When I click on Audacity-win-2.0.3.exe or Audacity-win-2.0.4.exe I get a momentary small black window, which immediately disappears, then nothing. I am using Windows 7, Home Premium, 32 bit. A few weeks ago I was using Audacity 2.0.3 without any trouble, then my pc crashed, and I recovered it from an earlier backup which didn’t include Audacity. I disabled a lot of the services in the hope of removing what had caused the crash; successfully, I think, as everything has been running fine, except for this problem with Audacity. Could there be a problem with a service which I have disabled? Does anyone have any ideas?
Computer crashes are usually caused by faulty drivers or occasionally, faulty hardware. Disabling services is a very blunt solution that could cause programs and functions not to run.
I would enable all services then find out what caused the computer to crash by trying WhoCrashed, which is mentioned here: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/faq_errors.html#reboot .
Gale
Gale
I have now re-enabled all the services, and my computer seems to be running normally, so I’ve no idea what caused the original crash. However, Audacity will still not run. Can you suggest anything else I can try?
Joncon42
If you want to find that out, install WhoCrashed as I suggested which will look at the memory dump. It’s a simple as pressing a button once you have installed that program.
There is a good chance it’s the same problem that caused the computer to crash, so that may be a good reason to check the cause in WhoCrashed.
When you start Audacity and you just see a black screen momentarily, is Audacity still running in Windows Task Manager, so that you have to force quit Audacity?
Did you use Windows system restore and are you at a restore point from the time before the crash (when 2.0.3 was working)? If so what you could try would be to undo the system restore, fix the problem driver or hardware identified in WhoCrashed, set a restore point, then try starting Audacity.
Gale
I have done as you suggested, but the report shows “Crash dumps are enabled but no valid crash dumps have been found”. The computer never actually rebooted or showed a blue screen; its just that Audacity won’t open when I click the exe file. I have also noticed some odd behaviour in Google Earth streetview, with large blocks of random colours appearing. All very irritating.
Joncon42
You said
my pc crashed
so the memory dump for that crash would have been helpful.
So have you undone System Restore to the older Restore Point?
I think that would be best, then look at your video drivers as the most likely cause of the issue.
Do you have a branded computer like Dell or HP or Lenovo? If so, go to the computer manufacturer’s web site and obtain and install the latest video drivers for your machine for Windows 7 32-bit (assuming you are using the built-in video card).
Gale