Audacity crashing when exporting

[kozikowski]

OK. I did the experiment on Stella, my 15" MBP. I created a short mono sound file. File > Export > Export as WAV to my desktop. NoiseTest1.wav.

Then I immediately did it again. file > Export > Export as WAV to my desktop. NoiseTest2.wav.

Then I did it two more times.

Stella didn’t even blink.

One more note. When Audacity fails, does it freeze or vanish?

Post a note if anything I do isn’t exactly the way you do it. You can have magic problems with exporting files. For one example, if you put a slash mark in the filename, the Mac may go charging off looking for a drive that doesn’t exist. Back to worrying about drives again.

Koz

[alex725]

Sorry, I haven’t had the time yet to answer to everything yet (which I’ll still get to) but I’ll try to answer at least this:
I’m on Windows btw, not Mac.

I’m posting a few screenshots and a description on imgur (https://imgur.com/a/vXE0aLx) because It says that I can’t embed multiple pictures here. I hope that’s fine.

[kozikowski]

@alex725

I’m on Windows btw, not Mac.

Yes. You asked about your Mac and I said I’d try it on mine. Did you try it on yours?

@alex725

I haven’t had the time yet to answer to everything yet

That’s one of the nice things about this Forum format. No time limit. The record is a production presenter (reader) who took a bit over a year to get rolling.

I am in the middle of Real Life and won’t be able to go look at the graphics until I get back. There is one caution. Whichever third party display service you pick can’t require an account.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Those illustrations are from the second pass, right?

Set up for a first pass. Save a project. Close Audacity.

Open Audacity. Will it open and play the Project you just saved?

Koz

[alex725]

Alright I’m going to try to answer everything I haven’t answered yet.

@kozikowski

Those illustrations are from the second pass, right?

Set up for a first pass. Save a project. Close Audacity.

Open Audacity. Will it open and play the Project you just saved?

Koz

I just redid that screenshot list. It should be clear now. Audacity plays the project I just saved just fine once I open it after the crash. I also did a video and uploaded it on youtube privately (https://youtu.be/T9Nq7OiThcw) Weirdly enough, I got different results. Maybe because I had OBS open and was recording my screen with it?

@kozikowski

Yes. You asked about your Mac and I said I’d try it on mine. Did you try it on yours?

I just did and didn’t have any problems on the MacBook as expected.

@kozikowski

Whichever third party display service you pick can’t require an account.

Okay then just let me know if imgur or youtube is not good because I am using an account there.

@kozikowski

One more note. When Audacity fails, does it freeze or vanish?

Audacity vanishes immediately. No freezing.

@kozikowski

Post a note if anything I do isn’t exactly the way you do it. You can have magic problems with exporting files. For one example, if you put a slash mark in the filename, the Mac may go charging off looking for a drive that doesn’t exist. Back to worrying about drives again.

The only special character I recall using was “_”, so I doubt the file name could have been a problem. Audacity crashes even without me giving the file a name.

@kozikowski

Which Audacity? Audacity (upper left) > About Audacity.

Audacity 3.3.3, should be the latest one.

@kozikowski

And which Mac? Right-Click or Control+Click > Apple (upper left). About this Mac.

MacBook Air M2, 2022, Ventura 13.3.1 (a)

@kozikowski

That’s less good. An inexperienced troubleshooter uses phrases like: “This obviously can’t be the problem, so we’ll stop looking here.”

Alright, sorry, just trying to narrow the problem down.
I think the rest should already be answered by this reply. If not, then please let me know.

[kozikowski]

@alex725

Audacity plays the project I just saved just fine once I open it after the crash.

Close. Save a Project and close Audacity.

Open Audacity and open the project you just saved.

Koz

[alex725]

@kozikowski

Close. Save a Project and close Audacity.

Open Audacity and open the project you just saved.

Okay. Yeah, that works. Is that supposed to be the solution, or what?

[kozikowski]

@alex725

Is that supposed to be the solution, or what?

That’s the suggestion right before I say we need to wait for a Windows forum elf.

I’m out of ideas.

Koz

[kozikowski]

That’s not Desperation Method, by the way. The last step in unsuccessful troubleshooting is burn it off, hose it down, and start over.

Start the machine with a Program CD, DVD, or Thumb Drive. Format the hard drive (return to Factory Fresh) and put the operating system (Windows) and all the applications on fresh. I’m reasonably sure your problem is software and the basic machine hardware is probably OK.

If that fails, buy a new machine.

Koz

[kozikowski]

A techie friend found the incantations for creating bootable media.

Create installation media for Windows - Microsoft Support

Koz

[alex725]

Thanks but I think at this point I’m just going to switch over to another DAW. Personally, resetting my machine is not worth it. But thanks a lot for the support. If I can’t stand using any other DAW then I’ll come back to this.

[kozikowski]

If you do discover what the problem is, post back. It is a forum. Users helping each other.

Also post what the new DAW is.

Koz

[alex725]

Will do, if I ever go back to Audacity and figure out the problem somehow.
The new DAW that I’m in the process of learning is Adobe Audition.