Free Audacity-replacer for Vista

[WHAM]

I like to use Audacity, the free audio file recorder and editing program, to work on my sound files.

Then I got myself a Vista...

Now Audacity crashes every five minutes, and I've been unable to solve this problem so far. Anyone have ideas on what program to use as a replacement? I like the visual look of Audacity, how it shows you the sound you are editing as a graph and so on, and would like to have this in the future too.

[Gilbert]

Hmmmm Which version of Audacity are you using? Did you try the beta versions? (I think latest is 1.3.5 beta.)

Also, there're some info. in their wiki, which may help you, in particular:

Audacity may install on Vista in compatibility mode for Windows 95, and this may cause problems or error messages, or cause Audacity to crash when launching. If so, try disabling compatibility mode, and if any problems persist, run Audacity in compatibility mode for Windows XP. To change compatibility modes, right-click over audacity.exe in Windows Explorer, then click Properties.

[WHAM]

I downloaded the lates stable build, not the beta. I also tried all possible settings with the compatibility modes...

[Gilbert]

So, why don't you try the beta?
As far as I know the stable V1.2X had been around for quite a long time already, so it may be outdated in some places, for example, support for Vista (the download of V1.2X is marked as 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista, but you never know).

Personally I seldom recommend people to try install beta versions of softwares, but softwares like Audacity won't do much harm like ripping your motherboard apart or making it explode (er... I think). Also, you can install a beta version alongside with the stable version at the same time. So, I think it's worth a try (especially when the stable version doesn't work for you).

It may be some other problems like incompatibility with your computer's configuration though, but I never use Vista so can't help you there.

[voh]

I used the beta release of Audacity on Vista - worked like a charm. I'm back to XP and now I'm back to the stable release, but I'd say checking out the beta version is worth a try.

[LimpingFish]

I'm using 1.2.6 on Vista with no problems.

I'm running it with admin rights enabled, so maybe that helps. I've found that a number of programs function better under Vista when they're run this way.

EDIT: As for replacing Audacity, this is quite good.

[EldKatt]

Googling "free audio editor" finds a piece of software called "Free Audio Editor" (edit: oh, LimpingFish already linked to it). No idea if it's good, but it looks usable. Otherwise, Audacity is the only truly successful free program of it's kind that I'm aware of, although I've seen several others (open source, can't guarantee existence of Windows versions) that I can't remember the names of. Considering that the "visual look" of Audacity to the extent you describe it is identical to any other similar program, there are probably several alternatives. But do try the beta, and yes, running as admin is worth a try from what I've heard about Vista.

[Evil]

I use Beta on Vista and I've never had a problem with it. Nothing feels beta about it. It's never crashed or errored, and if anything it crashes less than the latest stable version.

[LimpingFish]

No idea if it's good, but it looks usable.

It's not too bad, to be honest. Not as streamlined as Audacity maybe, but it does the job.

It looks a bit "Windows Movie Maker", though, although some people might prefer that. Handy batch convert function too.

[Nikolas]

Try www.reaper.fm (think that's the link, otherwise google it).

Reaper is shareware, it does have some kind of license fee, but it won't force you into buying it, by locking, etc, only the bloody ugly screens in the beginning and end. It's tops better than audacity, it's, btw, 64-bit, long before any other commercial software was, has midi capabilities, as well as audio, and takes any kind of VST plug-ins, including many commercial packages.

And, no I don't work for them!