"finale's audio engine failed to load"

[bj nick]

That's the message I get when I open Finale, also "please restart Finale," and "Error code 7." Then, playback won't work....I get the message "One or more audio devices failed to respond." It seems to be playing back; I have to hit STOP, or under MIDI/audio" I have to hit "STOP PLAYBACK" there. Tried restarting several times, rebooting PC (win10)....ideas? (ALSO: I already submitted this message but somehow it isn't there, so I am submitting it again....but this version has more updated information.)

[motet]

Maybe this:

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... inale-etc-

[ebiggs1]

Things to check. You have some other program that is using the sound driver that Finale wants. Your sound source is not present. In the Midi tool menu, Audio set-up try a different Audio driver.

[bj nick]

Thanks for the feedback/suggestions. I've tried a lot of the recommended steps, but nothing seemed to work.
I called Finale tech support and they seem to have suggested much the same, and I went through those steps Here's what they said:
..................


Thanks for contacting MakeMusic Customer Support. I can certainly help troubleshoot the audio engine error you're getting.
To start, please follow the instructions in this article: Audio Engine Failed to Load Error Code: 7, No Sound in Finale. This will walk you through the most common causes of the error. Please let me know if you have trouble following any instructions in this article.
If the issue persists after going through the article, please follow the steps below to send diagnostic files.
--DX Diagnostic--

Hold down your Windows key and type the letter "R" to open the 'Run' dialog box
Type or copy/paste "dxdiag" (without quotation marks) and click 'OK'
If you are asked "Do you want DxDiag to check if your drivers are digitally signed?" choose Yes. This will launch the DirectX Diagnostic program.
Once the program has loaded, choose Save All Information
In the Save As dialog box, choose to Save In your Desktop
Click the Save button
Exit the DirectX diagnostic program
Attach that "DxDiag.txt" file (which will be located on your Desktop) to your reply to this email
-Plogue Log--
Close Finale
Hold down your Windows key and type the letter "R" to open the 'Run' dialog box
Type or copy/paste: "%appdata%" (without quotation marks) and click 'OK'
Navigate to MakeMusic\Finale 26\PlogueEngine
Find the file named "PlogueEngine_x64.log" and copy this to your desktop
Attach those files to your reply to this email


Best,
Austin W. | Customer Support Representative | MakeMusic, Inc.
...................
When that didn't work and I reported that back, here was the next approach:
................
May 11, 2022, 9:36 AM MDT

Thanks for including these files. The next steps I recommend are to disable the WASAPI driver in Finale's settings, disable "Exclusive Mode" for your speakers, and ensure the speakers' sample rate is 44100 Hz. Please follow the steps below.

--Disable ASIO/WASAPI--

Close Finale
Hold down your Windows key (to the left of the spacebar, between the <Ctrl> and <Alt> keys) and type the letter "R" - this will open the 'Run' dialog box
Type "%appdata%" (without quotation marks) and click 'OK'
Navigate to MakeMusic\Finale 26
In this folder, double-click the file named "FINMIDI.ini" - this should open the file in a text editor (e.g. Notepad)
Near bottom of the file until you see a section that looks like this:
[AUDIOAPIPREFS]
EngineLoaded=1
ASIOEnabled=1
DirectSoundEnabled=1
WASAPIEnabled=1
Make sure that the EngineLoaded value is 1, so that line should now read "EngineLoaded=1"
Change the ASIOEnabled value from 1 to 0, so that line should now read "ASIOEnabled=0"
Change the WASAPIEnabled value from 1 to 0, so that line should now read "WASAPIEnabled=0"
Save and close the file, then relaunch Finale to see if the issue has been resolved
--Disable Exclusive Mode and confirm Sample Rate--
1. Close Finale and all other open applications (your browser window can stay open).
2. Press the WINDOWS key+R, the Run window opens.
3. Enter in the follow "mmsys.cpl" without the quotes and click OK.
4. The Sound Control Panel launches.
5. Double-click the Default Device (the one with the green check mark) to open the Speaker/Headphones Properties.
6. Choose the Advanced tab.
7. Under Default Format, select 44100 Hz in the dropdown menu.
8. Deselect Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
8. Click Apply and OK to close both windows.
9. Relaunch Finale.

Please let me know how this goes!
Best,
Austin W. | Customer Support Representative | MakeMusic, Inc.
..............................


These didn't work either, which I just reported to him. Not sure what the next step will be.

Thanks for the feedback/suggestions. I've tried a lot of the recommended steps, but not all. They seem to jibe with what was suggested here, but I want to be sure.

I called Finale tech support and they seem to have suggested much the same, and I went through those steps Here's what they said:
.........................



Thanks for contacting MakeMusic Customer Support. I can certainly help troubleshoot the audio engine error you're getting.

To start, please follow the instructions in this article: Audio Engine Failed to Load Error Code: 7, No Sound in Finale. This will walk you through the most common causes of the error. Please let me know if you have trouble following any instructions in this article.

If the issue persists after going through the article, please follow the steps below to send diagnostic files.

--DX Diagnostic--

Hold down your Windows key and type the letter "R" to open the 'Run' dialog box
Type or copy/paste "dxdiag" (without quotation marks) and click 'OK'
If you are asked "Do you want DxDiag to check if your drivers are digitally signed?" choose Yes. This will launch the DirectX Diagnostic program.
Once the program has loaded, choose Save All Information
In the Save As dialog box, choose to Save In your Desktop
Click the Save button
Exit the DirectX diagnostic program
Attach that "DxDiag.txt" file (which will be located on your Desktop) to your reply to this email


--Plogue Log--

Close Finale
Hold down your Windows key and type the letter "R" to open the 'Run' dialog box
Type or copy/paste: "%appdata%" (without quotation marks) and click 'OK'
Navigate to MakeMusic\Finale 26\PlogueEngine
Find the file named "PlogueEngine_x64.log" and copy this to your desktop
Attach those files to your reply to this email


Best,


Austin W. | Customer Support Representative | MakeMusic, Inc.


Austin W. (MakeMusic)
...................



When that didn't work and I reported that back, here was the next approach:
................
May 11, 2022, 9:36 AM MDT

Thanks for including these files. The next steps I recommend are to disable the WASAPI driver in Finale's settings, disable "Exclusive Mode" for your speakers, and ensure the speakers' sample rate is 44100 Hz. Please follow the steps below.

--Disable ASIO/WASAPI--

Close Finale
Hold down your Windows key (to the left of the spacebar, between the <Ctrl> and <Alt> keys) and type the letter "R" - this will open the 'Run' dialog box
Type "%appdata%" (without quotation marks) and click 'OK'
Navigate to MakeMusic\Finale 26
In this folder, double-click the file named "FINMIDI.ini" - this should open the file in a text editor (e.g. Notepad)
Near bottom of the file until you see a section that looks like this:
[AUDIOAPIPREFS]
EngineLoaded=1
ASIOEnabled=1
DirectSoundEnabled=1
WASAPIEnabled=1
Make sure that the EngineLoaded value is 1, so that line should now read "EngineLoaded=1"
Change the ASIOEnabled value from 1 to 0, so that line should now read "ASIOEnabled=0"
Change the WASAPIEnabled value from 1 to 0, so that line should now read "WASAPIEnabled=0"
Save and close the file, then relaunch Finale to see if the issue has been resolved


--Disable Exclusive Mode and confirm Sample Rate--
1. Close Finale and all other open applications (your browser window can stay open).
2. Press the WINDOWS key+R, the Run window opens.
3. Enter in the follow "mmsys.cpl" without the quotes and click OK.
4. The Sound Control Panel launches.
5. Double-click the Default Device (the one with the green check mark) to open the Speaker/Headphones Properties.
6. Choose the Advanced tab.
7. Under Default Format, select 44100 Hz in the dropdown menu.
8. Deselect Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
8. Click Apply and OK to close both windows.
9. Relaunch Finale.

Please let me know how this goes!

Best,

Austin W. | Customer Support Representative | MakeMusic, Inc.
..............................

These didn't work either, which I just reported to him. Not sure what the next step will be.

[ebiggs1]

I know right now you feel pretty low and probably disgusted too but I can tell you Finale 26.3 with NP3 and Win 10 will work. I run it from the very day it came out until I upgraded to 27.2. Basically no issues. You have something conflicting and it is probably not Win 10 nor NP3 and likely not Finale either. BTW, you do have the latest 26 update? There is something on your computer that Finale doesn't like.

I don't remember if mentioned but make sure all your drivers are the latest available. The sound driver as well as the video. I guess you stopped the print spooler? Check your virus scanner software. You might check your startup in Task Manager to see if there is an unwanted program loading.

Sometimes Finale has a permissions issue with Windows but creating a new user account will generally fix that. My laptop did that and wouldn't load the 2012dll. It went away. I think sometimes Windows and our virus program are so tight they won't even allow us to do what we want.

[bj nick]

Thanks for the message. The issue is on my laptop, so now that I'm home again I just use the desktop w/o any problems. But I need that laptop to work properly, obviously, so I look forward to getting this resolved. I didn't check the drivers, but it's set to update automatically.......but in any case I did try reinstalling Finale (twice) and that didn't help. Fwiw the version # is 26.3.1.520.

I HAVE had other issues with the sound on this laptop....the external speakers wouldn't work. It was an issue with Audacity....Finale would seize control of the audio, I believe, and I have to change a setting in Audacity every time I use it (the problem is not in the Finale settings.) In case it's possible relevant......for the speakers, the work-around is to go into sound settings and manually set it to play through the speakers. But I've been using the laptop steadily for a month now (in the process of a move across the country so didn't have my desktop at all), and the laptop worked perfectly. This nonsense just started up a few days ago. Anyway, I'll see what Austin suggests next.

[ebiggs1]

Make sure you have the mic enabled on your laptop. If you don't Finale sound may not work properly. Even though you are not using it. I don't know why.

[bj nick]

Make sure you have the mic enabled on your laptop. If you don't Finale sound may not work properly. Even though you are not using it. I don't know why.

Wow.....SOLVED. I actually had contacted MS support just now, to see if they had any idea, and this was their response:

.................................
Please try the steps below:

1. Select Start > Settings > Privacy , and then select Microphone from the left menu.

2.Under Allow access to the microphone on this device, select Change. Make sure the toggle is turned On.

3.If you’re having this issue with a specific app, scroll down to Choose which Microsoft Store apps can access your microphone and make sure that the toggle next to that app is turned On as well.
..................................

That did the trick. So THANK YOU.

[motet]

I've noticed that on my system if the mic isn't plugged in and enabled, Finale will revert to the default audio settings every time. My mic is a webcam, which seldom use and thus don't want to leave on, so I live with it by running a macro to set up the audio when I start Finale. As I keep saying, I like Finale, but it's a dog's breakfast!

[bj nick]

I've noticed that on my system if the mic isn't plugged in and enabled, Finale will revert to the default audio settings every time. My mic is a webcam, which seldom use and thus don't want to leave on, so I live with it by running a macro to set up the audio when I start Finale. As I keep saying, I like Finale, but it's a dog's breakfast!

Haha....exactly........interesting, I never use the mic either except on Zoom, and it's never been an issue really, use Finale, use Zoom, audio is fine......except for what I mentioned before about Audacity....running that, I have to manually change the setting each time.

re webcam: I watched a lot of the "Scambaiter"-type videos on YouTube where they are going after corrupt scammers in India, trying to take them down, and it's shocking how these guys (and gals) rip off old people daily. I've seen many videos showing how right away the scammers check for the victim's web cam, so they can watch them as they're being scammed. And.....how the scambaiters will get access to the scammers' web cam and identify them, publish their faces, watch their operations, etc. After seeing that, I NEVER leave my webcam plugged in....maybe just paranoia, but......

[ebiggs1]

Wow.....SOLVED.

Great, I learned it the hard way. It never crossed my mind to ask MS!