Recording from line in stops

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Hi,

This is my first post on this forum. I’ve Windows 8.1 and Audacity 2.0.4.
I’m busy with recording old cassettes and I’m using Audacity to do this.
It’s very simple: connect the cassette decek with the line-in, press the record button in Audacity and the work starts.
However, it seems impossible to record the whole side of a cassette in a single sound track. Audacity stops recording after 10 seconds, 10 minutes, 3 minutes… The record button is then released. So, I’ve to rewind the cassette for a while an start recording again, in a different sound track.
This irritates me! I get about 10 sound tracks from a single side of a cassette. I’ve to search for overlaps, connect the different sound tracks to a single one.
Please, can anybody help me? Is there a way to get the whole side of the cassette in a single sound track?

Regards,

Cor

2

I would certainly start by updating to the current 2.0.6 Audacity.

http://audacityteam.org/download/windows

When it asks you if you want to do a fresh start, to delete all traces of the old program, say yes.

Koz

3

Hi Koz,

Thanks a lot for your advice.
I’ve complete uninstalled Audacity 2.0.4, manually removed the folder. After that, I installed Audacity 2.0.6.
However, the problem still exists. I’ve tried four times to record a tape. But all times, it stops after 1 to 3 minutes.
Do you or someone else have another advice?
Thanks in advance,

Cor

4

If there is a time selection (see: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/selection_toolbar.html) then recording will (by default) stop at the end of the selection.
To ensure that there is no selection, click the

“Skip to Start” button before you press the Record button.


I presume this is a stand-alone computer, not on a network?

Are you recording from a USB cassette player?

5

Hi Steve,

There’s no selection. Indeed, it’s a stand alone computer.
And I’m recording the line in, not from u USB cassette player. Is this necessary?

6

No, I’m just ruling out some of the most likely explanations for the problem.

When you say that it stops recording, do you mean, just as if you had clicked the stop button? (no error message, the recording just stops)

Are you doing anything else on the computer while the recording is taking place?
Does your computer go to sleep or hibernate?

7

Hi Steve!

It stops recording, the record button is released, just as if I clicked the stop button.
And the computer is not in sleep of hibernation. Audacity is the only program running.

8

And no-one is touching the computer, or keyboard or mouse once the recording has been started?

9

No, there’s nobody using this computer or touching mouse or keyboard.
I click the record button, sit with folded arms, and after a few minutes (this varies) the recording stops. When it stops after, say, 3 minutes, I rewind, press record again and the second time it’s possible 5 minutes are recorded.

There’s also no relation between the moment the recording stops and the inpout level in db.

I’ve absolutely no idea what’s the reason this happens.

10

I’ve absolutely no idea what’s the reason this happens.

Neither do we.

Next time it stops, press the R key (to start recording again, immediately). We expect that action to start a second timeline underneath the first. I don’t advocate doing that as an actual musical production tool, this is just for testing. What does it actually do?

You are approaching Magic Munchkin Land. A noisy USB connection on your keyboard is occasionally pressing the STOP button by itself, etc.

Koz

11

Hi!

Your expectation was right: pressing the ‘R’ starts a second timeline underneath the first.
I don’t like living in Magic Munchkin Land :frowning:
Is there any setting in the preferences | recording which can cause this behaviour?
Do you have contact with the developers of the program? The person who wrote the code of recording, should know on which conditions recording stops.

Cor

12

Sure there are, and we have been systematically running through the possibilities.

and that rules out one more possibility. There is an option to make the recording pause when the input goes quiet (“Transport menu > Sound Activated Recording”). If that was enabled (which it shouldn’t be), the recording would pause when the input goes quiet. That’s not the problem because it only causes the recording to “Pause” (not “Stop”) and it is dependent on input level.

When you installed Audacity 2.0.6, did you select the option to reset preferences?
If not, or if unsure, please run the installation again and watch for the “Reset Preferences” option. Select that option and continue the installation, overwriting (updating) your current installation. The first time you run Audacity after reinstalling you should be asked to confirm that you want to overwrite preferences - confirm that you wish to do so.
That will reset preferences to factory default settings and should rule out the possibility of you having some odd-ball combination of settings causing the problem.

13

Some new facts:

I’ve another computerwith Windows 7 Home Premium and Service Pack 1 and Audacity 1.3.14. I tried to record cassettes: no problem! I recorded the two sides ofa cassette without any problem!
I installed Audacity 1.3.14 on the computer with Windows 8: same problem, stops after a few minutes. :frowning:

14

When you installed Audacity 2.0.6, did you select the option to reset preferences?
If not, or if unsure, please run the installation again and watch for the “Reset Preferences” option. Select that option and continue the installation, overwriting (updating) your current installation. The first time you run Audacity after reinstalling you should be asked to confirm that you want to overwrite preferences - confirm that you wish to do so.
That will reset preferences to factory default settings and should rule out the possibility of you having some odd-ball combination of settings causing the problem.