No sound. Cursor stops.

I was playing a song on Audacity and it was working fine. When I clicked on the timeline to move the playing location, I got a message that the playback device could not be loaded. Then, no more sound. I restarted Audacity, and the device I had been using (“HDA [something I don’t remember]”) was gone, and now I can only choose between “pulse” and “default” (from Alsa). When I try either one, the audio plays for like 50 milliseconds, and then the cursor stands still forever (as well as the volume bars), and no audio comes out anymore.
The program itself doesn’t crash or freeze.
Any ideas?
Thanks.

I was playing a song on Audacity

How? Were you listening to the little speakers on your laptop? Describe what you were doing. We have to build your system in our imaginations.

Koz

Your info panel claims Windows 10.

Which three-number Audacity are you using and for which OS?

Koz