Cannot save long file (different problem)

Hey,

Unable to save a file. I created a long recording of voice samples w/ a mic, and after about the 1hr mark it stopped recording and now won’t let me save.
Save option greyed out. Same with export.

I’m sitting here with an open project of great work i’d rather NOT lose.

Tried locating the temp file but to no avail, unless it’s in another directory, but I did a windows search for ‘audacity_temp’ as well as ‘audacity’ and turned up nothing unusual…

Please help.

Not a space issue.
I have plenty of space, 155 hours left.
audacity-output2.jpg

Try pressing the Stop button.

Is that Windows XP?
Ensure that your search includes hidden files an folders.

Already pushed stop button. Several times.

It also won’t play the file either.

Retrying search…

What additional search keywords do you recommend?

It is Windows XP.

I presume that the project has not been saved at any point?

The default location of the temp folder is:
C:Documents and SettingsLocal SettingsTempaudacity_temp
Try navigating there directly with the File Explorer.

How much space is there on your C: drive?
Does your computer have any other hard drives or partitions?

Also, not to push, but I noticed it won’t let me delete anything on either of my tracks.
Will not let me record in a new instance of audacity either.

Not to complicate anything, but I Hope that helps. Main objective: Save or export file.

I see on the picture that a signal is indicated on the recording meter. Is it moving or frozen?

Plenty of free space on c drive.
Correct, project was straight record with no save. Planned to save @ end.

Recording meter was moving when I spoke into mic, but then froze.

Found temp files. You were correct, needed to search hidden files.

Copied audacity_temp to another directory. Pic attached. I assume these are the ones i’m looking for? Not sure how to ID them.
What’s the best way to recover, id, or convert?

This is the only audacity project I’ve done that was not saved. All of the rest were saved/archived elsewhere.

HD Space? Plenty. 399gb @ present.
3audacity-output-temp2.jpg
3audacity-output-temp.jpg

I think what happened is that the USB froze when you pressed stop, which has left Audacity in limbo.

I assume that Audacity is still open in the same state?
If so, what I would do first is to make a copy of the entire temp folder - this may not do you any good, but at least you will be no worse off if the next step fails.

The next step is to force-quit from Audacity. Open the Task Manager and Exit audacity - don’t exit the program from the Audacity File menu, you need to “kill” it (essentially you are forcing a crash). Then cross-your fingers and restart Audacity. What should happen is that Audacity’s automatic crash recovery should kick in and recover the project, thus allowing you to save it.

To help avoid the problem in the future I’d suggest that it may be worth dropping the sample rate to 44100 or 48000 Hz. For sample rate, more is not necessarily better. Marketing hype often tells lies - sound cards usually perform better (higher quality sound) at 44.1 or 48 kHz than at higher rates, and higher sample rates put a lot more demand on all parts of the system.

Another trick that often works is File > Exit (which is active in your first screenshot). This will probably ask you to save changes and avoids having to force quit. But make a copy of the temp folder first, as Steve says.


Gale