I've started running into serious technology failures since I began recording for Librivox early this year. I wonder if this is something related to the recording setup and if others have found some way around it. I've been using Audacity on $300-400 15-16" Window laptops with 4GB RAM. When I'm recording I usually have Audacity, Acrobat Reader, and Chrome open at the same time. By failures, I don't mean things not recording properly or getting helpful error messages. I mean low-level system messages with hex numbers, the screen starting to flash, or the laptop shutting down on its own. I did not get them before I set up for Librivox recording. At first, I tried reinstalling Windows, and that seems to help for a while. Then when the failures came back, I decided that the laptop was just nearing the end of its lifespan after 2-3 years of use. Now, I just got a new laptop from a different company, which worked fine for a day, but began failing in a similar way just a few minutes into my first recording attempt. Has anyone encountered similar issues before? Is this the laptop's way of saying that 4GB of RAM is insufficient for this setup?
Michael
Recording setup causing hardware failures? [RESOLVED]
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TriciaG
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Hmm. I have 4 GB of RAM and have no issues. Do you occasionally close Chrome and/or clear out its cache?
School fiction: David Blaize
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
America Exploration: The First Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
I do close it. In fact, one of the first things I tried was switching to Edge, since the error messages seem to come from Chrome, but I began having similar failures with it right away. I unpacked this new laptop and installed Chrome on it just last night.
Michael
well, silly questions.. but maybe, some of the basic questions give you an idea?
despite a new laptop after one day using: do you have enough space in your hard drives?
some years ago, i burned my files to dvd and saved them after a fresh install on my pc, until i realized, that i run out of empty space..
do you have software installed like boinc or other distributed networks? they have an enormous effect and usage of pc internals... change your settings or pause the work while recording?
do you have a soundcard installed?
some work may be done over a soundcard, and some soundcards may be contraproductive.
an audio interface is a sort of soundcard, and usb mics have one included i think?
is it working?
did you try to use another microphone (or audiointerface)? is the problem the same?
did you check your programme versions?
is it a freshly downloaded audacity version?
do you use a chrome version for windows?
is there software or are there drivers for your mic?
which windows version do you use?
it seems to be, that despite changing your pc-system, you have the same problem. what other hardware or software did you install again? eg firewall? or virusscanner? do they accept your mic?
look up software versions and updates..
did you get any installation messages?
do you use gadgets like a fan which gets its electricity by usb?
did you try another usb port for your mic? the plug?
is the cable ok?
i found a forum message somewhere, that windows 10 had compatibility issues with audacity last summer?
i found a tutorial passage where audacity says, not all mics are compatible?
...maybe a little bit vague and trial and error, but i hope, you will find the problem..
despite a new laptop after one day using: do you have enough space in your hard drives?
some years ago, i burned my files to dvd and saved them after a fresh install on my pc, until i realized, that i run out of empty space..
do you have software installed like boinc or other distributed networks? they have an enormous effect and usage of pc internals... change your settings or pause the work while recording?
do you have a soundcard installed?
some work may be done over a soundcard, and some soundcards may be contraproductive.
an audio interface is a sort of soundcard, and usb mics have one included i think?
is it working?
did you try to use another microphone (or audiointerface)? is the problem the same?
did you check your programme versions?
is it a freshly downloaded audacity version?
do you use a chrome version for windows?
is there software or are there drivers for your mic?
which windows version do you use?
it seems to be, that despite changing your pc-system, you have the same problem. what other hardware or software did you install again? eg firewall? or virusscanner? do they accept your mic?
look up software versions and updates..
did you get any installation messages?
do you use gadgets like a fan which gets its electricity by usb?
did you try another usb port for your mic? the plug?
is the cable ok?
i found a forum message somewhere, that windows 10 had compatibility issues with audacity last summer?
i found a tutorial passage where audacity says, not all mics are compatible?
...maybe a little bit vague and trial and error, but i hope, you will find the problem..
cheers
wolfi
reader/12275
wolfi
reader/12275
Thank you, schrm. Your long list of questions agrees with what one sees on this topic out there, which is that this is a difficult type of error to diagnose. Since I'm using popular hardware and software, I was hoping that others have encountered this error and there's a ready answer, but interestingly it doesn't seem to be the case.
I'm starting with what seems to be the quickest way of exploring the space of possibilities, which is excluding some of the main software components. The first variation I've tried is using Edge for both web browsing and PDF viewing, and I haven't experienced any issues yet after several days of recording. This is promising and would already be a working solution. Even if that works, I'll also try using Chrome instead of Edge, just for the sake of clarity. At the moment my prime suspect is Acrobat Reader. In retrospect, I'm surprised at myself for continuing to use it out of pure inertia. Even though I hadn't run into this kind of problems before I started making recordings, it has been already for a number of years slow, bloated, security-challenged, sneaky on installation and entirely redundant. It inspires very little confidence as to its general quality of engineering. I don't think I'll ever install it again.
Michael
I'm starting with what seems to be the quickest way of exploring the space of possibilities, which is excluding some of the main software components. The first variation I've tried is using Edge for both web browsing and PDF viewing, and I haven't experienced any issues yet after several days of recording. This is promising and would already be a working solution. Even if that works, I'll also try using Chrome instead of Edge, just for the sake of clarity. At the moment my prime suspect is Acrobat Reader. In retrospect, I'm surprised at myself for continuing to use it out of pure inertia. Even though I hadn't run into this kind of problems before I started making recordings, it has been already for a number of years slow, bloated, security-challenged, sneaky on installation and entirely redundant. It inspires very little confidence as to its general quality of engineering. I don't think I'll ever install it again.
Michael
