Does anybody know how to copy recording software from one location to another? I have an internet connection with the house computer but not with my laptop. I have just downloaded the free recording software 'Audacity' and thought it would be simple to save it to disk and put it onto the laptop. Alternatively I just bought a memory stick but have no idea how to use it!

Just tried to copy the programme onto a CD but got a message which was soemthing like 'there was an error copying these files and your CD may now be unusable'.

Can anybody advise me what to do next? All I want to do is get this software onto the laptop! Any help would be much appreciated.

Violinia

When software is installed it often makes entries into the system registry etc so copying from one PC to another may not work. A more likely solution is to find if there was an installation file downloaded which was then used to install. If you don't know where this file might be you could try downloading it again. You often get a message like "Do you want to save or run this file" If you save it but don't run it this may then work if copied over to another PC. It may still need access to the internet to install however.

To use a memory stick try just plugging it in to the PC. If you have Windows XP it should just appear in your computer like an additional hard disk (probably called E: or F: or G: .... depending on how many other things there are on your PC). You can then just copy a file onto the memory stick like copying a file from one directory to another

Before taking out the memory stick you need to "Safely Remove" it. Hover the mouse around the little icons in the bottom right of the screen - one of them should say "Safely remove hardware" Click on it and it will give you a choice of hardware to remove. Don't worry too much if you mess this up - you might just need to reboot your pc if you do.

Pop the memory stick into the laptop and go through a similar process.

Best of luck

My memory stick plugs into a USB port and then appears as just another drive to save data on. On my computer this is either G: or H: depending on which USB port I plug it into. I just treat it as though it's like a floppy drive (but obviously much bigger).

I would download Audacity straight onto the memory stick (when you choose the destination to save it to, just select the drive your memory stick is plugged into) transfer the memory stick to the laptop.

I'm sure there are others who have a better knowledge of this than me, but that's how I'd do it.

That would be the easiest solution, unless it requires internet access to install it. The other option involves messing around in teh registry..... Not reccomended if you don't know what you're doing!!

Thanks very much for that - I downloaded the programme again to the memory stick and transferred it to the laptop. Yay - it worked! Now I can record pupils in lessons!!! I bought a minidisc recorder for the purpose but never got to grips with it because the print on the screen is so bloomin' tiny and me eyes aint what they were.

Anybody used Audacity? Is it user friendly?

Violinia

Very user friendly until it stops working.... Although that was my fault, so yes, its brilliant.. hit record and away you go!

OK but is it easy to do double-tracking and stuff?

Violinia

Not too sure... I only use it to run file conversions, and I keep losing the lib files so I can't even do that.... I have no idea really. I don't do recording!!!

What the heck does running a file conversion mean? And what on earth's a lib file before you lose it? No, don't tell me, please!

OK one more (embarrassing) question for you tech-savvy people here:

What kind of mic do you need to use with Audacity on a fairly newish Dell laptop? I have two, a (fairly good) Sony mic originally for use with the minidisc recorder, and a conventional AKG for use with my band. The Sony mic has a little jack and the AKG has one of those multiple-pronged jack thingies (can't remember the name of it off the top of my muddled head).

How to plug either of these into a laptop?

Violinia, about lose her own lib file

I'm not trying to confuse you! Honest!!

I would imagine if there is not a port for those on the laptop you would need a USB to whatever you have on the mic cable/converter. Or, you can get a USB mic that will plug straight into the computer.

I assume file conversion means from wave/wma to mp3. To be honest I didn't know Audacity could do that too well. I seem to remember that I had problems when I tried. It asked me to download something and I couldn't be bothered. Now I use a few free programs I found on the net.

Violinia, the file conversion means that you can convert what you've recorded into an mp3 file. This takes up far less memory and can be put onto mp3 players or just used as a way of storing music. The music you record into the PC is in wave format and uses a ###### of a lot of memory.

As for microphones, well I had a proper mic that performed terribly. I vaguely remembered having a cheap mic years ago that worked well. I bought a real cheapy PC type mic for about 2 euros (£1?) and it's great!

I'm not convinced that Audacity is the best way for simple recordings, but it is a lot of fun. You can play and record the first part of a duet, then record yourself playing the second part while listening to the first part.

Basically it means that if you can play a lot of instruments, you can record a whole symphony!

Steve

PS Using the 'Preview Post' I see that ABRSM won't allow me to say the word that is the opposite of heaven.

I actually meant from ogg vorbis to MP3, and I have tried to find other programs to do this but have not been successful. It was asking you for a lib (library) file, which tells it how to make the MP3 into sound.

Oh for heaven's sake!

I guess I'll just put on my slippers and cardigan and go listen to Barry Manilow singing 'The best of Max Bygraves' while I sip a mug of Horlicks.

Last one out, switch off the light.

Steve

What did I do?

[/quote]
What did I do?
[/quote]

Absolutely nothing Rosemary. Just me and my Monty Python sense of humour.

To me, Ogg vorbis sounds like something from Doctor Who.


Many of us used to be able to keep up with the fast changes in technology and the lingo used to describe the various formats. Lives get busier. We start slipping behind. I simply don't have time to keep up to date.

Just out of interest, when is ogg vorbis used? Is it more efficient compression than mp3?

Steve

Its better quality than MP3, so slightly bigger. It is also an awful lot easier to use under linux, because MP3s use a different file to encode them, which doesn't come with most linux versions, whereas the file for an ogg vorbis does.

I've got a little program that allows Audacity to handle MP3 files - it's called Lame and I found it through the Audacity site - the link is here.

I'm bobbing away somewhere, hopelessly lost in a sea of tech terms. Rosemary!!! Are you a software techie or something (smells rat)?

OK I've started experimenting. My little (quite good) Sony stereo mic I bought for the minidisc recorder has a minijack input. I stuck it into a minijack input next to the headphones input on the laptop but the computer didn't register recognising new hardware or anything so I presume this was not the way to get the mic working.

I then tried recording my voice using the laptop's internal mic and managed to record a track with me going '1 2 1 2' but it was very faint so I don't imagine this is the way forward. I'm now hoping to be able to get a USB adaptor thing for the Sony mic and will try again later.

I'm not very up on things like wav files etc.

I have a composing programme called Mozart which makes midi files. My soundcard won't convert midi files to wav files so I haven't had any luck getting my Mozart files onto CD which is annoying. I send them to a friend who also has Mozart, he converts them into wav files and sends them back to me. I should really set about getting a new soundcard but haven't a clue which one to get.

I also have a programme called Band In A Box but haven't got to grips with it yet - it's a bit complicated. It's a brilliant thing that makes backing tracks in whatever style you want; they're midi files but not bad. But same problem - I won't be able to get them onto CD till I've changed the soundcard.

I now have Audacity but need to get the mic thing sorted out. Then I'm going to want to be able to get audacity files onto CD so I can record pupils and give them CD's of their work. Will try and dowmload this thing jm-hamilton kindly recommended called Lame if it helps with any of this.

So you can see where I am with all of this - pretty much at the beginning really. I can't even get the wretched minidisc recorder to work because I got too frustrated with the instructions when I bought the thing. It's just all so complicated when all I want to be able to do is record something, play it back, save it, be able to find it again, and get the recording onto CD using the software that came with the minidisc recorder. You wouldn't think that would be such a tall order would you? All I really need is someone with the same minidisc recorder to show me how it works but everybody seems to have different, earlier versions that work differently.

The Ipod I just bought seems a lot simpler and I didn't have a lot of trouble importing everything to Itunes and then getting it onto the Ipod. I've even made playlists on it - no big deal really. Perhaps this is why so many people swear by Apple!

Violinia, in a fog.

Who's old enough to remember the "Not the 9 o'clock news" HiFi shop sketch.

"Do you want woofers and tweeters in your speakers?"

"Do you want Ogg Vorbis?"

"..and would you like a paper bag over your head?"


or is it just me?

No it's not just you and I'm none the wiser late this afternoon. I've tried recording stuff with Audacity and nothing happens! Nothing, no sound, nada. What could I be doing wrong?

Violinia

PS I just found a very amusing forum where musicians discuss their gear.

http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimat...18;t=010099;p=1

One of them said this:



Heh heh hilarious! There must be sites all over the web where guys discuss their gear away from the eyes of their (jaded) wives.

Oh well I'm sure we women here tell our husbands our shoes only cost £20.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq should answer your question Violinia - on the same site as that!! 'fraid its not so helpful for me though - Windows and Mac but no linux/source code

I'm not a a software techie, just a linux user!!

Edit: I have now found the source code. Thanks!!! (one very happy youngster!!!!)

But do I have to download anything extra to get Audacity to work at all? I tried recording with it and nothing happened! Actually that's not quite true, I recorded myself saying '1 2 1 2' and when I played it back you could hear it just very faintly. Then I fiddled about a bit and now I can't hear anything at all. Goodness knows what's wrong with it.


Any suggestions would be very gratefully received.

Violinia

You shouldn't have to unless you wish to export to MP3. It could be that the speakers on your computer are not very loud, or the volume on audacity is turned down too low, or the recording volume is not very loud. Apart from the blindingly obvious I can't think of anything else without being able to play around with the setup myself. Sorry.