Audacity on PC can't open .mp3 or .aup3 files that it created on laptop

Hello!

So I’ve been recording some sounds in my apartment, with Audacity, on my laptop, then attempting to transfer them via thumb drive to my PC to further process in audacity on my PC. The first issue I started having is that many of the .aup3 files will not open on my PC. I have both audacity programs updated to the best of my knowledge, but most files give me an error that Audacity, cannot open AUP3 file, use File>Open instead, which I try every time. So then I started converting the files to mp3’s on the laptop, since its the only computer that can open the project files, and attempt to open those on my computer. Now, I am getting an error that audacity on my PC does not recognize the file type, though it was created in audacity on my laptop. I cannot do any real processing of the files on my laptop because its bare bones, I really need to do the work on my PC as it has better hardware, so that’s not really an option. Why would the audacity program on my PC be having such a hard time opening these files?

I keep having the same problem. I save an audacity project file. Sometimes it saves the file as .aup. Sometimes it saves the file as .aup3. Once again, I can’t open either type of aup file. I closed audacity. Reinstalled app. Reinstalled ffmpeg again. Restarted computer. Still not working.
Also the audio sometimes just quits working. The app is unusable right now.

Life shouldn’t be this hard! :neutral_face:

OK, just to get a past a few issues: What versions of Audacity do you have on each machine? Are these both 3.3.3 ?

Note that you cannot change file extensions - this will cause a problem. .AUP and .AUP3 files are NOT interchangeable. If you haven’t already done so, it can be helpful to go into File Manager on each machine and turn on the option to View or Show File Extensions. (Usually on the View tab).

Due to the circuitous route Audacity uses to import/open files and projects, this error could occur with a damaged project file.

Another thing. Don’t try to open a project file directly from a thumb drive - copy it to the local drive first.

I am not sure why you are having the issue with .MP3 file. Do you have high confidence in your thumb drive ? As you apparently have internet on both machines, you could try transferring the files via an internet file sharing service.

Post back! :grinning:

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DebMo, you likely have two different versions of Audacity running on your system. I would uninstall both (all) of them, then download and install the latest - currently 3.3.3.

If for some unlikely reason, you need to resurrect the old version, you can always download it from here: Old Audacity versions download

Hi! Thanks for responding.

Both computers have the most updated version of audacity. Some project files can still be opened on both systems.

It turns out, I’ve discovered that I can’t open many of the files from my thumb drive on either computer now, .mp3 or .aup3. I’m going to guess that they’re becoming damaged or altered on the thumb drive somehow. Luckily it’s not all the files, but the ones with the best data seem to be affected, which is quite the setback.

I’m currently attempting to use one drive to save/transfer the remaining files, while also purchasing an actual external drive rather than just a flash drive. I think the one I have is becoming corrupted even though I’ve only had it a week. I should have done better research. Unfortunately, I think the files that won’t open might not be recoverable :sob:. Thanks for your input.

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