Hello,
Just started having this issue today randomly. I have a fairly new install of Windows 11. Whenever I try to import an mp3 into Audacity my disk usage for the C: spikes to 100% then the whole system crashes. I get a blue screen and windows reboots. I’ve read this is more common on spinning drives, but I’m using a brand new SSD.
I’ve tried everything I can find online to fix the issue and nothing has had any effect. This is the list of things I’ve tried so far.
Virus scan
chkdsk
Disabled Connected devices platform service
Disabled Sysmain
Disabled Windows Search
Disabled Connected user Experience and Telemetry
Ran sfc /scan - Windows resource protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Disable MSI Mode for the AHCI Driver
Adjusted Virtual Memory, changed to system managed and no page file, no effect
Nothing seems to have any effect. Has anyone had any similar issues or have any suggestions of other things I can try?
An application isn’t supposed to cause a full Windows crash. Usually it’s a driver, but there shouldn’t be any special or unusual drivers involved in opening a file.
I assume you can play the file with Windows Media Player, etc.?
Audacity is more picky about MP3s than most other software and the MP3 may be “imperfect” or it may be some other format mis-named MP3.
Try converting the file to WAV with Kabuu Audio Converter (or similar). Audacity is going to decompress the MP3 anyway so it’s essentially the same process, just an extra step for you.
You don’t want it to read at 100%? Would you prefer it to read slower?
Hi Doug,
Thank you for your response. I tried your suggestion, used the converter you posted and converted the file to a .WAV, and tried importing it and got the same result. I sometimes get a message saying the C: drive is full before it crashes (it’s not even close) but I also watch it climb up to 100% in the task manager before the whole system crashes and reboots. That’s what happened this time.
I managed to take a screen shot right before it crashed the last time.
