Usually, the problem is caused by an issue with your audio drivers—often they are outdated, turned off, or not set up correctly in Windows. The error can also happen if exclusive mode is turned on, or if another program or background process is blocking access to your audio devices. Now that you understand what might be causing the issue, try each of the fixes below in the order they’re presented. One of them should help you solve it:
1. Rescan Audio Devices in Audacity
Audacity sometimes doesn’t immediately recognize changes you’ve made to your audio devices. If the ‘Internal PortAudio error‘ appears after plugging in, unplugging, or updating anything related to your audio hardware or drivers, simply force Audacity to rescan by following these steps:
2. Enable the Required Audio Services
Many users have found that if either the Windows Audio or Windows Audio Endpoint Builder services are stopped or disabled, Audacity (and possibly other programs) won’t work properly.
3. Enable All Playback and Recording Devices
Audacity may run into problems if any playback or recording devices are disabled in your sound settings. Tip: Instead of disabling audio devices you don’t want to use, unplug them if possible. Disabling devices in Windows can sometimes confuse software like Audacity.
4. Update or Reinstall Audio Drivers
Outdated or corrupted drivers are a common cause for audio errors. If you use headsets or other USB audio devices, old or incompatible drivers might prevent Audacity from recognizing your hardware.
5. Reinstall Realtek Audio Driver (If Applicable)
If you use Realtek’s drivers, this error may be due to outdated or corrupted files. Updating to the latest Realtek drivers often fixes the issue.
6. Reinstall Audacity
Sometimes, corrupted or outdated Audacity installation files can cause errors—especially when Windows updates have changed things in the background.
7. Run the Windows Audio Troubleshooter (Windows 10 ONLY)
If the previous solutions haven’t worked, it’s possible there’s a Windows-related glitch affecting your audio devices. Windows 10’s Audio Troubleshooter can find and repair many common sound problems.
8. Uninstall DroidCam Virtual Audio Driver (If Applicable)
If you’re using DroidCam and none of the above solutions helped, there could be a known conflict between DroidCam’s Virtual Audio Driver and Audacity.
