Audio track goes silent after 16 seconds

[Eve Sutton]

Hello!  I am using a Mac G-5 desktop computer, OS X  10.4.1 with  Audacity
1.2.3  (tried to upgrade but had problems with newer version-- better to
stick with what I know).

Now I am in the process of double-checking and amplifying about 120 short
tracks of math lessons that I have recorded for my students.

Here is an example of a strange problem that has been popping up: some
tracks are suddenly truncated when I Amplify them.  I undo Amplification and
the whole track comes back.


I am attaching an example-- track is 1:36 long, but only plays the first 16
seconds.  Attached: 2fNumSysIntro825.aup


I try playing the track, but only get part of the sound, then the cursor
floats over the other sound wiggles in silence.  This happens with my .aup
file, and with my .aiff file (except, when I exported as AIFF, only 16
seconds got exported).


What buttons, drop down menus, etc. should I use to fix this?

Huge thanks!
--Eve Sutton
Palo Alto, CA
 



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[audacity-help mailing list]

    | From Eve Sutton
    | Sat, 25 Aug 2007 10:31:45 -0700
    | Subject: [Audacity-help] Audio track goes silent after 16 seconds
    | I am using a Mac G-5 desktop computer, OS X  10.4.1 with  Audacity
    | 1.2.3  (tried to upgrade but had problems with newer version-- better to
    | stick with what I know).

As previously explained, the problem you had was not because of the Beta
version but because you were dragging or exporting the wrong type of file
into iTunes. If you want to use a version from the stable 1.2.x line please
use 1.2.6 from the link below (1.2.3 is obsolete and is no longer supported):
http://belnet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/audacity/audacity-macosx-ppc-1.2.6.dmg

    | Now I am in the process of double-checking and amplifying about 120 short
    | tracks of math lessons that I have recorded for my students.
    | Here is an example of a strange problem that has been popping up: some
    | tracks are suddenly truncated when I Amplify them.  I undo Amplification and
    | the whole track comes back.
    | I am attaching an example-- track is 1:36 long, but only plays the first 16
    | seconds.  Attached: 2fNumSysIntro825.aup
    | I try playing the track, but only get part of the sound, then the cursor
    | floats over the other sound wiggles in silence.  This happens with my .aup
    | file, and with my .aiff file (except, when I exported as AIFF, only 16
    | seconds got exported).

Unfortunately we can do nothing with the .aup file as it is unopenable without
the accompanying _data folder that has the actual audio data of the Project. When
you say the cursor "floats" is it still moving over the waveform or is it stuck at
one point? Are you sure you are selecting the whole track when you amplify it as
per the instructions given before:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Selecting_Audio

If you are intentionally only selecting part of the track to amplify it, then if you
press Play after the amplification, only the selected part will play. To hear all
the track, press CMND + A on your keyboard or click in the Track Panel of the
audio to select all the audio of the track.

If you don't have a selection area (dark grey shading) defined in the track, is
the cursor sticking at one point when you say it is "floating"?  If it is stuck, it
is definitely a playback problem and you need to use 1.2.6 as per the above link.
Also please note that when you import the individual files into Audacity, you
need to retain them. If you delete them then you will get no audio although you
can still see the waveform on the screen.


Gale Andrews






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[Eve Sutton]

I downloaded Audacity 1.2.6
Forced quit of Audacity 1.2.3
Opened Audacity 1.2.6 folder, clicked on headphone icon, and within that
application, opened my Number Systems Intro track:  2fNumSysIntro825.aup
(I opened the copies that are on my normal hard disk subfolder, NOT in
iTunes.)
Again, when I clicked the green arrow for Play,  the cursor moved from left
to right, continuing even when sound stopped coming out (16 seconds).  I did
not select any particular section of the track; I did  not try to amplify.
I only clicked on the green arrow to Play the track.
I wanted to attach both the .aup and _data files here, but got an error msg:
I need Aladin Stuffit Expander or something to attach the _data file.
SIGH!
--Eve

on 8/25/07 12:30 PM, Audacity Help at [hidden email]
wrote:

>
>     | From Eve Sutton
>     | Sat, 25 Aug 2007 10:31:45 -0700
>     | Subject: [Audacity-help] Audio track goes silent after 16 seconds
>     | I am using a Mac G-5 desktop computer, OS X  10.4.1 with  Audacity
>     | 1.2.3  (tried to upgrade but had problems with newer version-- better to
>     | stick with what I know).
>
> As previously explained, the problem you had was not because of the Beta
> version but because you were dragging or exporting the wrong type of file
> into iTunes. If you want to use a version from the stable 1.2.x line please
> use 1.2.6 from the link below (1.2.3 is obsolete and is no longer supported):
> http://belnet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/audacity/audacity-macosx-ppc-1.2.
> 6.dmg
>
>     | Now I am in the process of double-checking and amplifying about 120
> short
>     | tracks of math lessons that I have recorded for my students.
>     | Here is an example of a strange problem that has been popping up: some
>     | tracks are suddenly truncated when I Amplify them.  I undo Amplification
> and
>     | the whole track comes back.
>     | I am attaching an example-- track is 1:36 long, but only plays the first
> 16
>     | seconds.  Attached: 2fNumSysIntro825.aup
>     | I try playing the track, but only get part of the sound, then the cursor
>     | floats over the other sound wiggles in silence.  This happens with my
> .aup
>     | file, and with my .aiff file (except, when I exported as AIFF, only 16
>     | seconds got exported).
>
> Unfortunately we can do nothing with the .aup file as it is unopenable without
> the accompanying _data folder that has the actual audio data of the Project.
> When
> you say the cursor "floats" is it still moving over the waveform or is it
> stuck at
> one point? Are you sure you are selecting the whole track when you amplify it
> as
> per the instructions given before:
> http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Selecting_Audio
>
> If you are intentionally only selecting part of the track to amplify it, then
> if you
> press Play after the amplification, only the selected part will play. To hear
> all
> the track, press CMND + A on your keyboard or click in the Track Panel of the
> audio to select all the audio of the track.
>
> If you don't have a selection area (dark grey shading) defined in the track,
> is
> the cursor sticking at one point when you say it is "floating"?  If it is
> stuck, it
> is definitely a playback problem and you need to use 1.2.6 as per the above
> link.
> Also please note that when you import the individual files into Audacity, you
> need to retain them. If you delete them then you will get no audio although
> you
> can still see the waveform on the screen.
>
>
> Gale Andrews
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Outbound message virus free.
> Tested on: 8/25/2007 8:30:35 PM
>
>
>

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[audacity-help mailing list]

    | From Eve Sutton
    | Sat, 25 Aug 2007 14:34:14 -0700
    | Subject: [Audacity-help] Audio track goes silent after 16 seconds--tried hints
    | I downloaded Audacity 1.2.6 [OS X G5 10.4.1]
    | Forced quit of Audacity 1.2.3
    | Opened Audacity 1.2.6 folder, clicked on headphone icon, and within that
    | application, opened my Number Systems Intro track:  2fNumSysIntro825.aup
    | (I opened the copies that are on my normal hard disk subfolder, NOT in
    | iTunes.)
    | Again, when I clicked the green arrow for Play,  the cursor moved from left
    | to right, continuing even when sound stopped coming out (16 seconds).  I did
    | not select any particular section of the track; I did  not try to amplify.
    | I only clicked on the green arrow to Play the track.
    | I wanted to attach both the .aup and _data files here, but got an error msg:
    | I need Aladin Stuffit Expander or something to attach the _data file.

We do have a limit of 15 kB on size of emails sent to this list, so if you want
to include the .aup file and the _data  folder in a zip folder, please send it
to me at:

gale at audacityteam.org

Obviously you must format that as a normal email address. Is this the only
Project where you have this problem? If you see the waveform on the screen
when the cursor is moving over it but the audio is silent, it sounds to me like
you imported an uncompressed audio file such as a WAV or AIFF into this
Project at the 16 seconds point, but you have now deleted or moved it so that
Audacity cannot find and play the audio. If you can restore that file to the path
on your computer it originally had, the Project will have sound again.  For more
explanation of this issue, please see:    
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=File_Management_Tips#Loss_of_audio_in_Project_due_to_missing_dependent_file
 
You appeared to say when you exported an AIFF from the Project, you only
got the first 16 seconds exported. That would have happened because you
used File > Export Selection As.. instead of File > Export As.. and does
indicate that you only had that first 16 seconds of audio selected.


Gale Andrews

 




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[Eve Sutton]

 Thanks to Gail Andrews-- I think you are correct that I moved the sound
file back and forth, from my regular hard disk folder to the iTunes folder
(AIFF only) and back to my hard disk folder.  Sometimes I do this if the
original AUP file gets corrupted and I want to restore the audio track from
Somewhere, anywhere, so I can listen to the whole thing and make edits as
needed.  I will see how many other AUP originals have this problem.  At
times, it might be easier to record the whole track anew.

I appreciate getting the link to help-- eg, Loss of audio in Project due to
missing dependent file

I cannot search and find the right sections on my own because I just do not
speak the language; for example, I didn't know until now what a "dependent
file" is and I did not know that AIFF was "uncompressed".

I still do not know how to send a zip file-- what is a zip file?  Are they
easy to make on my Mac G-5 OS 10.4 ?  For now, maybe I  do not have to send
anything to you,  but if I get stuck and want to send the AUP or AIFF with
its DATA file, how should I do this?

Many thanks!
--Eve

> You appeared to say when you exported an AIFF from the Project, you only
> got the first 16 seconds exported. That would have happened because you
> used File > Export Selection As.. instead of File > Export As.. and does
> indicate that you only had that first 16 seconds of audio selected.
>
>
> Gale Andrews



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[macloo]

I think I understand the answer given here, and it may answer a question I have about my student's audio problem.

The student brought me her files on a USB drive. I saw the .aup file and matching _data folder. I opened the .aup in Audacity and verified the problem she had experienced on another computer: In the middle of her 2-minute audio track, there were two separate 15-second stretches of silence.

In each stretch of silence, the waveform indicated that there WAS sound there. But when the playhead moves over those sections -- no sound.

The file had played fine on a third computer, yesterday, she said.

So ... even though she had the .aup AND the data folder, there was a missing file??? (Or an incorrect path?) Is that the answer?

Here's why I'm puzzled: I thought if she had the .aup and the matching data folder, she did not need anything else. Am I wrong?

Final fact: The .aup and data folder were generated from a .wav file that was in the same folder with the two Audacity files. The .wav file was about 7 minutes, so she had done a lot of work on it. But there were only the three files I have described. The only explanation I can think of is, maybe the .wav had been moved, and the relative path was different.

[audacity-help mailing list]

    | From macloo
    | Wed, 5 Sep 2007 19:25:36 -0700 (PDT)
    | Subject: [Audacity-help] Audio track goes silent -- same problem
    | I think I understand the answer given here, and it may answer a question I
    | have about my student's audio problem.
    | The student brought me her files on a USB drive. I saw the .aup file and
    | matching _data folder. I opened the .aup in Audacity and verified the
    | problem she had experienced on another computer: In the middle of her
    | 2-minute audio track, there were two separate 15-second stretches of
    | silence.
    | In each stretch of silence, the waveform indicated that there WAS sound
    | there. But when the playhead moves over those sections -- no sound.
    | The file had played fine on a third computer, yesterday, she said.
    | So ... even though she had the .aup AND the data folder, there was a missing
    | file??? (Or an incorrect path?) Is that the answer?
    | Here's why I'm puzzled: I thought if she had the .aup and the matching data
    | folder, she did not need anything else. Am I wrong?
    | Final fact: The .aup and data folder were generated from a .wav file that
    | was in the same folder with the two Audacity files. The .wav file was about
    | 7 minutes, so she had done a lot of work on it. But there were only the
    | three files I have described. The only explanation I can think of is, maybe
    | the .wav had been moved, and the relative path was different.

Please refer to the page that we directed Ms.Sutton to:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=File_Management_Tips#Loss_of_audio_in_Project_due_to_missing_dependent_file

You need the .aup file and the _data folder to be together in the same folder
(the folder containing the .aup file and _data folder does not need to be in
the original location or even - with some restrictions - on the same computer).
For the restrictions, please see this page:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sending_your_work_to_others

However the _data folder itself must have the same name as at the time it
was created.

Additionally, unless the user has Audacity set in Preferences to copy imported
WAV or AIFF files into the  _data folder, those imported files must remain
present in their original absolute path (even if you move the .aup file and
_data folder together to a new location).

It follows that if the imported files are not copied into the _data folder, the
Project will only have all its audio when opened on the computer that created
it, unless when you take the Project to another computer, you can also put a
copy of the imported files into the same absolute path on that other computer
that they had on the computer that created the Project.  


Gale Andrews



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[macloo]

This explains why I never saw the problem before -- I guess *I* have my Preferences set to copy imported
WAV or AIFF files into the  _data folder ... but my student had a different setting.

Thank you so much for your speedy reply, Gale!!

-- Mindy


Please refer to the page that we directed Ms.Sutton to:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=File_Management_Tips#Loss_of_audio_in_Project_due_to_missing_dependent_file

You need the .aup file and the _data folder to be together in the same folder
(the folder containing the .aup file and _data folder does not need to be in
the original location or even - with some restrictions - on the same computer).
For the restrictions, please see this page:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sending_your_work_to_others

However the _data folder itself must have the same name as at the time it
was created.

Additionally, unless the user has Audacity set in Preferences to copy imported
WAV or AIFF files into the  _data folder, those imported files must remain
present in their original absolute path (even if you move the .aup file and
_data folder together to a new location).

It follows that if the imported files are not copied into the _data folder, the
Project will only have all its audio when opened on the computer that created
it, unless when you take the Project to another computer, you can also put a
copy of the imported files into the same absolute path on that other computer
that they had on the computer that created the Project.  


Gale Andrews