Audacity Forum

Hi, I'm using a Windows 8.1 x64 notebook, with an Intel quad core i7-4700MQ 2.4GHz up to 3.4GHz, 8GB of RAM, 1TB 5400rpm HDD and a 24GB SSD for cache.

Well, since the notebook's accelerated with the SSD (that caches the most used files), it's a really fast notebook, it takes just 16 seconds to show google.com in Chrome. Press ON button, load Windows, type pass, load user, open Chrome, show googe.com... that's just 16 seconds.

Well, I've manually added the whole Audacity folder to the SSD, so it's already cached. BUT, when I open it, it takes sometimes like 14 seconds to load, which is the time that Adobe Photoshop CS6 x64 takes to startup (and I think PS loads way more plugins and stuff).

When I've already loaded it and STILL running it, if I open another instance of it, it takes less than a second to load (cause, I think, it's already loaded in RAM). If I close Audacity, and then open it, it takes like 5 seconds. So it seems that if I close it, it gets deleted from RAM (I don't understand why).

Is it normal?
Why Audacity is that slow at startup? What Audacity has to load?
Does anyone have Audacity installed i an SSD? Startup time?

I think it should be loaded in 3-4 seconds.

Thanks!

Machines with hybrid drives (magnetic and SSD) won't necessarily be as fast as SSD only.

When Audacity launches it looks for and loads FFmpeg (if found) and queries all your sound devices under the different audio hosts. It isn't quick.

If you double-click "audacity.exe" when Audacity is already running, that does not start a new instance of Audacity. It just opens a new project window in the same instance.


Gale

It took about 8 seconds on the system I'm on right now. It's dual core 1.87Ghz Intel chip. 32-bit Windows 7. 2MB of memory. Regular-old hard drive.

I do have the FFMPEG library installed and the optional plug-ins from the Audacity website (no VST plug-ins). There's a basic motherboard soundchip, but nothing's plugged-in so all recording inputs are disabled.

Gale Andrews wrote:Machines with hybrid drives (magnetic and SSD) won't necessarily be as fast as SSD only.

When Audacity launches it looks for and loads FFmpeg (if found) and queries all your sound devices under the different audio hosts. It isn't quick.

If you double-click "audacity.exe" when Audacity is already running, that does not start a new instance of Audacity. It just opens a new project window in the same instance.


Gale

Yeah, I know. But in my case I have 1TB HDD 5400rpm plugged in a sATA III port AND a 25GB SSD plugged in a M.2 (NGFF) interface, I don't have an hybrid HDD. Anyway, many other programs load way faster than if they were in a HDD, and that's why I'm asking it. I know SSD caching isn't the same as just an SSD running everything.

Well, after all I think it's all right, I gotta upgrade my system and install there a 750GB or 1TB SSD, HDD's nowadays aren't fast enough to run powerful systems and squeeze their power. Thanks guys!

rambomhtri wrote:Why Audacity is that slow at startup? What Audacity has to load?
Does anyone have Audacity installed i an SSD? Startup time?

I am running Windows 8.1 (x64) Build 9600 on a Desktop PC with a modest Intel Pentium CPU G2020 (2.90GHz) and 8 GB RAM. Windows and all applications, including Audacity are installed on the C: drive which is on a 120 GB SSD. I also have a 500 GB Serial ATA drive for storage. The Audacity temp folder is located on the SSD in “C:UsersADMINAppDataLocalTempaudacity_temp”. The FFMEG library is also located on the SSD in “C:Program Files (x86)Ffmpeg For Audacityavformat-52.dll”.

So Audacity and all related files and folders are run from the system SSD. Audacity launches in the blink of an eye and works lightning-fast.

One thing that might slow Audacity launch is having media players open (not necessarily running).

I use a file manager program called xplorer2 which has a built-in media player. I usually have at least six tabs open in xplorer 2, all of which have access to the media player. Also I probably have tabs open in Firefox with a flash player open (not running).

I only have an HDD, which can boot Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows XP SP3 (or Ubuntu 14.04). Audacity on Windows is much quicker launching without xplorer2 open and if I don't have any Firefox tabs using flash players.


Gale

@Gale
I also use xplorer² (x64 Ultimate).
I just opened several tabs in xplorer² and played a MP3 in one of the tabs through the xplorer² “Draft View”. I also had 2 flash players open and running concurrently in Chrome Canary (64 bit).
I then launched Audacity 2.0.4 (which I kept because of WDM-KS support). Audacity launched just as quickly as usual. In the twinkle of an eye.
I think what matters is having Audacity and all related files and folders running from the system SSD. Maybe it is also crucial to have enough RAM.
Robert

Robert2 wrote:@Gale
I also use xplorer² (x64 Ultimate).
I just opened several tabs in xplorer² and played a MP3 in one of the tabs through the xplorer² “Draft View”. I also had 2 flash players open and running concurrently in Chrome Canary (64 bit).
I then launched Audacity 2.0.4 (which I kept because of WDM-KS support). Audacity launched just as quickly as usual. In the twinkle of an eye.
I think what matters is having Audacity and all related files and folders running from the system SSD. Maybe it is also crucial to have enough RAM.
Robert

Yeah, I have 8GB of RAM too, AND the whole Audacity's folder cached in my 24GB SSD. Still takes from 5 to 14 seconds to launch . I guess I have to buy a 1TB SSD as soon as possible.

Robert2, I have one question for you. When I import/add huge length audio files to Audacity 2.0.5 (latest), when zooming in and all that stuff it is sloppy and laggy at first. I'm talking about audio tracks extracted from films. I add them to Audacity and edit them. Can you import that kind of file and tell me if Audacity is laggy or something?

I am not sure what exactly you mean by “the whole Audacity's folder cached in my 24GB SSD”. If you install Audacity on your SSD (or any other application for that matter), Audacity will not be “cached” on your SSD. Applications are run from SSDs in the same way as they are run from an ordinary hard drive. They are not “cached” on the SSD. What actually happens when you launch an application, is that Windows loads the application into RAM. As far as Audacity is concerned, you must make sure that the Audacity temp folder is located on the SSD in “C:Users<User Name>AppDataLocalTempaudacity_temp”, and the FFMEG library is also located on the SSD in “C:Program Files (x86)Ffmpeg For Audacityavformat-52.dll” (see “Edit | Preferences > Libraries”, and “Edit | Preferences > Directories” in Audacity). The Windows system temp files should also be located on the SSD in “C:Users<User Name>AppDataLocalTemp” (type Winkey+R, then enter “%temp%” without the quotes).

I only have Audacity 2.0.4, but I don’t think it matters.

I don’t know what exactly you mean by “huge length audio files”. How huge is “huge”?

I just used drag & drop to load a “huge” FLAC file (741 MB) into Audacity. It took Audacity exactly 40 seconds to completely load that file.
I then used drag & drop to load a much bigger FLAC file (2 GB+) into Audacity (this is the sound track from the film “Children Of A Lesser God”). It took Audacity exactly 2 minutes 05 seconds to completely load that file. The Audacity progress bar proved to be unreliable then: it kept blinking idiotically until the file actually got loaded; but the file got loaded correctly. I could play that track, select portions of it, and zoom in or out: everything happened instantly. So only the loading (understandably) took time.

Robert2 wrote:I am not sure what exactly you mean by “the whole Audacity's folder cached in my 24GB SSD”. If you install Audacity on your SSD (or any other application for that matter), Audacity will not be “cached” on your SSD. Applications are run from SSDs in the same way as they are run from an ordinary hard drive. They are not “cached” on the SSD. What actually happens when you launch an application, is that Windows loads the application into RAM. As far as Audacity is concerned, you must make sure that the Audacity temp folder is located on the SSD in “C:Users<User Name>AppDataLocalTempaudacity_temp”, and the FFMEG library is also located on the SSD in “C:Program Files (x86)Ffmpeg For Audacityavformat-52.dll” (see “Edit | Preferences > Libraries”, and “Edit | Preferences > Directories” in Audacity). The Windows system temp files should also be located on the SSD in “C:Users<User Name>AppDataLocalTemp” (type Winkey+R, then enter “%temp%” without the quotes).

I only have Audacity 2.0.4, but I don’t think it matters.

I don’t know what exactly you mean by “huge length audio files”. How huge is “huge”?

I just used drag & drop to load a “huge” FLAC file (741 MB) into Audacity. It took Audacity exactly 40 seconds to completely load that file.
I then used drag & drop to load a much bigger FLAC file (2 GB+) into Audacity (this is the sound track from the film “Children Of A Lesser God”). It took Audacity exactly 2 minutes 05 seconds to completely load that file. The Audacity progress bar proved to be unreliable then: it kept blinking idiotically until the file actually got loaded; but the file got loaded correctly. I could play that track, select portions of it, and zoom in or out: everything happened instantly. So only the loading (understandably) took time.

Hi, sorry for the incomplete info I gave.

First, you gotta know my rig. I have a laptop with Windows 8.1 x64, Intel quad-core i7-4700MQ 2.4GHz up to 3.4GHz, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD 5400rpm and a 24GB SSD for CACHE. "For cache" means that I can't save there a program or something like that, that's done automatically by a software. The SSD doesn't even appear in THIS PC. I don't have an hybrid HDD, I have 2 separated devices. There's a software installed that is called Expresscache, that manages the caching process. It works this way:

Each time I open a program, it caches (copy from the HDD to the SSD) the most used data and saves it in the SSD. So the next time I open it, it is ALMOST like if I had the program in a SSD. So I've manually cached the Audacity folder in the SSD, but it still takes 5-14 seconds to launch. That's done in MS-DOS using the command [eccmd.exe -preload "C:/Program Files..."].

By huge I meant film audio files, that can be a 6 channel DTS file that is 1.3GB and 2h 30m 00s length. It takes like 3 minutes or more to load. But that's cause it's in the HDD. Once loaded, it's still laggy when I zoom in, move to different sections... And I think it's ALSO because the HDD. Reading your comment I see that the SSD is the solution. Thanks!