Severe 'drop-outs' when recording (Aud. 1.2.4)

[Rincewind]

Let me say first off, I don't think this is an Audacity code or design problem: it looks mostly like a system problem, but I would welcome some advice on how to give Audacity the best opportunity to function properly.

The problem is that there are too many 'drop-outs' (periods of 0.5 to 2 seconds where the recording stops) as well as many clicks, squeaks and white-noise-like interruptions when I try to record. These distortions to the recroding correlate mmediately and directly with any action which consumes CPU resource - such as operating my pen/tablet, using the mouse, pressing a key on the keyboard. The impression I get is that Audacity is not seeing enough of the CPU to record correctly - or in others words my system is not set up correctly.

Where should I start looking?

I have more than enough compute power: AMD 3700+ X64 processor, with 2Gb of DDR RAM and a mother board with a fast FSB (it's an ASUS K8V).

I have one 7200 rpm C-drive with about 50 GB spare on it, connected as Dev.0 on my primary IDE channel, running in DMA mode 5.

I have 2 x 250 Gb SATA drives, in RAID mode (mirroring) acting as my D-drive. It's about 30% used.

I have a good quality DVD rewriter connected in DMA mode 4 as the Dev. 0 on my secondary IDE channel.

I have a Sound Blaster Audigy card whose set-up seems OK.


This system runs Nikon CNX-2 software adequately when processing 15 Mb RAW files - this is a notorious consumer of CPU resource. Photoshop CS4 also runs acceptably on these big image files.

I have the same problem, of apparently inadequate CPU resource, when running the BBC iPlayer. It's unusable.

So, I've screwed something up somewhere. Is there any advice as to where I should start looking?

[kozikowski]

Lotsa notes.

I think Audacity 1.2.4 was the one with the memory leak. You probably should be using 1.2.6.

How fragmented is C:? Checked recently? Right click on C:, etc. Do the error check while you're down there.

Can we assume that Windows Sound Recorder doesn't work, either?
Windows Sound Recorder
Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Entertainment

"Using System Resources" isn't the same thing as recording audio or video in real time. If Photoshop takes a few extra milliseconds to render the 2K square gaussian blur of your kitty cat, who would know? If it did that in the middle of a sound capture, the show becomes garbage.

You do know that your machine is not serving {word rejected} back out your crusher DSL, right? That does soak up system resources--especially if it's good {word rejected}. Disconnect the network for a while and see what happens.

I'm not in front of my PC right his second... If you Ctrl-Alt-Del, you get a Windows panel that has "Processes" as one of the tabs. Click on it. I think the Systems Administrator at work told me that display should never go to two pages. You probably do not need your Epson Printer Ink Management module running back there and you don't need the Canon Photo Print Loader, either. Every one of those is pulling your machine down.

You surgically avoided telling us that you're running a USB turntable. You are right? Do you still have the receipt? Can you take it back?

Koz

[Rincewind]

Firstly, apologies for the delayed reply to your helpful post. (I've been out of commission, now refurbished!)

I wasn't aware od 1.2.6 -for reasons which defy my understanding. I'll upgrade. I have not noticed an unconstrained demand nf memory during a 2.0 hour recording session.

Raxco's Perfect Disk tell me that all my drives 99% perfect and don't need defragging.

Windows Sound REcorder? Wow, I haven't seen that for 20 years or more. I installed it and find that recordings - all 60 seconds of them - are fine.

Thank's for your insightful observation about 'system resources' and the different pattern of usage with audio/video recording compared to image processing. I had not considered this effect, but it doesn't change my concern - that my system is not getting the resources it requires. In fact your observation re-inforces my concern.

I'm not sure what a 'crusher DSL' is, so I cannot claim with all veracity to be able to answer your question about my system being used as a {word rejected} distributor - especially good {word rejected}, which I would probably keep for my self, within certain meanings of the word 'good'. However I doubt if my system is being used in this way. Firstly I am behind a NAT-based router which supports my home network. Secondly I am behind a severely-specified Comodo Firewall on the recoring computer. Thirdly I scan regularly with AVG Version 8. It tells me that I have no installed malware. It does find some trojans in a data archive. But 95% of these 'discoveries' by AVG are judged by other malware checkers to be false positives. Finally I mostly run disconnected from my home network on the recording machine precisely to avoid the dangers you have suggested. I do indeed notice no discernable difference in the performance of CS4 or Nikon Capture NX2 between being on-line and being disconnected - and believe me these applications do 'tell' you if there is not enough computer resource available!

The modules for Epson and Canon printer management that you mention are not installed on this computer and the task list is much less 1 page. Eveything on there seems to be justifiable.

I will quite happily tell you that I am not running a USB turntable and will never do so - having invested enough to bail out parts of GM on a good old fashioned analog record deck. However, I'm mostly recoding from FM, which is being received from a line of sight BBC transmitter, through a good quality FM aerial and into a well-regarded (Marantz) FM tuner. the 'source' (i.e. what I hear through my speakers) is acceptable quality, bearing in mind it is an FM broadcast.

I think I have to be looking at some other system parameters for the cause of my problems. Any further suggestions, which can be typed in this forum without causing intervention from police watchers who lack any sense of humour, would be appreciated.

[steve]

Try disconnecting from your network (physically) and disable your anti-virus program, then try Audacity.
Anti-virus programs can sometimes cause problems by checking every data file while you are recording, causing an unacceptable overhead. Also I seem to remember someone having a similar problem to yours that was caused by their network connection (it was quite a while ago and I can't remember the details).