JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Audacity & Media Player

Has anyone else had a problem with Audacity crashing their Media Player? If so, was it "fixable"? How? Thank you very much. Kate Martel

What do you mean by this exactly? Audacity is a standalone program - how would it crash an entirely different program? By "Media Player", do you mean Windows Media Player, or something else? I can probably help you with this issue if you tell me more information about your problem and your computer. :-)

I sometimes have trouble when operating Music Match player and Audacity at the same time,every thing seems to freeze,I have to close out one or the other to clear things up. I've never lost either program but they do clash somehow.

Hi Kate.
I also need more info and am unsure about what you mean.
In the meantime here are some general tips about Audacity. Audacity is a stand alone sound file recording and editing program. It is not a media player......It uses the soundcard on your PC for record/playback.
If you are using the Audacity 1.3 beta version I suggest that you uninstall it and reinstall the 1.2 stable version. The beta version has known issues and is prone to crashing. The 1.2.6 version works well with Vista and 7. I have not had any probs and have ran it on XP and Vista,
Audacity should not be used with other programs running at the same time as this could cause problems especially if your PC has a low spec and memory.
Sometimes a simple PC reboot can sort out any probs that you may have. You may also want to check the Audacity I/O settings as the wrong options checked can cause crashes or loss of sound.

Hi Andrew ~ Thank you for your offer to help. Windows Media Player began not recognizing that it had a blank CD in the burner: RW's worked then for awhile until it no longer recognized them either.

Presently, we uninstalled Media Player & re-loaded it. Looked like someone got into the computer while I was online (at the same time I was recording on Audacity & burning on Media Player). It may be that when they exited, parts of Media Player went also (?). Will let you know if the new Media player functions normally. Kate

Hi Big Jim ~ Thank you for the suggestions on Audacity. I haven't a clue which one I've got. Will check. We are running Vista with 7...had no huge problems with anything until acquiring
Audacity and 7, at about the same time. The blame for the probem continues to shift. The PC should be fine; it's a Dell 64 byte.

And I do need to remember to shut Internet down before opening the music stuff. It is still unreal to me that people actually invade your computer & do damage... Kate

Thank you, Everett. Kate

Hi Kate. I do not use Win Media player for burning...there are better alternatives.....In Fact I do not use that media player period. There are better freebies that are more user friendly and do not want to take over your PC. I would not attempt to burn a disc with any other program open as this can cause conflict probs and ruin the burn.

I am still not sure what you are doing.....Vista and 7 are two completely diff op systems. I am not sure how you can use both at the same time...perhaps you upgraded to 7.....in which case Vista would have been blown away first.

The probs you are having may be down to running a 64 bit system with Audacity which works on 32. Here is an article explaining about this prob.
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Windows_Vista_OS
I also would suggest now that you do use the 1.3 beta version of Audacity contrary to what I said before......I was assuming that you had XP or Vista and were running a 32 bit system.
If you are running the older version of Audacity this could be the cause of the probs. You may have to install special drivers if you have further probs.

Hi Big Jim ~ As you can tell, I am "technologically challenged". Grin. I thought 7 was merely something that made Vista work better...so it has actually replaced it. OK.

I have Audacity 1.2.6, which still seems to work fine, for the little I know how to do: record guitar and voice together w/ a Behringer condenser mic straight into the computer, one time through. The computer person thinks (now) that something(someone) got in during an authorized Microsoft upgrade...and this (somehow) resulted in pieces of Media Player departing. What do you use instead of Media Player?

Thank you again. It's very nice of you to take the time. Kate

Hi Kate I use Nero.......It is an all singing dancing media player and burner.....it also has a neat cover designer that can print my own CDs and sleeves etc. For playing files I need and use several players depending on the application I need at the time.
Windows media player I find troublesome and it does not have the apps I need.

With regard to you missing certain components.....this can be fixed with a repair......This is straightforward and easy to do. The installation disc you have for 7 should replace/repair the missing bits. If you do not know how to do this then I suggest you ask someone to do it for you. You may be able to get this done under warranty or insurance.

With regard to you recording guitar/vocs I would suggest recording the vocals on a separate track from the guitar. Mic placement editing and adding FX is simpler this way and the end results would be so much better and sound more professional.
Record the guitar first and then playback through headphones whilst recording vocals on another track.
There are tutorials on Audacity that will help you with the tech issues.
This link might help you get started.
http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-tutorial.html

Hi Big Jim ~

Wow. Thanks. You know, it really would be nice to sound professional. I will convey this info to the computer-literate person. You are being so generous with your time. Thanks again. Kate

Hi again, Big Jim ~

I am back, with some videos of my originals on You Tube. If you'd like to see them, this should take you to my channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MartelKate

Ultimately we dumped Audacity, re-loaded it, & away it went with no further problems...except that when it comes to computers, everything is a problem the first several times through. Grin. Kate

Hi Kate Glad I could be of some help.....Anytime you want any info or help just PM me...I will do my best to help you.
I checked out your vid.....I like the song and the performance.....you need to stand closer to the mic....it was too distant and faint sounding.....was this recorded with a vid camera using the built in mic? or did you record the sound seperate and add it to the vid?

I have shot a vid of myself and my pals in the studio.....we used a cam corder and the inbuilt mic provided the sound....for comparison we recorded the audio live and at the same time and I have posted this audio for folks entertainment and as a comparison.
It is on this forum titled Big Jim in studio vid.

Hi Big Jim ~ Wow...your studio version of Love Hurts is killer. I love that rough edge on your voice. The only mic on my vids was in the camera. The idea was to get an idea what the audience sees, since I had never videoed before. I have good mics & ok PA...just have not hooked anything up yet. Wanting to hear the true acoustic sound for awhile & improve on that before making it easy.

What is your take on the (coming out by end 2010) Zoom Q3HD, video/audio recorder? Or do you have a suggestion on a not-too-expensive unit for use in a relatively quiet setting? Thanks. Kate

Hi Kate I do not use such units never have .....probably never will. If I want a live recording I would use a passive USB or firewrire mixing desk straight into PC or laptop. Each track can then be mixed and edited etc separately. They cost about the same as a Zoom and some have FX so can be used in a live situation as well as a studio setting. There are however a lot of folk who use Zooms or similar and they have pretty good reviews. It is all down to taste and what you are comfortable with.