Error Recording - error opening sound device

[wariott]

i have windows vista and when i click record i get this error:




what do i do so i can record without a problem?

[Gale Andrews]

If you are recording something that is playing on the computer, try turning off
both "Play other tracks while recording" and "Software Playthrough" options
in the Audio I/O tab of Audacity Preferences. Software Playthrough should
never be enabled when recording sounds that are playing on the computer.

If this is not the problem, check in the Audio I/O tab that the playback and
recording devices are correctly and explicitly selected. Don't select Microsoft
Sound Mapper. Don't set the "recording channels" on the same Audio I/O tab
to more than two channels unless your soundcard/hardware supports it.

If you are selecting the correct device, exit Audacity, go to the system mixer:
and make sure the input you want to record is correctly enabled, following
these instructions:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... es#vistacp

Try changing the Project Rate at bottom left of Audacity's window: 44 100 Hz
or 48 000 Hz should work in almost any playback or recording situation.

Always make sure your sound device has the latest Vista drivers for your computer
model from the manufacturers of the device or motherboard, as this is often a
source of problems. See:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... ce_Drivers

If that does not help please give us more information on what you are trying to
record, with what device, and how any connected devices are attached to the
computer.



Gale

[kyriakos123]

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i JUST recorded this song that iv written, its got lots of layers and it took me a while to make it sound good with harmonies n different vocal levels, and cliking etc... its an intro ( full of oohs and harmonies, a verse n bridge), all leads onto eachother. i mean, when i recorded it i recorded the basic 'oohs' for the intro, played them back recorded harmonies over them, which became another track, etc etc...

i saved my project as the name of the song which is lovers go. n then i went to open it in 'my documents', it had a file saying ' lovers go' i clicked on it and saw all these individual recorded 'files' or whatever they were. so i cliked on one, and it opened on just one track which was one id recorded as a draft but then deleted, but towards the ennd of the list all the recordings/layers that made my final song r there, so i cliked a hand full of them n opend them together and it came up n i thort it wud play like it did before, ( mayb not with allt he layers i needed but atleast itd play), and then it played random layers ALL AT THE SAME THING as one big messs... im worried that my song is LOST! i dont know hpw to open it, int he sence that itl play and i can listen to it like i did when iw as making it. ARGHHH
SUM1 HELP ME PLS! asap!

[waxcylinder]

When you save an Audacity project as <project_name> it creates a number of things

1. a top level master project file called <project_name>.aup
2. a folder at the same filing level called <project_name>_data
3. and within the folder a sub-folder structure with lots of little .au files - segments of the recording (mainly audio clips - but a couple of them are graphics files)

When you re-open a project with Audacity you should always open the <project_name>.aup top level file. This tells Audacity how to thread together all the little .au files. It is deliberately designed this way so that Audacity doesn't have to open and work with a single humungously large file, which would hamper performance. You should not be attempting to open or manipulate any individual .au files.

When you have finished editing your Audacity project you can Export it from Audacity as a WAV file or MP3 file depending what sound quality you wish to achieve. WAV files are around ten times larger than the equivalent MP3 files but are uncompressed and thus the audio quality is higher.

WC

[dselby4757]

I have the same problem. But I have windows XP, can someone help me. I am using a cassette deck to record the music from. I am using an input cable from the cassette deck to the computer to record.

[kozikowski]

Export, Export, Export. Export is the only way to get a sound file. Audacity will not Save a sound file.

File > Export As WAV
File > Export as MP3

In the case of the show with multiple layers and hundreds of individual performances mixed, Save Project, and then Export As WAV. The WAV sound file should be a stereo mix of all the parts of the show. The Project will retain all the individual layers and segments suitable for further editing -- assuming you don't damage it.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Error Opening Sound Device is really common.

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... ice#p50109
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... und+device
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... +device#p4
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... device8920
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... ice#p47401

Unfortunately, the solutions are not very common. This error happens when Audacity is looking for music data in one standard and the computer is running in another. There is no easy resolution other than change Preference settings until they match. I have a USB microphone that only works with Audacity in 44100, 16-bit, Mono. If I pick Stereo, I get the error message. It took me days to figure it out.

The most common music standard is 44100, 16-bit, Stereo. That's the Music CD standard. That's not how Audacity wakes up from first birthday, so you might benefit from resetting Audacity and then restarting.

Koz