Audacity startup slows down dramatically after 2nd opening

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Heya

I’ve had an issue on both Audacity 2.0.0 and now Audacity 2.1.2 for my Windows 8.1 operating system. When starting Audacity, it takes a good minute or two to boot up. Until then, there is no indication that Audacity is starting until Audacity just appears. The thing is, Audacity starts relatively quickly (5-10 seconds) the first two times I boot it up after installing. I wonder if there’s a problem with Audacity finding certain files.

I’ve taken the advice of some other threads on this forum and disabled all the VST effects I don’t need. (That is, I disabled all five sets of VST effects.) No dice.

My audacity folder for 2.1.2 is in Program Files (x86), and I haven’t moved anything around inside it.

Please help.

2

OP here. I disabled all the non built-in plugins and Audacity now starts up much faster (5 seconds) except on the first startup per Windows reboot. The first startup after a Windows reboot needs ~3 minutes.

3

Wow that is very slow. (about 5 seconds on my machine)
When the problem occurs, if you could copy and paste the contents of “Help > Show Log” into your reply, it may give us an indication of what the problem is.

4

I expect something else is going on, now you find that the behaviour has changed. Perhaps there is scanning by security applications.

2.1.2 caches registered third-party plugins so they should not cause excessive startup delay.

Do you have Audacity in your startup group? It may be slow launching if it is juggling for resources while Windows is loading.

You said there is no indication that Audacity is launching, but there should be a splash screen before the Audacity application window appears.


Gale

5

You said there is no indication that Audacity is launching, but there should be a splash screen before the Audacity application window appears.

Actually, the splash screen is there the whole time. When I had the portable version 2.0.0, there was no splash screen and thus no indication of anything happening, by which I primarily mean that my mouse cursor doesn’t have the “loading” circle. Since I’m now probably having the same problem in 2.1.2, I thought it worth mentioning.

2.1.2 caches registered third-party plugins so they should not cause excessive startup delay.

I should mention that a plugin called SC4 keeps Enabling itself when I start up Audacity even though I Disable it each time. Weird.

Do you have Audacity in your startup group? It may be slow launching if it is juggling for resources while Windows is loading.

You know, when I measured the 3 minute startup, it was pretty early after a Windows reboot, though not as part of my startup group. I just measured the startup time twice more, both after a solid chunk of time after a Windows reboot. They both clocked in at a little over a minute. Here’s a log from one of these measurements:

13:39:41: Audacity 2.1.2
13:39:41: Trying to load FFmpeg libraries...
13:39:41: Trying to load FFmpeg libraries from system paths. File name is 'avformat-55.dll'.
13:39:41: Looking up PATH environment variable...
13:39:41: PATH = 'C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\iCLS Client\;C:\Program Files\Intel\iCLS Client\;C:\windows\system32;C:\windows;C:\windows\System32\Wbem;C:\windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\OpenCL SDK\2.0\bin\x86;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\OpenCL SDK\2.0\bin\x64;C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\DAL;C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\IPT;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\DAL;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\IPT;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Shared;C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\;C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin\;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intel\WirelessCommon\;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Python27;C:\Python27\Scripts;C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTSystem\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_79\bin'
13:39:41: Checking that '' is in PATH...
13:39:41: FFmpeg directory is in PATH.
13:39:41: Checking for monolithic avformat from 'avformat-55.dll'.
13:39:41: Error: Failed to load shared library 'avformat-55.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:39:41: Loading avutil from ''.
13:39:41: Error: Failed to load shared library '.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:39:41: Loading avcodec from ''.
13:39:41: Error: Failed to load shared library '.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:39:41: Loading avformat from 'avformat-55.dll'.
13:39:41: Error: Failed to load shared library 'avformat-55.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:39:41: Error: Failed to load FFmpeg libraries.
13:39:41: Error: Failed to find compatible FFmpeg libraries.

Usually after the first startup, all other startups clock in at ~5 seconds. Here’s a log of one of those.

13:47:54: Audacity 2.1.2
13:47:54: Trying to load FFmpeg libraries...
13:47:54: Trying to load FFmpeg libraries from system paths. File name is 'avformat-55.dll'.
13:47:54: Looking up PATH environment variable...
13:47:54: PATH = 'C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\iCLS Client\;C:\Program Files\Intel\iCLS Client\;C:\windows\system32;C:\windows;C:\windows\System32\Wbem;C:\windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\OpenCL SDK\2.0\bin\x86;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\OpenCL SDK\2.0\bin\x64;C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\DAL;C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\IPT;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\DAL;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\IPT;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Shared;C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\;C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin\;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intel\WirelessCommon\;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Python27;C:\Python27\Scripts;C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTSystem\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_79\bin'
13:47:54: Checking that '' is in PATH...
13:47:54: FFmpeg directory is in PATH.
13:47:54: Checking for monolithic avformat from 'avformat-55.dll'.
13:47:54: Error: Failed to load shared library 'avformat-55.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:47:54: Loading avutil from ''.
13:47:54: Error: Failed to load shared library '.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:47:54: Loading avcodec from ''.
13:47:54: Error: Failed to load shared library '.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:47:54: Loading avformat from 'avformat-55.dll'.
13:47:54: Error: Failed to load shared library 'avformat-55.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
13:47:54: Error: Failed to load FFmpeg libraries.
13:47:54: Error: Failed to find compatible FFmpeg libraries.

Hope you can help!

6

Yes that’s a bug. I’m not sure what’s causing it, but other than being a bit weird, I think it’s harmless. We’re looking into that.

Nothing jumps out at me about those log messages, they look fairly normal to me, but I don’t use Windows.

What anti-virus / security applications do you have on your machine? You could try disconnecting from the Internet (for safety), then temporarily shut down your anti-virus / security application(s), then try launching Audacity. If Audacity then loads without the long delay, the most likely solution would be to white-list Audacity in your security apps. (Don’t forget to restart your anti-virus before reconnecting to the Internet).

7

Another possibility: do you have any “computer maintenance” programs installed? Some such products can cause substantial delays during first start-up while they try to see if updates are available.

8

What anti-virus / security applications do you have on your machine? You could try disconnecting from the Internet (for safety), then temporarily shut down your anti-virus / security application(s), then try launching Audacity. If Audacity then loads without the long delay, the most likely solution would be to white-list Audacity in your security apps. (Don’t forget to restart your anti-virus before reconnecting to the Internet).

I use Avast. I disabled all the real-time shields and startup up Audacity for the first time since the last reboot, and it still took a minute.

Another possibility: do you have any “computer maintenance” programs installed? Some such products can cause substantial delays during first start-up while they try to see if updates are available.

Funny enough, Avast is the only program I have running in the background that would keep track of outdated software. It never told me if there were new versions of Audacity though, perhaps because I had the portable version.

9

I doubt that they keep version information for Audacity as it is not a commercial product. My thought was that they may be searching their database, and you are waiting for that search to time out.

Are you able to try it with Avast completely shut down?
(by the way, I’ve used older versions of Avast and never had this problem, but such programs are regularly updated so that may have changed)

10

I recall someone else on the Forum found Audacity was very slow to launch first time, then very quick on subsequent launches. I never see so pronounced an effect as that, but I have old-fashioned spinning disks.

It is expected that application prefetching will mean that subsequent launches of an application will be quicker. But you were seeing the opposite to begin with.

The log gets written late in the launch process, so does not indicate how long the launch took.


Gale

11

My thought was that they may be searching their database, and you are waiting for that search to time out.

There doesn’t seem to be any network usage at all while I’m starting Audacity for the first time per reboot. Rather, starting Audacity seems to cause an immediate jump to max Disk usage that lasts until a few seconds before Audacity actually appears.

Are you able to try it with Avast completely shut down?

Avast can’t be shut down completely anymore unless I uninstall it, but I did command it to disable the background process. “The background process is not running”, the interface says. No change to Audacity’s startup.

I recall someone else on the Forum found Audacity was very slow to launch first time, then very quick on subsequent launches. I never see so pronounced an effect as that, but I have old-fashioned spinning disks.

I followed this topic (https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/why-does-it-seem-to-take-forever-for-audacity-to-open/14543/1). Although I have some FL Studio VSTs installed, the VST box in Audacity is unchecked. I tried removing the audacity.cfg file, but that made Audacity take 3 minutes to boot up, despite the nonnative effects still being disabled. The solution to that problem was disabling the Audio Units plugins, but Audacity doesn’t have the option to disable those anymore.

12

Audio Units plug-ins are specific to Mac OS X, so that option is not available on Windows or Linux.

I’m running out of ideas. Have you tried disabling all effect types, just to see if it makes any difference?

13

Have you tried disabling all effect types, just to see if it makes any difference?

I just tried that, disabling all effects. (SC4 and Stereo to Mono turn on upon restart though.) No change in startup time.

I noticed that the time listed in the log (10:49:53) is, according to my Windows clock, the same time Audacity actually appears, over a minute after I initiate the .exe. Whatever is causing the delay must be occurring before “Audacity 2.1.2” is printed in the log, if that helps.

10:49:53: Audacity 2.1.2
10:49:53: Trying to load FFmpeg libraries...
10:49:53: Trying to load FFmpeg libraries from system paths. File name is 'avformat-55.dll'.
10:49:53: Looking up PATH environment variable...
10:49:53: PATH = 'C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\iCLS Client\;C:\Program Files\Intel\iCLS Client\;C:\windows\system32;C:\windows;C:\windows\System32\Wbem;C:\windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\OpenCL SDK\2.0\bin\x86;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\OpenCL SDK\2.0\bin\x64;C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\DAL;C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\IPT;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\DAL;C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Management Engine Components\IPT;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Shared;C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\;C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin\;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intel\WirelessCommon\;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Python27;C:\Python27\Scripts;C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTSystem\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_79\bin'
10:49:53: Checking that '' is in PATH...
10:49:53: FFmpeg directory is in PATH.
10:49:53: Checking for monolithic avformat from 'avformat-55.dll'.
10:49:53: Error: Failed to load shared library 'avformat-55.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
10:49:53: Loading avutil from ''.
10:49:53: Error: Failed to load shared library '.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
10:49:53: Loading avcodec from ''.
10:49:53: Error: Failed to load shared library '.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
10:49:53: Loading avformat from 'avformat-55.dll'.
10:49:53: Error: Failed to load shared library 'avformat-55.dll' (error 126: the specified module could not be found.)
10:49:53: Error: Failed to load FFmpeg libraries.
10:49:53: Error: Failed to find compatible FFmpeg libraries.

Booting it up in Safe Mode makes it opening nearly immediately (2 secs), regardless of if it’s the first time or subsequent.

Booting it up as Administrator doesn’t make a difference, and neither does adding the .exe as an exception in my antivirus.

14

As I said, it should not be anything to do with plugins of any type, unless they are faulty or interacting with Audacity in some unexpected way.

When that old Mac topic was written, Audacity was loading all Audio Units installed on the system before the Audacity window appeared.

Now, on Windows and Linux as well as Mac, plugins should as I understand it only be loaded when first called from the Effect menu.


Gale

15

Stereo to Mono remains disabled after restart in 2.1.3-alpha, so I think that is already fixed.

Yes, as I already said, the log is written late on in the launch process.

Thanks for testing the antivirus exception.

The most obvious reason for the Safe Mode difference is that the Windows Audio service is disabled in Safe Mode. Audacity polls all audio devices when launching.

Perhaps you could attach Help > Audio Device Info… from top right of Audacity so we can see your audio devices.

Do you have correct drivers for all your audio devices?

You can enable or disable services as you wish in services.msc.


Gale

16

Perhaps you could attach Help > Audio Device Info… from top right of Audacity so we can see your audio devices.

I hope this helps.

==============================
Default recording device number: 1
Default playback device number: 4
==============================
Device ID: 0
Device name: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 1
Device name: Stereo Mix (Realtek High Defini
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 2
Device name: Microphone (Realtek High Defini
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 3
Device name: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Output
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Device ID: 4
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definiti
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Device ID: 5
Device name: S241HL (Intel(R) Display Audio)
Host name: MME
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.090000
Low Playback Latency: 0.090000
High Recording Latency: 0.180000
High Playback Latency: 0.180000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Device ID: 6
Device name: Primary Sound Capture Driver
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.120000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.240000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 7
Device name: Stereo Mix (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.120000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.240000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 8
Device name: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.120000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.240000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 9
Device name: Primary Sound Driver
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.120000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.240000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 10
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.120000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.240000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 11
Device name: S241HL (Intel(R) Display Audio)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.120000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.240000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 12
Device name: S241HL (Intel(R) Display Audio)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.003000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.010000
Supported Rates:
    48000
==============================
Device ID: 13
Device name: S241HL (Intel(R) Display Audio) (loopback)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010000
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 14
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: 0.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.003000
High Recording Latency: 0.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.010159
Supported Rates:
    44100
==============================
Device ID: 15
Device name: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) (loopback)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010159
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 16
Device name: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010159
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 17
Device name: Stereo Mix (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Host name: Windows WASAPI
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.003000
Low Playback Latency: 0.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.010159
High Playback Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Selected recording device: 1 - Stereo Mix (Realtek High Defini
Selected playback device: 4 - Speakers (Realtek High Definiti
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    176400
    192000
    352800
    384000
==============================
Available mixers:
==============================
Available recording sources:
0 - Master
==============================
Available playback volumes:
0 - PCM
==============================
Recording volume is native
Playback volume is native

(S241HL is the model of my external monitor.)

Do you have correct drivers for all your audio devices?

Yep, just checked. All my Audio I/O and Sound devices have the current driver.

17

What happens if you disable that playback device?

Who makes those drivers when you look in Device Manager? If they are made by Microsoft they are not the correct drivers.

If you have not already done so, the best way to check for audio drivers is to go to your computer manufacturer’s site, assuming you have a branded computer like Dell or Lenovo.

What happens if you disable only the Windows Audio service in sevices.msc then hold SHIFT and click on the Power button to do a full shut down. Does Audacity launch in 2 seconds when you reboot?


Gale

18

What happens if you disable that playback device?

I tried disconnecting the monitor before starting Audacity, as well as rebooting windows without the monitor connected and starting Audacity, neither made a difference.

Who makes those drivers when you look in Device Manager? If they are made by Microsoft they are not the correct drivers.

If you have not already done so, the best way to check for audio drivers is to go to your computer manufacturer’s site, assuming you have a branded computer like Dell or Lenovo.

Yeah, they were Microsoft. I did some searching for a driver for a Lenovo Ideapad P500 Touch with Windows 8.1 64-bit, and the only relevant one from Lenovo was a driver for the soundcard, authored by Realtek. I now have the latest version they have. I didn’t find any compatible drivers for the microphone or speakers though, so those are still Microsoft. Problem is, now Audacity is taking 2 minutes to start up first time per reboot instead of 1.

What happens if you disable only the Windows Audio service in sevices.msc then hold SHIFT and click on the Power button to do a full shut down. Does Audacity launch in 2 seconds when you reboot?

Yep, disabling that service and rebooting makes Audacity start up in 2 seconds the first time.

I discovered something funny while troubleshooting: When I open up FL Studio after a reboot, it takes over 2 minutes (much longer than usual now), but then if I open Audacity, Audacity opens very quickly. But if, after a reboot, I were to open Audacity before FL Studio, Audacity takes 2 minutes but FL Studio opens much quicker, closer to its usual startup time. (Each time I waited a good while after the reboot to give my computer time to finish its startup group.) I wonder what the two programs are activating jointly. I’m not sure if this was the case before I installed the new driver.

EDIT: Okay, I think I’ve accidentally fixed the problem, although it’s hardly a solution. In Device Manager I rolled back the soundcard driver back to the previous, Microsoft version I had before. Now Audacity starts up instantly (~6 seconds) on the first startup. Reinstalling new driver reintroduces the problem, and rolling back again eliminates it.

19

These drivers http://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/ideapad-z-series-laptops/ideapad-z500-notebook/downloads/DS037393 “should” mean that you see Realtek drivers in Device Manager for all your audio devices including speakers and mic. Obviously you should do the SHIFT and Shut Down after installing those drivers.

From what you say, you are now using the same Microsoft audio drivers as before, and now you have fast first Audacity startup, which you had to begin with and then something changed to make first startup slow.

Are the second and third Audacity startups now also fast?


Gale

20

These drivers > http://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/ideapad-z-series-laptops/ideapad-z500-notebook/downloads/DS037393 > “should” mean that you see Realtek drivers in Device Manager for all your audio devices including speakers and mic. Obviously you should do the SHIFT and Shut Down after installing those drivers.

Yes! That’s the driver I installed. Anyways, after reading your reply, I reinstalled this driver (using the original .exe I downloaded) and, after both the restarts needed to install it, I did a full shut down by holding SHIFT and clicking the Windows 8.1 power button in the charms menu. But when I booted up the computer and checked Device Manager, the label for the soundcard was back to Realtek but the labels for Microphone and Speakers were still Microsoft.

From what you say, you are now using the same Microsoft audio drivers as before, and now you have fast first Audacity startup, which you had to begin with and then something changed to make first startup slow.

I rolled back to the older update again (Microsoft, 8/22/2013, 6.3.9600.16384) and rebooted Windows four times. After each time, Audacity started up fast, ~2 seconds, on the first startup per reboot.

When I initially made this thread and said that Audacity initally had a fast startup, the startups I had been talking about were 1. the startup that Audacity offers to make as soon as you hit Finish on the Audacity installer, and 2. one startup right after that using Audacity.exe. After the first reboot of Windows, the problem first appears.

Are the second and third Audacity startups now also fast?

Oh yeah, I have yet to have the second and third (and so on) not be fast. They’re even faster after the rollback now. Less than a second, even. Weird.


Perhaps the original soundcard driver was corrupted, and reinstalling a new one and rolling back refreshed it?