Audacity Forum

I'm working with a Dell Inspiron with maxed out ram (16 gigs) with everything up-to-date driver and BIOS wise on Windows 8.1 The computer has a terabyte storage capacity, most of which is still unused or filled with anything.

For some reason I cannot fathom, Audacity has stopped recognizing my ATR mic setup. And, it won't allow my headphones to function if the mic is plugged in. Off and on, my mic monitor in Audacity won't come on either. I have only three options on my computer Dell audio when it's brought to the desktop. 2 spkr channels, i mic channel, and the ATR mic is coming up on one of the speaker channels. Could this be causing a problem? During this snafu-on occasion-if the ATR mic is plugged into it's USB slot, it automatically cuts out my headphones.

I am only semi-computer literate, and a real neophyte when it comes to the actual broadcast engineering savvy. I've been in the game a long time as V/O talent where the pros on jobs handled all these things, and now I must learn to do it on my own just be feeling my way, trying different effects, previewing them to see if I like what I HEAR in the phones and then impleneting those that work. But I don't a sine from a pig's trough otherwise.

Version number of Audacity? See the pink panel at the top of the page.

Edward1 wrote:For some reason I cannot fathom, Audacity has stopped recognizing my ATR mic setup.

Model number of the ATR USB mic?

Edward1 wrote: And, it won't allow my headphones to function if the mic is plugged in. Off and on, my mic monitor in Audacity won't come on either.

Do you mean you don't get delayed software playthrough of what you are singing or speaking into the mic?

Edward1 wrote:the ATR mic is coming up on one of the speaker channels.

What does that mean? That you hear playthrough in one of the computer speakers but not the headphones?

Edward1 wrote:During this snafu-on occasion-if the ATR mic is plugged into it's USB slot, it automatically cuts out my headphones.

How do your headphones connect to the computer? Are they also USB?

Does the ATR mic have headphones for monitoring?

It is normal that plugging in a USB input device could change the default playback device to that input device, even if that input device can't play audio. You have to go into Windows Sound and change the Default playback device to the device you want to use for playback, such as your headphones. But you can always choose the correct playback device in Audacity's Device Toolbar.

Also it sounds as if you may not have proper audio drivers for your built-in audio device. If the audio drivers are up-to-date but provided by Microsoft, they are only generic drivers that may give bad results. If you tell us the exact model number of the Inspiron, and whether the computer is 32-bit or 64-bit, we can see if there are proper audio drivers supplied by Dell for the built-in audio.


Gale

My thanks and apologies to all who replied to this initial post. I didn't realize I had left out so much information. My microphone is an ATR 2100, and my laptop is a Dell Inspiron 7000 series.I have figured out the microphone problem by hunting around in the FAQs.But I am still all at sea trying to figure out how to import a new Stereo file into the same project that already has two of them.I have a narration track that exists and a music track that at present is not mixed down with the first one, and now I'm trying to load a sound effects file hither and yon Into the timeline at strategic points utilizing the track alignment feature for timeshifting. I had to delete two previous attempts at mix down when the music and the narration went in and were amenable to being manipulated In that fashion by being in separate tracks. I just assumed that when I loaded a sound effects file into the timeline it would come in within its own stereo tracks as long as it was not part of the original mix.
I earlier had tried setting that up correctly the first time as to where I wanted that sound effects thing to come into play but it always loaded into the already mixed track right at the start and made for an unintelligible mishmash. I tried that twice and then gave up, deleting all mixed down efforts to date. I have been studying the manual but have not yet run into any information that would allow me to get that new file into that timeline on separate tracks. I don't want to split them up into mono tracks if I can help it. I figure that interferes with my sound quality overall.What I've got here are 6 tracks that if I can get my sound effects track(s) shifted around to the right positions and then mix the whole thing down in the one stereo track I'll be in the home stretch on this project. Getting that third set of stereo tracks to come into the right place in the timeline, or even if it just comes in at the start position I don't care as long as I can manipulate it to the right locations in the timeline– But it has to come in on its own set of tracks and be amenable to lining up with the other two.http://forum.audacityteam.org/posting.p ... 46&t=92641#

Edward1 wrote:I am still all at sea trying to figure out how to import a new Stereo file into the same project that already has two of them.

Is it the same problem as this topic of yours:
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 46&t=92643 ?

There is an answer there, which you have not replied to. I suggest you have a look at that reply. If you reply there, please tell us what version of Audacity you have. We can't answer questions properly without knowing that.

I'm locking this topic now, because you seem to say this problem is solved. If erratic behaviour occurs with the built-in speakers or with non-USB headphones, I would go to Dell's site and install or reinstall the correct audio drivers for your Inspiron 7000 and Windows 8.1.


Gale