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washu77 · Posted - Wed May 30, 2001 6:52 am

I recently upgraded to Win 2K. When I try to record I get "The specified format is not supported or cannot be translated". I selected 44,100, 16 bit, Stereo. Checking the system, under Options/Settings Devices tab, I see a matrix full of 'Yes' (the word, not the 70's art rock group :-) Anywho, on the right side, Waveform record, the line with 44K has 4xYes across, which to my mind indicates that 44K, 16 bit, stereo should be OK.

I'm running on a Dell Optiplex GX1, with a Crystal WDM audio board/chipset/whatever the heck that thing is. I didn't install it. I've used this type of computer running NT 4.0 with no problems.

Any suggestions?

FWIW, I did check the volume control panel and made certain all the record options were checked, as per the FAQ.

Anything else?

-Thanks....

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

Try creating a new file with 48k instead of 44.1 and see if that fixes the problem (some soundcards run native in 48k). However, it could also be that you simply need to reinstall the drivers for your soundcard. Were you recording in MT view or Edit view? Is it possible the card is NOT full-duplex? (it must be in order to use multitrack).

You can further test this problem by launching Windows Sound Recorder and recording from there. Cool Edit uses the same resources as Sound recorder. If you can't record from there then you need to adjust the recording volume of the device in the sound card mixer or you have a corrupt driver for your sound card. If you can record properly in Sound recorder but not in Cool Edit then the Cool Edit program or one of it's modules may have gotten corrupted.

The Sound Recorder is found under:

Start Button > Programs > Accessories > Multimedia (Win 95 & NT) or Entertainment (Win 98 & ME & 2000) > Sound Recorder

---Syntrillium Support

washu77 · Posted - Wed May 30, 2001 10:34 am

OK I found it. This is either a bug or the worst error message ever.

I has been listening to a CD using Winamp and had it on pause. That's the problem. If Winamp is playing (or paused while playing) a CD and, at during that time, I try to record using CE, I get the ...format.. error.

If I stop Winamp, I can start CE recording and then hit play on Winamp and record the sound. (No I'm not trying to record CD's this way, it was a test for something else that would take way too long to explain here).

FWIW, and I don't know what this means, if Winamp is actively playing a WAV file, I can start a new recording session with CE, no problemo..

I guess it's some sort of device sharing issue, but I don't know enough about how Windows does that to make more than a guess at the cause.

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

hello Washu. Yes, this is a 'device in use' windows issue, not a Cool Edit Bug. This would occur between two like applications sharing resources.

It would make sense [that if you were going to record CD audio from winamp to CE] that you would start Cool Edit first, THEN start Winamp.

---Syntrillium Support

washu77 · Posted - Thu May 31, 2001 10:40 am

OK, I can accept that. 'Twould be nice if the error message was a bit (read 'a WHOLE LOT) more descriptive of what is actually going on. As I noted in my first mesage, the "specified format" IS supported. That message sends one off on search for a non-existant problem. And *that* (IMO) is a bug.

shagrock · Location: USA

washu77 · Posted - Fri Jun 01, 2001 4:34 am

Agreed. The support people at Synt. didn't have a clue what that error meant either :-) If you look at the initial response it was reinstall this, corrupted that...

Still, without feedback, they won't know this needs fixin'. Hopefully, now they do.

BTW, I've worked on software that generated coded errors which, when looked up, were defined as "An error has occurred". So I have sympathy, but no so much that I won't grouse about it :-)

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

Well, allow me to say that with the limited info that you initially provided us, we could only begin to troubleshoot. You didn't mention that you were running two apps at the same time, which could have certainly narrowed the responses.

But again, the error message itself is a windows one, not a Cool Edit one, and therefore, we have very little control over fixing it, as you mentioned.

---Syntrillium Support

washu77 · Posted - Mon Jun 04, 2001 7:42 am

Well, I don't want to get into a p***ing contest here, but I do want to reply. First, I gave you every bit of information that seemed to relate to the error message which said, "The specified format is not supported or cannot be translated. Use the Capabilities function to determine the supported formats." Since "the Capabilities function" is a part of Cool Edit, this is a Cool Edit message, NOT a windows message. Windows 2K is a multi-tasking OS - of COURSE I'm running other apps. Duh... Nothing in the error message even hinted at a resource sharing issue. In my original question I gave the computer type, OS, audio chipset,and what I saw when I looked at the Capabilities window.

Now, perhaps Windows does not return enough error information to higher layers to determine exactly why some function erred, but my point is still the same.

The error generated led me in the wrong direction. The error pop-up is almost certainly generated by Cool Edit. Syntrillium support apparently did not suspect that this was a resource sharing issue either. Since nothing in the original reply even questioned the possibility of another app having control of the audio resources.

If Cool Edit *really* cannot give a specific error message that places the blame on a sharing conflict, then the current message should be expanded to include that as a possible cause.

Thanks for reading...

RobertM · Posted - Mon Jun 04, 2001 8:29 am

Washu,

Re: "Nothing in the error message even hinted at a resource sharing issue"

I'm going to guess that the only thing that CE knew about the error is what the OS reported to CE. That's it! So CE simply passed along the message. I don't believe that CE really had any way of knowing that it WASN'T a format problem. In fact, in passing on the error CE was able to make a suggestion; use the 'capabilities function' to gather some extra info. If CE was to start to mistrust the OS error messages, and start to suggest all other possible causes, well..., I, for one, would not like to page through that message. ;)

There's no need to turn this into shouting match. I think we all can see that Synt quickly offered whatever help they could, your problem was resolved, and none of us are happy with how specific the error message was. I think we all got the message.

Then again...you may have a good point. I've been on the receiving end of this message myself, and it took me a little while to figure it out. This suggests that it may be a common occurrence, and if this were the only other cause for the error code, then maybe it deserves a specific mention when CE detects that error. There may be lots of other possible reasons for the error, however, so it may be best to say nothing (other than suggesting 'capabilities function'). I'm sure that your suggestion for improvement has been logged by Synt.

Please excuse me for butting-in on your contest. I couldn't help myself (what's new, eh?).

f_aultman · Posted - Tue Jul 03, 2001 1:04 pm

Good points all. Everyone is right to some extent. From a programming perspective, what usually happens is that a Windows API call fails (for whatever reason), and returns FALSE. At this point, the program could call another API call GetLastError() that can be used to get an Error Message in the correct language from Windows. CEP is just putting this up in an error messagebox.

A better solution would be to display the error message from Windows, but cat it with a more specific message based on what the CEP programmer feels may be the probable cause of such an error. Unfortuately, the industry norm is either the unspecific system error, no error at all, or a program crash.

SteveG · Location: United Kingdom

dutton · Posted - Fri Aug 24, 2001 9:29 am

I am trying to play the sample file that came with the software and I have gotten the same error message. (The specified format is not supported or cannot be translated. Use the Capabilities function to determine the supported format.)
I don't even know where to find the Capabilities function. It does not appear in the help index anywhere under either Capabilities or function. Nor does it appear in the Windows 2000 help.
I am at a loss.
My Windows Recorder works fine. But CoolEdit is a bust so far. I don't know what other apps I might be running that would interfere.
To add insult to injury, after trying it on a different machine, I get the error message "Undefined external error." That is really helpful!! My first thought was that the sound card is not working, but it is. What would be an external error? Can anyone suggest a solution to this. It is most frustrating to load a new piece of software and be completely stymied.

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

Hello dutton. My first question would be...are you an administrator under your Win2k platform? Which version of Cool Edit are you referring to? What soundcard are you using?

The fastest route would probably be to email and give them your system information by going to Help>About Cool Edit>System Info. Highlight all the text and paste it into your email.

In the meantime, we'll continue to troubleshoot here...

Are you able to playback anything though CE at all??

---Syntrillium, M.D.