lame_enc.dll issue

glowworm2720011 · Post by **glowworm2720011** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 3:48 am

I need to convert the wave to an MP-3 file and Audacity won't let me do it without going to a "LAME_enc.dll ..and when I downloaded that, that didn't work either. WHY does Audacity ONLY record things in "WAVE?" What other recording device can I download that records in Mp-3's? Can anybody help me with this?

thanks,

D

doug

Post by **Gale Andrews** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:17 am

glowworm2720011 wrote:I need to convert the wave to an MP-3 file and Audacity won't let me do it without going to a "LAME_enc.dll ..and when I downloaded that, that didn't work either.

Please start a new topic, so we can be sure what version of Audacity you are using. Please give a good problem description ("didn't work" doesn't let us diagnose the problem). If you are using the current 1.3.10 Beta, read this:
http://manual.audacityteam.org/index.ph ... encoder.3F

If you are using 1.2.6, read this:
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... #All_users

Only if you are using the 1.3.10 Beta, there is an alternative version of lame_enc.dll
3.98.2 without manifest which solves most problems which can't otherwise be resolved:
http://www.gaclrecords.org.uk/lame_enc_no_manifest.zip

And as a last resort, a version of lame_enc.dll 3.97 which should work in 1.3.10:
http://forum.audacityteam.org/download/file.php?id=824

We do not recommend LAME 3.97 because that version produces distortions unless you use bit rates over 192 kbps.

glowworm2720011 wrote: WHY does Audacity ONLY record things in "WAVE?"

In a word, "quality".

glowworm2720011 wrote: What other recording device can I download that records in Mp-3's?

See if you can get lame_enc.dll to work first. If not, export as WAV and convert to MP3 in iTunes or SUPER:
http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html#Dnload

If you want to edit the recorded files in Audacity you'll then keep the quality up to the point you convert to MP3.

Gale

Keithr · Post by **Keithr** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:44 pm

I have just loaded up 1.3.10 onto a XP with SP3 machine and have similar problems. I started with 1.2.6 and that was the same. I spent last evening trying different things without success. Here's what I have just tried:

-deleted Lame for Audacity folder from Program Files
-deleted the config file
-checked that there was no lame_enc.dll on my hard drive.

-downloaded Lame 3.98.2 for Audacity on Windows.exe from the Buanzo site and double clicked it. Followed on screen instructions.
-start Audacity and open an mp3 file
- file - export - save as mp3
- click save and ok the Metadata (left blank)
- in Locate Lame dialog box that then came up, browse to lame_enc.dll in Lame for Audacity folder. Select the dll and click open
- click ok and get a message "Could not open mp3 encoding library"

I am stuck. Please help

Post by **steve** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:01 pm

Keithr wrote:-deleted the config file

That will not work as you have previously had Audacity 1.2.6 installed.
If the "audacity.cfg" file is completely deleted, Audacity will recreate it using the Audacity 1.2 settings (which are stored in the dreaded Windows Registry).

Find the audacity.cfg file again and open it in NotePad.
Delete the two lines starting with:
[MP3]
MP3LibPath=
and save the changes.

At this point I'd recommend that you upgrade to Audacity 1.3.11 which has just been released (it has a couple of important bug fixes).

Now check that you have the latest version of lame.dll in the current Audacity (1.3.11) program folder.

Start Audacity and go to Edit menu > Preferences > Libraries and click on the "Locate" button.

Keithr · Post by **Keithr** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:33 am

If I uninstall 1.3.10 and do a fresh install of 1.3.11, do I still need to edit the config file?

Post by **waxcylinder** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:37 am

No.

Unless that is you manually deleted the audacity.cfg file when you un-installed 1.3.10

Keithr · Post by **Keithr** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:04 pm

Just installed 1.3.11 and it worked fine!

Whats more I didn't even need to load the lame_enc.dll, it was installed (I think!) with 1.3.11. Is this right?

What I should add is that after my last post, I tried the method suggested by stevethefiddle 24/12/09 using the zip version of lame, and got it to work on my 1.3.10 install. Could this be the reason why my 1.3.11 install is now working??

Incidentally I have no way of distinguishing the various standards of lame_enc.dll. The one I now have in my Audacity folder is date stamped 28/11/08 but I notice among my collection previously accuired when trying to get 1.2.6 and 1.3.10 going that I have one dated 26/09/09 (both 3.98.2) Should I use this? Is there a better way of telling them apart? Just curious to know whats going on here!

Thanks for you help so far guys.

Post by **steve** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:27 pm

Keithr wrote:I tried the method suggested by stevethefiddle 24/12/09 using the zip version of lame, and got it to work on my 1.3.10 install. Could this be the reason why my 1.3.11 install is now working??

Yes, that'll be it. Once Audacity knows where there is a compatible version of Lame, it writes down where it is in the audacity.cfg file. Uninstalling Audacity does not remove the audacity.cfg file, so when you install a new version of Audacity it knows straight away where to find Lame.

Keithr wrote:both 3.98.2

That's the important bit. If you've got the 3.98.2 version and it is working, no other action is necessary.

Keithr · Post by **Keithr** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:27 am

Oops - I have really messed things up now

Just deleted / edited my last post as I realised what was going on without noticing stevethefiddles reply

Anyway this is what I changed it to.....

In an attempt to understand what went wrong with my original installation, I have tried substituting some other lame_enc.dll files which I obtained from this site. files dated 01/01/2009, 14/07/2009, 26/09/2009 dont work. The only one that does is dated 28/11/08 which concerns me as I remember reading "use the latest lame_enc.dll".

Post by **steve** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:18 pm

Keithr wrote:Surely, if you uninstall Audacity, then the audacity.cfg file goes with all the rest of the application?

No, and this is extremely common with other programs also.

In most situations this is convenient. If you customise your "Preferences" a lot, then it would be a pain to have to go through reconfiguring your Preferences every time you update the program. Instead of this, the "Preference" file (audacity.cfg) is stored in a user directory and is not removed when Audacity is uninstalled. For anyone that is uninstalling Audacity with no intention of ever using it again, the amount of "litter" that is left behind is minimal - the audacity.cfg file is just a tiny text file (about 2.6kb).

This applies to Audacity 1.3.x on all platforms, but the old 1.2.x on Windows was slightly different. Rather than creating a text file for the preferences, it used the Windows Registry. Personally I much prefer the preferences being in a file rather than the registry, (although it does not affect me on my home machine which uses Linux and does not have the cursed registry at all.)

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