Won't record - red triangle ??

[philchenevert]

Audacity 2.3.0 Windows 10. I'm a longtime user of Audacity having recorded over 2500 audiobook tracks and love it. But recently it won't start recording when I click the Record button; it just freezes up and refuses to do anything; the microphone and speaker panels on the interface are greyed out and it kinda smirks at me. (may be my imagination)

The only change I can see is a red triangle has popped up on the timeline and right clicking on it says "timeline actions disabled during recording". To the best of my knowledge I have never used this function before and don't really know what it does. Also there is a strange ' push pin' on the timeline now with the option of pinning of unpinning. Have no idea of what these do but they may have something to do with the not recording problem. I do not wish to pin anything.

I've searched the help base but no solution found. Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated since this is probably my own fault. I am in the middle of recording a book and this is kinda frustrating.

[kozikowski]

Transport > Transport Options > Pinned head....

Koz

[philchenevert]

Thanks for the suggestion Koz. That does not seem to start it recording.

[steve]

I click the Record button; it just freezes up and refuses to do anything;

What happens if you then click the "Stop" button? Is Audacity still "frozen"?

[philchenevert]

Yes. It goes back to default, looking like it is ready to record. Before clicking any thing there is a nice green triangle on the left of the track. If I hover over it, the message 'click to pin' appears. When clicking the Record button, the green triangle changes to Red and another Red triangle appears over the recording head and it does not move or record. Clicking the 'stop' button causes the red triangles to disappear and the green triangle appear again to the left and above the track. So it does appear to be frozen since the record button stops things completely.

Nothing is turned on in the Transport options.

[steve]

Before clicking any thing there is a nice green triangle on the left of the track. If I hover over it, the message 'click to pin' appears.

Normally you would leave that "un-pinned" as a green triangle, but this is not the cause of your problem.
For now, don't worry about what "pinned" and "un-pinned" mean, just leave it un-pinned (as a triangle)

When clicking the Record button, the green triangle changes to Red

That's normal. The red color simply indicates that Audacity is now in "record mode".

and another Red triangle appears over the recording head

That triangle indicates the recording position (where the "record head" is on the timeline.

and it does not move

So this is the problem that we need to solve.

Look in the "Transport menu > Transport Options" and ensure that "Sound activate recording" is NOT selected (not ticked).
The "Overdub" option (also in "Transport menu > Transport Options") should normally be selected (ticked).

Clicking the 'stop' button causes the red triangles to disappear and the green triangle appear again

Good, so Audacity isn't actually "frozen", it's just not recording.

First thing to try:
Reboot your computer, then Launch Audacity ensure the "Transport menu > Transport Options" have "Overdub" selected (ticked), and "Sound activated recording NOT selected (not ticked), then try a test recording.

[waxcylinder]

Are you using WASAPI host with loopback input device to try to record what is playing on your computer?

If so the Audacity won't record (and the record head won't move) unless and until it picks up an active input signal..

WC

[philchenevert]

Windows 10, audacity 2.3.0
Ah ha! I think I have isolated the problem: my Rode A1-1 interface. I have been recording with my Rode NT1-A micrphone into my Rode A1-1 interface and from there into my PC via a USb. This has been working but stopped. Removing the A1-1 from the loop and using an older microphone with a direct USb connection, suddenly Audacity can hear the microphone with no problem. I do not intend to use the old mic and intend to find out why Audacity is not recognizing it. Well, it Does recognize it, since it shows that as the mic input, but ijust gets no sound from it and that would explain why the recording t rack stops and nothing gets recorded. hmmmmmm. Onwards into the unknown! Oh and any help with why this is happening would be appreciated.

[philchenevert]

ood, so Audacity isn't actually "frozen", it's just not recording.

First thing to try:
Reboot your computer, then Launch Audacity ensure the "Transport menu > Transport Options" have "Overdub" selected (ticked), and "Sound activated recording NOT selected (not ticked), then try a test recording.

I have rebooted my computer and Audacity does record now with everything exactly the same as before. Frustrating but perhaps it tells you something. What could be happening that 'fixes' my audio input with a reboot but t hen later goes wrong? I thank everyone for their input and hope i won't need to reboot my PC several times a day. As always, any wise comment is most welcome.
EDIT: the Transport options are all not clicked, nothing is active including overdub.

[steve]

What could be happening that 'fixes' my audio input with a reboot

Audacity only looks for audio devices when it is first launched, or when you explicitly tell it to "Rescan Audio Devices" (from the "Transport" menu).

There are many reasons why a USB device may temporarily lose connection, for example, if the computer CPU becomes 100% busy, then the USB is likely to be disconnected until some CPU is available to run it (other common reasons include, cable / plug problems). Although a USB audio device may reconnect automatically, Audacity will not see it because it is effectively a "new" device, but the old (disconnected) device will still be listed. The most convenient way to fix this if it occurs, is to "Rescan Audio Devices" (or restart Audacity, or reboot the computer).