I’ve recorded an hour worth of material and when it finished saving my computer froze.
Can we assume a live performance such as voice or interview? It is highly recommended that your first action after finishing a performance is File > Export the work as a WAV (Microsoft) stand-alone sound file. Use the default settings—16-bit—as unlikely to cause problems later and you don’t have to think about it.
Use good filename hygiene. No punctuation marks other than -dash- and underscore.
Only then save a Project or edit or whatever else was part of the production.
If Audacity, the Computer, or the Project goes face-first into the dirt after that, it should be possible to repair things, open a copy of the WAV file and keep right on going. If the work has to go to another producer, sending a copy of the WAV is the way to go.
If Audacity can’t export a WAV file from your performance, then you need to stop production immediately and find out why. It’s possible your computer, in its present state, is not up to sound production.
Koz