Audacity flatlining on 'Record'...anyone else had/have same problem?

YGailW12 · Post by **YGailW12** » January 4th, 2019, 9:30 am

Hello

I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same problem with Audacity that I am currently experiencing. It's been working okay up to now, but it's suddenly not recording. When I press 'record', the blue tracking line stays flat and no recording takes place. I have checked the microphone (USB) setting and that's okay. I've tried closing Audacity, I've uninstalled and installed it again, but it's not working.

I notice that, when I press 'record', the information in the boxes above the audio track now fade from black to grey (eg, information boxes: MME; Microphone; 1 (Mono) recording; speaker/headphone...).

I'm hoping that it's just a case of my having pressed something that I shouldn't have, and that it will be simple to remedy it.

Any ideas about how to fix it will be gratefully received.

Thank you.

Penumbra · Post by **Penumbra** » January 4th, 2019, 10:45 am

you might take a look at "Why do I get only a flat line and no sound when I try to record?" in the audacity manual
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/faq_recording_troubleshooting.html#Why_can_I_not_record_in_Windows.3F

It is item 14 in the FAQ.

Post by **mightyfelix** » January 4th, 2019, 12:47 pm

I think I had this issue when I was running out of storage space. Have you cleaned out your old files recently?

JayKitty76 · Post by **JayKitty76** » January 4th, 2019, 3:06 pm

Maybe you accidentally muted your mic? Just a wild stab in the dark, but if you're using a headset with controls on the cable/wire, you could've muted it.
Once I was recording and fiddling with the control panel on the cable, and I accidentally pressed the big circular Mute button halfway through...and I had 8 more minutes I had to rerecord.

angusfreathy · Post by **angusfreathy** » January 7th, 2019, 5:30 pm

A friend using Mac installed Mojave OS and had the same issue. He had to go into 'preferences' somewhere and give permission for Audacity to use the mic and USB inputs.
Sorry, no more details in my memory, but hope that helps.

blueskies · Post by **blueskies** » January 8th, 2019, 2:52 pm

That would likely be in macOS system preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy settings for the microphone. Audacity must be checked in that location.