Cant figure out Error 9999 need help ASAP

Im trying to use audacity for my recording work but out of nowhere i constantly get the Error 9999 notice when i try to record. It records for a few seconds, stops, then when i try to record again the Error appears. Not only that butnwhen i close and reopen audaxity it completely forgets my main recording microphone and i have to close it again, disconnect and reconnect my mic and open audacity again only for the same loop of issues to occur. Reinstalling audaxity and updating systems had no effect.
Help me please!

The manual says:

Check your Windows Permissions/Privacy Settings

Yes i checked the privacy thing but no dice, audacity has permission to access mic. Ive been using it for over a year for my recording work, in fact i most recently used it 5 days ago and had no issues, this is completely out of nowhere.

Which Windows? How do you connect to the internet? Laptop? WiFi? Forget Audacity for a second.

Koz

windows 11, desktop, ethernet connection

Missed one. USB Microphone?

Unplug and replug the microphone—both ends if it works like that.

Reach around back and unplug the RJ-45 network connection.

Pay attention to the error messages on your screen. Audacity should work completely on its own with just the internal drive, microphone and no network connection. Also note that the machine didn’t switch to a WiFi connection as a desperation move.

Go through your Audacity rescue exercises and see if they still work, or if they change.

Restart the machine with the network disconnected. Try a different USB connection if you have more than one.

You see where I’m going with this? Simplify the machine and keep peeling off services and connections until you hit something significant.

Also as above, Suzy Sunshine notes it’s completely possible your microphone or computer could actually be broken.

Koz

My mic is a shure sm7b with focusrite scarlett solo usb audio interface. And much to my dismay it seems the issue may be one of those two things being broken. Upon trying to record with it in Adobe audition im encountering a similar issue of the recording going for a few seconds then stopping. My headphones mic works fine on both platforms, so it seems my main recording equipment has crapped the bed after only a year. damn.

Chances are almost zero it’s the SM7b. You don’t have an audio error and the SM7b is a pure dynamic (moving coil) microphone. You have a data or connection error. That’s inside the Solo.

However, it’s still possible it’s not the Solo, either. The Solo works on the battery coming down the USB cable

Scarlett Solo gets its power from your computer via the USB connection: there is no need for a separate power supply. However, we do recommend that when using it with a laptop, the laptop should be powered using its AC adaptor, as otherwise the battery will run down faster than when powering the laptop alone.

If that power becomes erratic or damaged, the Solo will go nuts. Pretty much what you have.

Can you connect to a different computer?

I bet that works.

Koz

So the solution ended up being a near hour and a half effort between me and a shure representative. After checking multiple things and having no luck we got some thing called focusrite control from focusrite (scarlett solos company) and literally immediately after doing so the issue ceased. We noticed that the driver for the mic and scarlett solo would kill itself when i tried to record with it on any audio solution, and when that control thing was downloaded and seemed to do nothing but change the name of the mic as a driver, the issue stopped. No idea why, but that did it. Alls well that ends well i guess.

I bet the problem also vanishes if you change computers.

Let me read this back to you. The good quality microphone and interface works OK as long as I spend days on the help forum and then hours on the phone with a service representative who will recommend a unique and unusual software install.

I doubt that. You are typing on a Unicorn. It’s only a matter of time before something else fails.

Koz

Well my current pc is the only one i got. So hopefully this is the end of the matter for a long time coming.

Post back if anything happens.

I would think really hard about doing any updates.

Koz