When WavePad freezes

addon

Sometimes WavePad freezes on me. This is commonly when handling a large file, or when I cancel an operation such as "save". Then I have to go to the Alt Ctrl Del routine, and WavePad closes so I can get it going again. So far, no great deal.

The problem is that, when this happens, I lose the orginal of file that I was working on at the time of the freeze. As you can imagine this is a MAJOR pain.

I have not found this with any othetr software. Do I have to keep back-up copies of every file in case I lose it if I have a WavePad freeze? Or, what I am not doing? What should I be doing?

Any comments, suggestions?

Regardsa to all

Adam

jerry4dos

Hi Adam:

While I have never had WavePad "freeze" on me, I NEVER edit my only file. Make a copy first, then edit the copy just to be safe.

Is there any particular PATTERN to what you're doing when WavePad freezes, or are the freezes occurring randomly?

Jerry

addon

Jerry

Seems to happen when handling really big files, 50 MB plus, and when processing the whole file in some way - particularly saving after doing some editing work. May be a fault of my system, which is getting a bit sluggish (Windows XP with SP2, 1.88 GHz processor, 223 RAM). I am trying to troubleshoot my system and keep the file size down. Keeping a backup is a great idea, I have always though of that but am not too big on discipline!

I used to be able to handle 50 MB plus files OK but maybe I will just try to cut back on the size.

Regards

Adam

nchngoc

Which format did you save the file to? Can you let us know more details about the format settings you select? You should backup the file just in case something happens.

addon

Usually I stick with .wav but sometimes I use .mp3 if I am not far off burning the file to CD. Whatever the settings are, they are the default settings that come with WavePad.

I am about to record a music broadcast of about 55 minutes, then I will have to "slice and dice" it into tracks, so I will see how that goes and report back!

Regards

Adam

jerry4dos

Hi addon:

You shouldn't have any problem with 55-minute WAV files. "I think" WavePad records and edits everything in WAV, and then converts your WAV file to MP3 if you need it in that format.

The problem I've found with large (long) files is when the file is over 1-hour-41-minutes -- I can't start and stop the cursor play beyond that mark. However, I've applied "effects" (specifically "amplify," "normalize," and "AGC" to files longer than 1:41, and the effect was properly applied to the whole file without problem.

One user reported in this forum that she couldn't RECORD longer than 1 hour, but I've not tried that. If I make a long recording from an Internet Stream, I usually record it using a direct-to-MP3 recorder, which has no time limitations because it doesn't have to "store" a lot a material -- it just converts it on-the-fly and writes it directly to the hard disk.

Jerry

addon

thanks jerry

i think the problem may be/have been with my system - i do tend to run a few things at the same time - impatient to get stuff done! - and this may overload my ole PC.

i downloaded a radio stream no problem this afternoon and will go about editing it in the next couple of days. i'll come back if there is a problem.

many thanks for you comments. What is a "direct-to-MP3 recorder"?

Thanks again

Adam

jerry4dos

Hi addon:

A "direct-to-MP3" recorder records the audio stream directly in MP3 format (without first recording it as a WAV file, then converting it later to MP3).

My favorite MP3 recorder is EASY HI-Q RECORDER (although there are lots of other ones out there) because it is so easy to use. A freeware version (with fewer features) is also available. Download either (or both) here:

http://www.roemersoftware.com/

If your streaming downloads require only minimal editing (say maybe chopping off the head and tail of superfluous stuff), maybe this editor will work for you. I use it all the time for simple edits. It edits the MP3 file directly without converting it to a WAV file first:

MP3DIRECTCUT (freeware)

http://www.mpesch3.de/

If my download needs more help than MP3DIRECTCUT can handle, then I use WAVEPAD, which has lots more features.

I also try not to use my computer for other intensive tasks while I'm downloading, because even with a high-speed connection, I sometimes get dropouts in the audio stream I'm recording if my computer gets "busy."

Jerry