i7.local mds[58]: (Volume.Normal:2464) volume:0x7fd44e500000 ********** Bootstrapped Creating a default store:1 SpotLoc:(null) SpotVerLoc:(null) occlude:0 /Volumes/Audacity 2.2.1

Any hints on what I’m doing wrong would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Reboot your computer, then, in Finder, Go > Go to Folder and type or paste:

/Users/<your username>/Library/Application Support/audacity/SessionData

Click “Go”.

In the folder that opens, look for a file “audacity-lock-”
If it’s there, delete it, and then try launching Audacity.

The purpose of the “audacity-lock-” file is to prevent multiple instances of the Audacity application, as that could cause one instance to overwrite data that belongs to another instance. Multiple Audacity windows can be opened at the same time if really necessary, with “File menu > Open” or “File menu > New” (though it’s usually better to use multiple tracks in one Audacity window rather than multiple Audacity windows).

Hi Steve

Thank you for the quick reply.

I checked the folder and there was no file in it. Still am unable to launch Audacity.

Heinz

In that case, go one level up to:

/Users/<your username>/Library/Application Support/audacity/

and delete (or rename) the files:
audacity.cfg
pluginregistry.cfg
pluginsettings.cfg

(take care to NOT delete the EQCurves.xml file)

Steve
Thanks for replying. Sorry I’ve been AWOL for awhile.

I tried deleting all the *.cfg files but still no joy. I updated to Mac OS High Sierra and Audacity 2.2.1 and still can’t launch.

Not sure where to turn to next … Googling hasn’t produced any more info.

Thanks again

Good morning

I downloaded RC 2.2.2 and tried it. It still will not launch on my iMac. Could there be a conflict with another app / extension ? I run a pretty simple / uncomplicated ship on my iMac.

I still have copies of 2.0.6 and 2.1 seem to work … at least launch.

Thanks again.

I noticed this line in your log:

Error loading /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/DVCPROHDAudio.plugin

Try going to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL and moving DVCPROHDAudio.plugin out of the folder.

– Bill

Hi Bill

Thank you for the suggestion. After removing DVCPROHDAudio.plugin I’m still not able to launch Audacity 2.2.2 RC1.

I tried booting in safe mode again, and still no good.

I’m feeling like one of the only folks having this issue so I don’t want people to waste time on this.

I’ll keep plugging away looking for something.

Thanks again.
Heinz

Are you running Audacity from the DMG?

Dec  5 23:00:33 Schlack-iMac-i7 kernel[0]: hfs: mounted Audacity 2.2.1 on device disk7s1
Dec  5 23:00:33 Schlack-iMac-i7.local mds[58]: (Volume.Normal:2464) volume:0x7fd44e500000 ********** Bootstrapped Creating a default store:1 SpotLoc:(null) SpotVerLoc:(null) occlude:0 /Volumes/Audacity 2.2.1

– Bill

Hello Heinz,

You’re not the only one experiencing a launch failure.
I also receive “Service exited with abnormal code: 255” in my system.log. I don’t see the same logging detail as you in my configuration, so I cannot confirm these are identical issues.
I don’t recall exactly when I started seeing this problem, but I know it goes back to at least 2.2.0. I’m now working with 2.2.2. My OS version is 10.12.6

If you’re still working on this issue, and see these posts, I’m hoping you can try something for me.

Please create a new user account on your mac. Log out of your account. Then, log into the new user and launch Audacity under that account.

Do you see the same problem? In my scenario, Audacity DOES launch in the other account.

Of course, if you’ve already solved the problem, I’d be grateful if you could share your solution.

I’ll keep working on this as time allows and will post back any useful results.

Regards,
Lyle

Hi,
Has same issue with Audacity crashing when trying to browse to open a file.
Did the previous test: create a new user account on your mac. Log out of your account. Then, log into the new user and launch Audacity under that account.

Audacity is working fine if that can help some else.
But this does not really help me and was looking for a fix instead of this workaround.

Audacity 2.2.2
MAC OS v10.13.3

To the previous two posters …

Please go back to your regular account. In the Finder, using the Go > Go to Folder menu, go to ~/Library/Application Support/audacity. In that folder, trash these three files:
audacity.cfg
pluginregistry.cfg
pluginsettings.cfg

See if that helps.

I believe my failure to launch is related to my user folder not being on my boot volume.

I do have a user folder at /Users which has the same short-name and UID as my home folder on the other drive.

Following other posts here, I have wiped my audacity.cfg file in failed attempts to troubleshoot. A related post suggested only removing the “TempDir” path from the cfg file. Hmmm…

This time I copied the audacity folder from application-support in my home folder, to the mostly-empty home folder on my boot drive. I then altered the TempDir path to point to the SessionData folder that I copied to /Users/me/Library/Application Support/audacity/

The next launch worked and I’m back in business.

I’m not sure if this is directly related to the OP’s report. However, the symptoms seem similar.

Thanks, Bill. I should have noted in my original post that I had previously attempted the solutions that already exist on these forums.

Cheers,
Lyle

In my experience that is a very strange configuration. Is there a reason you have it set up that way?

– Bill

Hi Bill,

Here’s your answer. I hope you have a few minutes!

From my experience, moving the home folder is not so uncommon for advanced users. The practice goes back to the NetInfo days of NextStep and OpenStep. Apple made it much easier - I think somewhere around 10.3 or 10.4, when you could make the location change by simply right-clicking the user in the Users & Groups pref pane and selecting advanced options. Obviously, it’s a little more complicated if you already have a populated home folder - that you happen to be actively using (unadvisable, btw)! Having your home folder outside of /Users is a core OS capability and was essential for the once-popular roaming profiles. Admittedly, I tried roaming profiles on a department of eMacs running 10.4. It turns out that Adobe products, even Reader, did not play nice with a network home folder. After 9 moths I retired the practice.

My reasons for moving my home folder off the boot volume have changed slightly over the years. In the very early days when I started with the OS X Public Beta there was a size limit for the boot volume on my Beige G3. I forgot what it was, but I didn’t have too much trouble filling it (okay, maybe it was 60-70%). I had no choice but to partition my drive. I moved my home folder to the 3rd partition, and my swap file went to partition 2. I recall this being a very common arrangement in the Linux world. But, I am old and could very well be confused on that point.

After that limit when away, and drives got big enough, I began putting the OS and my home folder on one volume for a while. I stuck all my space hogs (media, disk images, archives, etc) onto another drive outside my home folder. Once SSDs hit the market, their tiny size sent me back to my old ways - OS on the SSD and home folder on a traditional drive. Beyond just the size limit, I also wanted to minimize write traffic on the SSD. Someday, I might even try to have those busy busy log files live off the SSD too. Yes, I could keep a lean home folder on the SSD and all my bulk files externally. I might do that with my next clean OS install. Having my user caches and mail.app files on an SSD might not be such a bad thing. (so, thanks for bringing this up and making me think about that).

Over the years, the only thing, other than Audacity, that ever complained about me moving my home folder (in this case from one secondary drive to another), was DropBox. It actually used the full path to locate its folder, /Volumes/drive/Users/user/DropBox, instead of the relative ~/DropBox. Once the path is reset, it worked as designed.

Does that answer your question? :slight_smile:

Regards and happy Easter,
Lyle

Hi,

Removing the files audacity.cfg, pluginregistry.cfg, pluginsettings.cfg like billw58 suggested from ~/Library/Application Support/audacity, did not solve the file open issue for me.
Any other clues ?

Thanks

Bruno

Is your home folder located anywhere other than your boot drive?
What happens if you create a new user account on your computer and launch Audacity from that account?

Hi Lyle

Well, it’s been awhile … sorry … I’m a very occasional user. I downloaded 2.3.3 in hopes that things would work for me but no luck. Same problem as before when I try to Launch Audacity.

I did try logging in as a different user and YES … Audacity works.

In answer to the home folder, it is on the boot drive. I do have things separated between two internal drives. I have an SSD as my boot drive, with my home folder and applications folder, etc. I have another internal drive that I’ve pointed iTunes, Photos, iMovie, etc to.

Really appreciate your insight if you’re still around.

Thank you
Heinz