• Whether you are a registered user or you are evaluating the program
• The program version and edition you are using
• The version of Windows that you are using
• A detailed description of the problem
• If the problem relates to recording, specify what kind of audio you are trying to record: sound from a microphone, a tape recorder, sound reproduced by a player (identify the name and the version of this player), Internet transmission (specify the URL), or similar
• Any other details you feel are relevant.

If the problem appears through an error message displayed in Total Recorder or its install program:

1. Press the Debug info>> button in the message box.
2. Press the Copy button in the message box. Debug information will be copied to the Clipboard.
3. Insert the information from the Clipboard into your letter to the Technical Support Team (press Ctrl-V).

Due to insufficient information, our support staff will ignore E-mails if they contain single line entries like those below:

"Problems obtaining a registration key"
"Total Recorder does not work"
"Total Recorder does not record"
"How do I use Total Recorder?"

Please note that although our support staff may provide some hints on how to use the software in an efficient way, they will not provide any step-by-step instructions for common tasks. Please refer to the online help for this type of information.

The only difference is that, with an unregistered version, Total Recorder will insert an audible noise about every 60 seconds throughout each recording. An unregistered version allows you to test all of the features before you purchase.

If you purchase a registration (license), the program will no longer insert the audible noise throughout the recording. Also, an unregistered version of Total Recorder Professional Edition limits batch processing to no more than three files.

Yes, your registration is good for all future versions of the same edition. All versions prior to V3.3 (when different editions were introduced) are considered the Standard Edition.

Occasionally, the format of the registration key changes with a major release of Total Recorder or one of its add-ons. In such cases, all registered users are entitled to a free updated registration key for the same edition (add-on). To obtain a key, you can use our self-service registration key management system.

Registration keys were last changed in the following versions of Total Recorder:

• Standard Edition - Version 6.0
• Professional Edition - Version 6.0
• Developer Edition - Version 6.0

Registration keys were last changed in the following versions of Total Recorder's Add-ons:

• Audio Restoration Add-On - Version 1.1 (re-released with Total Recorder Version 7.0)
• Automatic Gain Control and Speech Enhancement Add-On - Version 1.1 (re-released with Total Recorder Version 7.0)
• Video Add-On - never changed

If you register by credit card, it takes only minutes. Your registration code is automatically E-mailed to you as soon as your credit card has been verified.

If you or your ISP is using E-mail filtering software, we cannot guarantee that our E-mail will not be considered spam. To alleviate this problem you can temporarily add websale@highcriteria.com to your trusted list of addresses. If you have not received your key within 15 minutes of your purchase, it is a good idea to check the folder that collects your junk mail.

This is likely caused by a typing error in your E-mail address or possibly due to some technical problems with network communications. E-mail support@highcriteria.com and we will resend the missing information to you. Make sure that your E-mail address is not blocked and can accept E-mail from us.

If you or your ISP is using E-mail filtering software, we cannot guarantee that our E-mail will not be considered spam. To alleviate this problem you can temporarily add websale@highcriteria.com to your trusted list of addresses. If you have not received your key within 15 minutes of your purchase, it is a good idea to check the folder that collects your junk mail.

My credit card is valid and has sufficient credit but your Website keeps declining it. What can I do?

The best way to resolve this is to call your bank. They have records of all your transactions and may be able to quickly determine the reason for failure. You can also try an alternative credit card link.

Note that InternetSecure allows only two purchases with any specific credit card during a given 24-hour period. Please purchase a bundle or use a different credit card if you want to make more than two purchases.

Yes. A newer version will automatically remove an older version, install itself, and then ask you to reboot your computer so that a driver in memory can be changed. If you install a newer version over an already existing install, all your settings (including scheduled jobs) are preserved. 

However, when you install a new version of Total Recorder over some of old versions (version 5.3 and earlier), it will be unregistered. You must enter your new registration key to register your new version. See the question above Is my registration good for all future versions of Total Recorder?

If you need a new registration key for an updated version, you can use the following link:
http://hcserv1.highcriteria.com/scripts/getkey/restorekey.asp . A new key will be E-mailed to the address that you used for registration.

Please note that two different editions of Total Recorder cannot co-exist on the same PC. If you install one edition of the program over another edition of the same version or an older version, Total Recorder will also be unregistered.

The most likely cause of this error is that the download was not complete even though your web browser thinks it did complete.

Downloading again may not help because the incomplete file is in the browser's cache. You should first clear the cache and then download again. Alternatively, you can download a regular zip file instead of the self-extracting executable. If clearing the cache and re-downloading does not resolve this problem then it is likely caused by a virus on your computer.

You can always download the latest evaluation version from our web site. We recommend you write down your registration key and keep it in a safe place.

If you have lost your key, use
http://hcserv1.highcriteria.com/scripts/getkey/restorekey.asp
to obtain a registration key.

This form can be used only if your E-mail address that we have in our database is still valid. If this is not the case, E-mail support@highcriteria.com and provide your registration name, the old address, and the new address, and we will update our records.

Setup.exe assumes that all the files are in your current working directory. When you run the self-extracting file (i.e. tr70se.exe or similar, depending on the version and edition), it takes care of this for you. If you manually unzip the archive you must take care of this yourself. It is not enough to extract only Setup.exe.

Installation without the driver will not allow you to record in Software mode. You will be able to record only in Soundboard mode. See also What is the difference between the recording source settings "Software" and "Sound Board"?

Total Recorder's driver provides you with the advantages of recording in software mode.

See What is the difference between the recording source settings "Software" and "Sound Board"?

Recording in Software mode without Total Recorder's driver is not possible. To record in Soundboard mode, there is no requirement for the Total Recorder driver.

Beginning with Version 7.0, Total Recorder is supplied with two different drivers:

   - Total Recorder user-mode audio driver;
   - Total Recorder kernel-mode (WDM) audio driver, new in version 7.0.

To decide which driver is the most suitable for you to use, refer to the How to choose the most suitable drivertutorial.

Simple approach (for Version 6.0 and above):
Open the Options -> Settings menu, go to the Driver tab, and clickthe Unset as default button.

For other versions of Windows:

This depends on whether or not you use the Total Recorder user-mode audio driver or Total Recorder kernel-mode audio driver.

Total Recorder's kernel-mode audio driver does not allow automatic switching.

If you use Total Recorder's user-mode audio driver, you can turn on automatic driver switching mode as follows.

For Version 6.0 and above:
Open the Options -> Settings menu, go to the Driver tab, and select Auto switch Total Recorder's driver off when Total Recorder is not active.

For previous versions:
Open the Options -> Settings menu, go to the System tab, and select Preferred audio devices when Total Recorder isn't active - Audio playback and recording devices selected above.

This causes the Total Recorder driver to be active only when Total Recorder is active. However, in this mode you must always start Total Recorder before your playback program when recording from Software.

Note: Starting with Version 6.0 of Total Recorder, this mode is set by default at installation time. However, if you upgrade from a previous release then your old setting is preserved.

There is no limit imposed by Total Recorder but a limit can be imposed by the format of the target file. For example, you cannot make a recording to a RIFF WAV or VBR MP3 file greater than 4GB. If you want to make a very long recording, you can try one of the following:

• Use another file format.
• Use the same file format but with less quality.
• Record in split mode (Professional Edition only).

Total Recorder can perform recording in two main modes: Software and Sound board.

Software mode allows you to record the following:

• Sound reproduced by another program, including streaming audio.
• Sound reproduced and captured by other programs simultaneously, including Internet telephony programs.

Sound board mode allows you to record the following:

• Sound from a microphone.
• Sound from a line-in. This should be used to record from an LP player, cassette player, or another external device.
• Sound reproduced by another program, including streaming audio, if the sound board has a special loop-back line. Most sound boards have such a line.
• Sound from any other input line of your sound board.

An external program can be recorded in either Software mode or Sound board mode. The advantages of recording in Software mode are:

• There is no need for your sound board to have a special loop-back line.
• While recording an external program in sound board mode, your sound board performs redundant conversions from digital to analog and from analog to digital. This results in a loss of sound quality. While recording an external program in software mode, such conversions do not occur.
• While recording in software mode, the recording starts only when sound is present. This eliminates the need to start recording and playback at the same time.
• Accelerated recording mode can be used.

Recording (digital) sound from Software and (analog) sound from Sound Board are two very different things.

Click here to view a picture that shows the path of the sound when the recording source is set to Software.

Click here to view a picture that shows the path of the sound when the recording source is set to Soundboard.

Recording in Software Accelerated Recording mode is similar to recording from Software. The difference is that the sound does not go to the sound board driver or the sound board.  Total Recorder suppresses playback, causes the sound stream to go through the driver with an above normal speed, and records it.

This mode can be useful when you need to convert a sound file from a format that Total Recorder does not support to one that it does support. This is normally done at a fraction of the time required to play the file.

Click here to view a picture that shows the path of the sound when Accelerated recording mode is selected.

Usually, you need to use CD-quality wav files.

To record in this format, in the Sound format selection dialog, select CD Quality from the Named formats (presets) drop-down list. The recording format will be set to PCM 44.1KHz 16bit Stereo.

If you are using software mode, you must also check Convert using "Recording parameters" specified below.

To convert an existing file: open it in Total Recorder and use Save As. Then use Change and select CD Quality from the Named formats (presets) drop-down list. The recording format will be set to PCM 44.1KHz 16bit Stereo.

Yes, in most cases you can. However, different systems may require different recording source settings.

There are several ways to play a midi file. Most sound cards are capable of midi synthesis through special on-board hardware. Some midi players are capable of software midi synthesis (e.g. RealPlayer with the Crescendo plug-in). There are also some special drivers (e.g. Yamaha SXG) that provide software midi synthesis.

If you use hardware midi synthesis, your card will usually have a line from which you can record. The name is usually MIDI, or Synth, or something similar. The recording source in Total Recorder should be set to Sound board and the MIDI line should be selected. If you use software midi synthesis, the recording source in Total Recorder should be set to Software. In most systems, you can record midi either way.

Go to Options => Settings => Open / Save. Look in the folder assigned to store temporary files. If a temporary file in this folder has a .wav or .mp3 extension, it usually means that it is a proper audio file.

If a temporary file has a ".tmp" extension, it means that you cannot securely extract all recorded audio information from it. This happens because some information is stored in this file and some information is stored in the PC's RAM during the recording process.

However, you can usually recover most of your data which is stored in a .tmp file in PCM format. This file doesn't have a proper header so you can use our free application called TRTmpRecovery (~65 Kb) to add a header. This program allows you to playback any file as a PCM file using different parameters (sample rate, 8/16 bit, mono/stereo), select the most appropriate parameters (if the file actually contains audio data), and add a proper header to this file. Once a header is added, this temporary file becomes a valid .wav file.

High Criteria provides a free command line utility ScrptExec for such cases. The utility is able to execute scripts in own script language. One can create an appropriate script (e.g. script that automatically fills username and password or answers dialog prompts) and include running the utility with a script in a scheduled job. A number of sample scripts are included in the ScrptExec package.

First you should decide whether you care about natural content boundaries. For example, if you are recording a 1-hour morning news program to listen to later in your car, it is a good idea to split it into smaller pieces (e.g. 5 minutes each). However, you probably don't care about the boundaries. If you were recording a concert, you would probably want to split the recording based on song boundaries and avoid splitting songs in the middle.

In the first case, you can choose a split condition of either every xxx minutes of recording or every xxx megabytes of recording. These two methods are similar and you can use either one.

In the second case, you should choose a split condition of for each software sound stream, when clip info in external player is changed, or if sound level does not exceed xxx % in yyy seconds.

The option for each software sound stream is more precise and more reliable, but it can only be used when all of the following conditions are met:

• you are recording in Software mode
• you are recording a playlist or the broadcast consists of multiple streams
• your player does not play multiple streams as one.

Where possible, you should always use for each software sound stream instead of when clip info in external player is changed or if sound level does not exceed xxx % in yyy seconds.

You can use when clip info in external player is changed only if Total Recorder can extract clip info from your player (i.e. the player appears in the Check state of these external players list).

Using if sound level does not exceed xxx % in yyy seconds is required when you have pauses longer than 0.1 second. Some broadcasts do not have such pauses and cannot be split using this method. Also, a pause in the middle of a song can sometimes trigger a false split. Because such pauses are usually at the beginning of a song, you can sometimes prevent false triggering by setting Do not create files shorter than xxx seconds.

For more information, see the Splitting and Tagging Files tutorial.

Yes, you can. Split your recording using the if sound level does not exceed condition, check the box Do not create files shorter, and specify 1140 seconds (1140 = 19 * 60).

This task does not require that you use the scheduler. Take the following steps to perform such recording:

• Create a playlist of all the songs you want to record in a program that allow to use URLs as playlist items (e.g. in WinAmp, Windows Media Player etc.). Note that Total Recorder does not allow to create such playlists.
• Use split mode with an appropriate Split conditions to separate songs while recording. The playlist should be played backed by a program that is capable to play Internet transmissions (for example WinAmp, Windows Media Player etc.). See also Splitting and Tagging Files tutorial.

Check if your player is included in the Check state of these external players drop-down list of the Split recording conditions dialog. If your player is not listed, Total Recorder does not support the extraction of clip info from it. Either Total Recorder cannot extract such information from this player, or this player is not ranked among the most popular and therefore we haven't included support for it in Total Recorder.

Total Recorder can only retrieve clip information from a player if this information is displayed in the window title of the player (not just in the player's window). The only exception is Windows Media Player, which is included with Windows, and is present on almost all computers. We have developed a special approach for this program.

The following is a list of known players for which the extraction of clip info through Total Recorder is not supported:

• Rhapsody (standalone application)
  Note. It is possible to extract clip info from Rhapsody ActiveX imbedded into a browser window. Regretfully it is impossible to provide an universal capturing template since the situation depends on browser used. You can try to create the template by yourself using our free application TRExtPlrWizard (see below).
• iTunes.

If your player displays clip information in the title of its window, but it is not included in the list of supported players, please forward this information to support@highcriteria.com. Specify the exact name and version of this player, and also the URL from which it can be downloaded (if appropriate).

Alternatively, you can independently enable Total Recorder to extract clip info from your player. For this, you need to download our free application called TRExtPlrWizard (~450Kb).

This program allows you to visually edit a Total Recorder template file for analyzing the player's window titles. It captures titles from the player's window so you only need to indicate which fragments are permanent and which contain actual clip information (title, artist, and so on).

To control the sound level of speech recording during playback and recording, you can use the AGC and Speech Enhancement Add-On for Total Recorder.

Yes, you can use our free Spectrum Analyzer and Graphic Equalizer Add-on. This add-on contains two independent modules: the Spectrum Analyzer and the Graphic Equalizer.

Yes. To record video using Total Recorder you need Video Add-on installed. For more information, refer to the Getting familiar with video in Total Recorder tutorial .

You need to temporarily turn off hardware acceleration, as described below.

For Version 7.0 and above:
From Total Recorder's main menu, select Tools -> Turn video acceleration off.

For previous versions:
Download our free application called TR_VideoAccelOff. Launch the utility before your playback program is launched and then close it after recording is made.

Beginning with Version 6.0, Total Recorder supports skins. To download skins for Total Recorder, click here.

Yes, you can download the free-of-charge Total Recorder Skin Design Tool and develop your own skin. To learn how to create a skin using the Total Recorder Skin Design Tool, refer to the tutorial that is distributed with the tool.

Beginning with Version 7.0, Total Recorder is supplied with the Total Recorder kernel-mode audio driver, which is fully compatible with Windows Vista.

To learn about compatibility between Windows Vista and the Total Recorder user-mode audio driver, refer to this page.

In Total Recorder Version 6.0, the accelerated recording mode algorithm was changed. More controls were implemented to avoid the player hanging and to prevent sound distortion. In some cases, the accelerated rate will be decreased to 1 even when recording in accelerated mode could run properly.

To be able to record in accelerated mode in Version 6.0 and later (provided you use the Total Recorder user-mode audio driver), you need to take the following steps:

1. Create a file with Notepad (menu Start-> Programs-> Accessories) and copy the following text into this file:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HighCriteria\TotalRecorder]
"NoChkAcc"=dword:00000001

2. Save this file with the extension .reg (e.g. TR.reg).
3. Double-click this REG file and answer "Yes" to update the Registry.
4. Restart Windows.

Note: With such changes in the Registry, sound reproduced by some playback programs (e.g. WMP) could be recorded incorrectly in accelerated mode. You should therefore follow the steps above only if a particular application and given type of translation are approved for correct recording. If you experience problems with an application then the output of this application should be recorded only at a speed of 1.

To reverse these changes to the Registry, you need to change value 1 to value 0 either manually in the Registry, or correct the REG file that you made (it should contain 00000000 instead of 00000001) and double-click this REG file once again.

The Total Recorder kernel-mode audio driver cannot determine whether an application can cope with reproducing sound at an above normal speed and transfer the correct data to the driver. Therefore, the only way to define an optimal speed of acceleration, which would give a satisfactory result for a given computer, soundcard, player, and recording format, is by experimentation. This speed is expected to be lower than the speed if you were using Total Recorder's user-mode audio driver.

See also Total Recorder Help, Using Total Recorder -> Recording -> Accelerated Recording.

On some computers after installing Total Recorder 7.0 with its kernel-mode audio driver the volume of a sound changes by itself or jumps to its minimum (that is there is no sound at all). This can occur after one reboots Windows or launches some programs; at this these programs do not change volume.

We are working on resolving this problem.

The ways to get around the problem are the following.

If you choose to use the kernel-mode audio driver in Total Recorder settings (menu Options -> Settings, Driver tab) and record using Software recording mode, then set the kernel-mode driver as a system default device: go to menu Options -> Settings, Driver tab, click Set both as default or Set playback as default.

If you do not record in Software recording mode at all or record using only the user-mode audio driver, then you can install Total Recorder without kernel-mode driver. To uninstall the kernel-mode driver, you must reinstall Total Recorder over the installed instance and uncheck the corresponding driver option during installation. All of Total Recorder's configuration settings and registration information are preserved.

If you use the kernel-mode driver sometimes, but for any reasons it cannot be set as a system default device, then adjust the volume by means of Total Recorder kernel-mode driver:

• launch the system mixer (by standard Windows means or by pressing Mixer button from the main Total Recorder window);
• with the help of mixer menu select device "Total Recorder virtual device".

Total Recorder user-mode audio driver is not compatible with Direct Sound. When Total Recorder's user-mode audio driver is set as a preferred device and your playback program uses Direct Sound, the program may start hang or produce garbled sound.

To eliminate the problem, use Total Recorder kernel-mode audio driver (only for Total Recorder Version 7.0 and above): menu Options -> Settings, Driver tab.

Alternatively, you can set up the playback program so that it does not use Direct Sound. Many modern programs can be set up to optionally use Direct Sound. Refer to the program's documentation for more information. The Troubleshooting sections also explain how to deal with specific programs.

If Direct Sound cannot be turned off:

Possible solutions:

1. Configure Total Recorder user-mode driver so that it does not conflict with specific programs (only for Version 6.0 and above). Open the Options -> Settings menu, go to the Driver tab, select Troubleshooting settings, Do not use Total Recorder's driver with the following applications, and add the .exe module for which you are experiencing problems to the list.

2. Disable Total Recorder's user-mode driver

3. Set Total Recorder's user-mode driver to be active only when Total Recorder is active. However, you will not be able to use conflicting software when Total Recorder is active.

See the Total Recorder Driver section of this FAQ for more information about solutions 2 and 3.

Some users have reported incompatibilities between the Total Recorder user-mode audio driver and some high-end games that rely heavily on Direct Sound. To eliminate this problem, use solutions described in the Total Recorder and Direct Sound section of this FAQ.

Sound distortions

For QuickTime 7 (7.1.3) and iTunes 7 (7.0.2.16) this problem has been resolved in Total Recorder version 6.1.

Unable to open iTunes V.7. An unknown error occurred (0x666D743F)

This problem has been resolved in iTunes 7.0.1.

To make WinAmp work with Total Recorder, use solutions described in the Total Recorder and Direct Sound section of this FAQ. Or you can turn off Direct Sound usage in WinAmp by taking the following steps:

1. Start WinAmp.
2. Open the WinAmp menu and select Options - Preferences (or press Ctrl-P).
3. Select Plug-ins - Output.
4. If Direct Sound output is selected, change it to waveOut output.

Total Recorder version 6.1 and earlier cannot record from RealPlayer 10 in accelerated mode if RealPlayer 10 is configured to use Direct Sound. To turn off this option in RealPlayer 10, you should take the following steps:

1. Open the menu Tools - Preferences, Hardware.
2. Click the Settings below Sound Card Compatibility.
3. Select Disable Direct Sound.

Most versions of Windows Media Player cannot turn off the usage of Direct Sound. If you experience problems with Windows Media Player's sound quality after installing Total Recorder Version 7.0 or above, use solutions described in the Total Recorder and Direct Sound section of this FAQ.

Windows 98/ME

The power management support of Windows 98/ME is not compatible with any VxD audio driver. This is a limitation documented by Microsoft.

Windows 2000/XP

If your version of Total Recorder is earlier than 6.1, the scheduler cannot launch an application to perform a scheduled job if your PC is in hibernate mode.

While recording a DVD, these programs do not record sound onto a DVD because of conflicts with the Total Recorder user-mode audio driver. To eliminate this problem, use solutions described in the Total Recorder and Direct Sound section of this FAQ.

When theTotal Recorder user-mode audio driver is active then the Adobe software will not start. To resolve the problem, use solutions described in the Total Recorder and Direct Sound section of this FAQ.

See also the Adobe Support Knowledgebase: Troubleshoot installation and startup issues, find Disable emulated audio drivers or universal audio capture and playback utilities.

If you use the Total Recorder user-mode audio driver, you can run into compatibility problems with Skype. These problems may appear as sound distortions or repetitions, or Skype may hang up. To resolve these problems, use the Total Recorder kernel mode audio driver (available in Total Recorder Version 7.0 and above).

Beginning with Version 7.0, most of Total Recorder's configuration settings are stored in a file in standard XML format. You can export and import these settings. This may be useful, for example, if you plan to reinstall your system and wish to preserve your settings, or if you want your current settings to be used by another user on your computer.

To export your settings:
1. From the Options menu, select -> Export settings...
2. Specify the name of the file to which your current settings will be exported.

To import settings from a file:
1. From the Options menu, select-> Import settings...
2. Specify the name of the file from which the settings will be imported.

Note: Configuration settings and scheduled jobs are stored separately in Total Recorder. To export and import scheduled jobs, use the Scheduler window.

Generally, Total Recorder converts a sound stream to a specific format during the recording ("on the fly"). If the "Converting..." dialog appears after the recording stops, it means that additional time is needed for conversion. Sometimes the processor cannot keep up with the speed of the recording. Usually it takes a few fractions of a second and then the file is complete.
There is one exception. If you check the Normalize option when scheduling a job, conversion is done after the file has been recorded. In this case, Total Recorder records the file in PCM format, normalizes it, and then converts it to the desired format.
The actual conversion rate depends upon many factors, such as the following:

• CPU clock
• Compression attributes (bit rate, sampling frequency)
• Type of MP3 encoding program (codec or DLL)
• Additional conversion settings (such as the Lame DLL's quality parameter)
• Sound characteristics
• Workload on your computer. The conversion process may be assigned a lower priority.
  

To improve the conversion rate, you can try any of the following:

• Turn off any additional panels in Total Recorder
• Minimize the Total Recorder window
• Reduce the workload on your computer. For example, you can turn off the screen saver, close all programs that you are not currently using, etc.
• If you record in Software Mode, try to determine the sample frequency of the original sound. Record a small fragment without any format conversion and check the sample frequency. Then you can record in MP3 format with the same sample frequency to avoid extra conversions. This will also lead to less distortion.
• Use another program for encoding in MP3 (e.g. another codec, Lame DLL) in a different mode.
• Change the conversion format by selecting a lower bit rate.
• Set a higher priority for Total Recorder using Options -> Settings, General (System) tab, High priority.

No, we have no plans to develop a Macintosh version. You might try the company below. However, we have no experience with their product and this is not an endorsement:

http://www.rogueamoeba.com