Lags horribly during playback

I’m using the current 3.3.2 (?) version for Windows (updated May 2022) and the cursor lately has been lagging horribly, during regular playback.
It was working great… until this week… and now suddenly I’m experiencing annoying interferences like ticks and picks that are NOT mouth noises - as it plays through a section of audio narration. Particularly when I have to correct a word, or mute a loud breath (amplify) And the cursor also has stalled a bit… or skip a small area. And then picks back up again. Which really yanks my patience :bulb: … Yet when I backtrack that same section, those annoyances have magically disappeared.

It’s like Audacity has suddenly gone bad on me or what. Or is it my Focusrite interface? (Solo 3, 3rd Gen)
I don’t know what to make of it. And its cost me dearly in production time for my next chapter editing.

Shame I cannot share any real-time screenshots or video of what I’m talking about. But hopefully y’all get what I’m deal with :imp: :blush:
I’m using Windows 10 (all drivers, updates etc. current)

Well, that is not a good thing. The current version is 3.1.3 which was released Dec 2021. The “next” version is 3.2.0 which hasn’t been released yet, but alpha versions are available but should not be used for production.

The official version of Audacity is available to download from here: Audacity ® | Downloads
The current 3.2 Alpha version (not recommended) is available here: https://nightly.link/audacity/audacity/workflows/build/master

This could happen if your computer was simultaneously downloading the most recent update for Windows. Try keeping everything local, closing all other programs, and disconnecting from the internet while editing. Others will have comments in this area…