First off…I’m a total novice with all of this. I have fumbled my way through a number of computer issues over the years, but this time I seem to be stuck. I had an older version of Audacity that I have used for a number of years with no issues. When I attempted to use it recently, I could hear the audio through the computer speakers, but had no visual indication from Audacity that it was able to record it. I figured maybe the program was corrupted and so I deleted Audacity and installed the latest version 3.3.7. It has the same issue as the older version, I can hear the audio I want to record through the computer speakers, but I see no indication it’s getting into Audacity. I’ve tried several different things I’ve seen online, but I’m still not able to record. My computer is operating with Windows 10, 64 bit. I’m running the analog audio signal into the computer audio input (not microphone), which has always worked great. I have tried everything I can think of and no luck. I plead ignorance to all of this. This 74 year old is out of his element and definitely out of his comfort zone. A step by step procedure would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help.
If you’re trying to record what’s playing on computer speakers, set audio host to WASAPI , and recording device to speakers … https://support.audacityteam.org/basics/recording-desktop-audio
NB: If you’re using WASAPI as the host, recording will stop if there is no sound present to record.
Thanks for the tips, but still no dice. I believe I have all of the setting correct, but no indication that signal is getting into Audacity. In all of the years I’ve been using this I’ve never had an issue with it. Has something changed recently? Thanks again.
Windows 10/11 has has a privacy setting which can block microphone / audio-interface … https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-on-app-permissions-for-your-microphone-in-windows But I don’t think that’s relevant when you’re recording from the speakers.
Dear Junior 30.
If this doesn’t help, yell at me and there’s an Explanation B ready. Here’s Explanation A.
You’ve gotta make sure Audacity and whatever you’re trying to record FROM are using the same system. In Audacity, on the right-hand side up the top, there’s a little speaker saying ‘Audio Setup.’ Click on that. One of the options will read “Recording Device.” See what that’s set on and remember it/make a note of it.
Now go back to what you’re trying to record FROM and see what that’s outputting to. Just because you can hear sounds coming out your speakers doesn’t NECESSARILY mean both bits of software are using the same mechanism to get the sounds TO your speakers (I’ve fallen for this one!) So if what your noisemaker is using isn’t the same as what Audacity is recording from, you won’t get any sound going into Audacity because it’s trying to get the sound from the wrong place! You’ve got to match up the output device in ‘Recording Device’ in Audacity to the same name as the one in your noisemaker. So if your noisemaker’s outputting to WASAPI, then set Audacity to WASAPI. It might well be outputting to High Definition Audio Codec, in which case set Audacity to that! If they’re both on the same system, recording should work.
Only caveat to that is ASIO4ALL. That, can be a bar steward. I don’t know what software you’re using but if you’ve got something that’s using ASIO4ALL, that MIGHT have exclusive mode set. Exclusive mode stops anything else from being able to hear the sounds - except your speakers. Audacity can’t ordinarily ‘hear’ ASIO4ALL because of licensing restrictions. You have to get a special version with ASIO4ALL support built into it, from MuseHub (I THINK - that’s where I got mine from when I was having ASIO4ALL probs!)
If none of the above helps, yell at me and I’ve got a couple of other ideas. If your noisemaker IS on the same system as Audacity and nothing’s still being recorded, I’ve got another idea there, too. But it’s one I’m not 100% certain of - I just know it worked flukily for me! - so let’s see if the above helps first!
Yours hopefully,
Chris.
Hi Chris and THANK YOU for that very indepth and thorough “walk through” on troubleshooting my lost audio problem. Just prior to your very welcome reply to my cry for help (and out of desperation) I used the System Restore function on my PC and although it reverted back to the earlier version of Audacity, the system is now totally functional once again. And in actuality this earlier version of Audacity is more familiar to me, and I feel more at home with it, so I’m a happy camper now. I do thank you once again for the thorough and understandable explanation and “plan of attack” for my original issue that you took the time to send me. I GREATLY appreciate that. Hopefully there was just something corrupted in the original program, and by going back a few weeks with the System Restore function, it cleared the corrupted file. I’m definitely NOT a computer expert, but every once in a while I stumble on a workable solution, maybe this is one of those times. Thank you. Bob
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