Getting Audacity to start recording before sound is present

Special Interest Groups Recording Techniques
1

I’ve been using Audacity 2.2.1 for several years on a Windows 8 PC for the past several years. I have now upgraded to a Windows 11 PC and have loaded Audacity 2.2.1 on the new PC. Now when I click the red record button, if no sound is present, the recording process does not start. It only starts when sound begins. I am wanting the app to begin recording as soon as I click the record button whether sound is present or not as it used to do on my Win8 machine. I have read that once the recording is made I can select ALL and “Slide” the entire recording to the right to create a second or two of silence before the recording plays. I can select ALL but how do I get the recording to slide to the right?

Hope someone is able to help. Thanks,

Gary

2

If you are using WASAPI loopback to record streaming audio, WASAPI doesn’t work when there is no audio stream. It can be silent but it can’t be '“nothing”.

A work-around might be to play a silent file in the background with Windows Media Player.

If you have the older options of “Stereo Mix” or “What-U-Hear” they may work better. (That’s rare these days and I believe that depends on your drivers.)

Another possibility is that you’ve selected Sound Activated Recording. But that’s unlikely to happen accidently.