# Error -9999: Unanticipated Host Error

## Causes

This error means "something is wrong", most commonly 

* A lost connection to a USB audio device
* Missing microphone permissions from the operating system.
* Your device is unable to playback other tracks while recording. 
  * This most commonly happens if you're trying to record at a different sample rate than the device's playback rate. Making sure the sample rate matches in both the Windows Settings and Audacity's **Audio Setup -> Audio Settings** may fix this. 
  * Turning off Overdub via **Transport -> Transport Options** may fix this. 

## Fixes

You can try the [Common troubleshooting steps](/troubleshooting/common-troubleshooting-steps.md), or attempt any of the other workarounds of this page. 

{% hint style="success" %}
If the troubleshooting steps aren't working for you, feel free to ask in our communities: 

* [Forum](https://forum.audacityteam.org/)
* [Discord](https://discord.gg/audacity)
  {% endhint %}


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