Recorded audio waveform shows, but doesn't play.

[ecramer]

I've been having this problem with my classes of students for a few weeks now. Students were instructed to record themselves narrating a picture book, then add sound effects to the file. It usually took them a whole class period to get clear recordings with minimal background noise. When students returned the next class to add their sound effects, the recorded narration wouldn't play. The waveform still shows, however, like it should be playing. I double checked that nothing was muted, tried increasing the volume of the recording, also tried opening the files in the _data folder to see if one of those could be a replacement. Nothing has worked. The students this has affected (2 or 3 out of a class of 12) are getting very frustrated with recording and re-recording. Is there something that we're not doing correctly? I stood over their shoulders and watched them save, so I don't think it's the save process either...

[kozikowski]

Are you really using Audacity 1.2?

Audacity 1.2 is very old and no longer supported,
patched, corrected, or updated. Audacity 1.2 can
be unstable on newer computers.

Download and install the latest Audacity 1.3 from here...

http://audacityteam.org/download/

You can install both audacity 1.2 and Audacity 1.3 on
the same computer, but only use one at a time.

Audacity 1.2 will not open projects made on Audacity 1.3.

If you use MP3 or some of the more modern audio
compression formats, get Lame and FFMpeg software
from the same web site. Do not use older software
or software from other web sites, even though they
may have the same names.


You record a simple voice track, save the Audacity Project, close everything and go home. Come in the next day, open the project and the blue waves are correct and the green bouncing sound meters are bouncing, but you can't hear the show?

Correct me.

Koz

[steve]

Dito re. using Audacity 1.3.13


Also, are you aware that Audacity Projects have both the AUP file AND data files? If the data files are missing there will be no sound. See here: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Audacity_Projects

[ecramer]

Yes, Koz, that's exactly the problem I'm having.

According to "About" in the Help menu, we are using Audacity 1.2.6. I will have to put in a request to have the program updated to 1.3 for next school year. I think our issues are a combination of the older program and the small amount of hard drive space available to individual students. My students that are saving to USB drives don't have this problem.