Orphaned external device settings returns "Error opening sound device..." message
Hi Again,
I got this message because I have a bad habit of unplugging my headphones in the middle of a session. Audacity doesn’t like it when headphones are unplugged during a session because it orphans the output device setting of ‘External Headphones’. Try to play a track with the output devices setting set to ‘External Headphones’ but the headphones are unplugged and the above message displays.
The simple solution:
1. Plug headphones back
2. Go to Transport | Rescan Audio Device
3. Error is cleared and headphones are restored
I wasn't aware that the external devices settings don't automatically reset to defaults when you close a session. I used headphones in a session then closed Audacity. When I opened the next session, this time without headphones, I wasn't aware the output device was still set to 'External Headphones' from the session before so I got the error message when I pressed 'play'.
The simple solution:
It is good practice to review the Audacity device settings before each session. Even better is the good practice of having all devices plugged in before launching or opening Audacity.
I hope this helps