Automatic Database Backup error deletes audio track during recording

I have Audacity 3.1.3 on a new Lenovo Ideapad 5 Pro running Windows 11 Home.
I use an Audio-Technica Model AT2005USB mic for recording audiobooks.
I record in Mono and save as a .WAV file for editing.
I also have a label track to mark spots on the audio track where mistakes are made to make it easier to edit later.

Anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes into recording I get the following error box:

“Automatic Database backup failed”

My audio track is completely gone! The label track remains but with no markers.

If I close out Audacity and re-open there’s no project to recover!

I see that this same error has been consistently showing up on the Audacity Forum going back to 2007. Nobody that I could see has been able to answer this problem.
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