missing sound

[myrmidone]

I have a pre-recorded project that I transferred to my portable hard-drive. Then I brought it onto my lap-top to edit it and eventually save and upload the file.
I went to open the file and i go to play it and some of the pre-recorded tracks simply did not make any noise, yet the display was showing all the material was still there like I left it when I recorded it. Another one would play for about 3/4 of the length of the track, then go silent even though the display was showing all the material was still there like I left it when I recorded it.

Any help is much appreciated

[kozikowski]

<<<I have a pre-recorded project >>>

Right. And because it's a Project, it has a bunch of files associated with it. The AUP file (the project manager) and the _DATA Folder with the sound clips and management segments. What you're missing is all the music. Audacity doesn't pull sound into itself for editing. It leaves all the sound files right where they live and it plays them at the right time. The blue waves come from two picture files and can get badly out of step with the actual show.

So unless you brought all the original sound files over with you and in the exact same folders, you're going to have some serious holes in your Project.

You can fix this by opening the original Project and change the preferences....

Import/Export > Make a copy of audio files...
Then File > Check Dependencies.

This may only be available in Audacity 1.3.12. Your Project should open in Audacity 1.3.12. Get it from here...

http://audacityteam.org/download/

Is there a reason you decided to move a Project instead of Exporting a sound file?

Koz

[dyoung]

I did the exact same thing, except for I wiped my computer with the original on it. I have the data files and the aup files. When I open it in the older version of audacity, it looks like it will play. but there is only silence until it gets to the end of the song, where I had later added onto the original file. It plays that part. Why won't it just play the whole thing?!!! When I open the file in the newer version, it says there are orphaned parts and asks if I want to delete them or continue with them. Either way I answer, Only the last part of the file shows up or plays. I tried to import the raw data, one by one, and I get tiny bits of sound from that. Is there any other way to retrieve this? Maybe importing all the hundreds of raw data bits and compiling them into one? Or possibly some other brilliant way? I would love to know if there is some way.
I hope you retrieved your files
Thank you so much for you time!

[steve]

Project may also depend on audio data that is outside of the project. For example, if you "Import" a file, then the default behaviour in Audacity is to link to the file and only copy it into the _data folder if the data is changed. If the file is used in its original form, then it is not copied into the _data folder and is referred to as a "Dependency".

Audacity 1.3.12 (highly recommended) has an option in the File menu to check for Dependencies and copy them into the _data folder. This will not help with projects that are already damaged, but it can help to avoid loosing data in the future.

There is an article here that explains how Audacity manages files: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/File_Management_Tips