Hi Steve !
I think I must have deleted the original file that was giving me fits so I’m not able to test your theory.
I ended up doing the same thing as last time. I exported the files as mp3s , copied them to a new project and now it’s working fine, for now. It’s a band aid fix and not a real one so it still concerns me.
I’m still vexed as to why it’s doing this, but I appreciate you trying to help.
If you need to use that workaround again, it would be better to export as WAV files. That requires more disk space, but WAV files have better sound quality than MP3.
I would like to take a look at an .aup3 file that demonstrates this issue - if you care to zip it up and upload it to a public file server, then post or PM me the link.
I PMed you man. Let me know if you don’t get it.
Also, I got this error message this morning. I sent it. Not sure if you get it or someone else but just wanted to let you know.
The developers (not the Forum elves) get these sent error messages - and they value them in helping to track down bugs.
Thanks for sending it on to them.
Peter.
Got it - and I am able to duplicate the horrendous freezing that you experienced.
Actually, I was hoping you could send a project that was much earlier in it’s degradation cycle such as you describe above. Is this possible ?
Unfortunately, I no longer have those files, but if it happens again I’ll try to remember to send it to you right away. Thank you for your diligence with this !
kmarler,
I have been able to “rescue” the project you finally sent me by using a program I have been developing. I have uploaded the “rescued” file and sent you a link to it.
Windows 64-bit ONLY.
OK, I have a developed a special “RESCUE” version of Audacity which can repair or rescue .aup3 projects that are broken due to excessive envelope control points (typically in excess of 1,000,000 points), which tends to cause excessive/extreme slowdowns, not responding, freezes, and crashes, including Exception code 0xc0000005. To run, download the entire zip file from here:https://www.dropbox.com/s/uay1r7yo8gupuju/AudacityRescue.zip?dl=0, unzip the project, and from the UNZIPPED folder, run AudacityRescue.exe. In AudacityRescue, load your project, and save. This program is based on a future “Alpha” test version of Audacity, so the screen may look subtly different. Do NOT do any production with this program. Use it soley to RESCUE your project. If you have not already done so, you may need to update your Audacity to 3.0.3 to use the project. This program currently only runs under Windows 64-bit… If you do not have access to a Windows machine, zip it up and PM me a link. I’ll try to get it fixed for you. Thank you.
(Note that it is always best to run a virus checker on any program you download. Also, it is always best to back up your project.)
It will normally take a few minutes for the project load. Then a window will then tell you how many Envelope points were deleted. This window will not occur if there are no excesive envelope points, indicating that your project is not affected by this situation. Note that this program will not prevent the recurrence of excessive envelope points.
Note: this program will NOT fix corrupted projects (error code 11) or projects that fail “to read from a file in C”.
(1) I’m glad you got your data back. 
(2) The developers are working on this issue.