Audacity Forum

Hey guys. This is probably an easy fix, but I'm getting a weird clicking sound during playback. Its almost like there is a chunk missing from the track. It wasnt doing it at all in the beginning of my project, but now I cant get it to go away! The weird thing is, it happens in different spots every few times I play it back. If anyone could help me that would be great. I really dont want to have to record all over again...

ZimMonkey wrote:This is probably an easy fix,

Common issue, but not necessarily that easy to fix. Basically the problem is that data from you audio device is not getting written to the hard drive fast enough to make a continuous track (hence the drop-outs).

This can be for any number of reasons. If you are using a USB audio device, try using a different USB socket. Also, avoid having unnecessary programs or processes running on your computer at the same time.
Some anti-virus products are known to cause problems unless they are configured to ignore ".au" files. Also if Windows update is running you are likely to get the problem. Check that you have plenty of free drive space on your C: drive and ensure that it is not fragmented.

See the "Tips" and "Tutorials" (links at top of page) for ways to optimise your machine for audio recording.

<<<a weird clicking sound during playback.>>>

Especially if it wanders, the machine is probably struggling to play back the show.

Ever defragment your hard drive? How full is it? Wrong answers to either of those questions can cause all sorts of timing problems and instabilities.

<<<It wasnt doing it at all in the beginning of my project>>>

That would be before you filled up your hard drive with production material and special effects segments? The magic number is 90%. Never let a production hard drive get fuller than that.

Koz