So I was finishing up a project when the sound starts going mental and really weird. Knowing that I had saved the project I closed the page down. However, when I tried to open it again it says that the data file can’t be found. Has this happened before? Is there a way to find or get it back?
Which three-number Audacity?
Koz
It says 2.1.3
I got nothing.
What happens if you make Windows search for the work?
This is a complete Project.
So you’re looking for the something-something_data folder. Whatever you called your show.
Has this happened before?
I’m going with no. I’ve never heard of a show presenting distorted sound in the middle of editing and then eating its _data folder. I can think of ways a damaged hard drive can do that. Are you doing production on the machine’s internal hard drive? Audacity doesn’t much like using network connected drives or other network or internet storage.
This may be a good time to promote editing hygiene. You should be able to to back to the original recordings and cut the show together again. For example, if this is an original recording, a voice performance for example, Export WAV (Microsoft) sound file and put it in a safe place. Continue editing on a copy of the file(s). Periodically, Save a Project using a unique name as a backup.
New Users sometimes shoot live work and then edit that one sound file and then export the MP3 for posting on-line or playing in a personal music player. The only form of the work at the end is the MP3 file. If Audacity or the computer dies anywhere in editing, that’s the end of the world. You have nothing to go back to as a set-aside backup. You have to read it again.
Koz
In what way “really weird”?
Talking onto a wine glass? Gritty? Running at the wrong speed? Broken with holes in it?
Describe what you were doing with it happened? Were you cutting and pasting? Marking with Labels? Just playing a segment?
Overdubbing?
Give us a push.
Koz