Welcome to the forum!

What version of Finale?

Windows or Mac?

And you have, of course, quit Finale, shut down, waited a minute, and restarted the computer. Right?

Yes, completely rebooted

Finale 2014.5 Win 10

Just rebooted for the third time and now it's working. Very strange!

Just rebooted for the third time and now it's working. Very strange

I used to work in Windows support. Maybe strange but not unusual. If it happens again, contact MM Support to see if there’s a path issue that needs to be resolved. 

Glad it’s working!

I'm having the same problem as Paul. I recently updated to V27, and I had the same issue in V26. (I was hoping the issue would resolve with the update.)

"The green playback cursor goes to first note but DOES NOT move" as Paul typed in.

Playing through VST or MIDI--neither works.

I use Windows 11, and the computer has been turned off then on several times.

When this happens to me, it is usually because another program has grabbed "exclusive control" of the computer sound card. That is usually fixed in the offending program's Device Control panel or failing that, in the computer sound card driver panel.

Of course one could also find the offending program and turn it off while using Finale.

I also use Sibelius, but prior to a few months ago, had no problem with play in either program.

When I don't even open up Sibelius, the Finale problem is still there.

How do I make the fix/es you suggest (in Sibelius?)--if you know?

When this happens to me, it is usually because another program has grabbed "exclusive control" of the computer sound card.

This almost has to be the problem. Finale does not play well with other apps that use the sound card. I use Audacity a lot to enhance the Finale wav output. However after using Audacity, Finale will not playback until it is shut down and restarted. If you open Sibelius while Finale is open I would expect the same no playback issue to happen. You can hope MM fixes this in the 27.4 update but I will bet you they don't or won't or can't.

Just use Finale all by itself and all is well.

Ernest, thanks for your reply. I closed both Sibelius & Finale. I opened up Finale and a file. It still won't play.

Sibelius is my main program. I use Finale to edit other Finale users' files. So currently, I need both programs working.

Sometimes you have to close all apps that may be conflicting and reboot.

Anita,

Mike H is right. You most likely have some app that is conflicting with Finale. Make sure Finale is the only app ruining. Not Sib or even YouTube, nothing using the sound card. Now see if Finale sound works. A common error notice at the start of Finale is the audio engine failed to load. If you see an error like that then Finale playback will not work.

Check you MIDI/Audio>Device setup>Audio setup. (Your device settings may be different then mine.)

Thank you all for your advice. I did change the audio settings per the image you posted, Ernest. It didn't make a difference.

I can see that I cannot expect to play my notation in Finale in general; the efforts I would need to make that possible are simply not worth it. Fortunately, for a project I'm working on, I have a partner who can play pieces & create audio files in Finale with no problem.

Thank you all, again.

I also had this problem that seemed to come from out of the blue. I did things as I've always done them, but then a few days ago playback didn't work, just as described above. So, as Adrian, Mike, and Ernest suggested, I closed every program that used sound. Well, not my browser, but every window in it that used sound. Then restarted Finale and the playback worked as normal again. This experience was a harsh reminder that just because something has worked for more than 20 years doesn't mean it will work today. Fortunately, I enjoy solving problems. Thanks to all who contributed to solving this one.

...  just because something has worked for more than 20 years doesn't mean it will work today. 

Joseph,

That is so true but things do change that are simply unnoticed. Like OS upgrades and apps that remain running in the background that you may not even be aware of. OS upgrades are especially bothersome for Mac users. And MS is not guiltily free as they try take over your PC.

I am now having the same issue. I have a brand new Dell Laptop running Windows 11 and Finale 27. I know I do not have any other apps using the soundcard, because I did not install them on the Laptop. When I click on PLAY, nothing happens, no sound, no movement.  

These may be obvious suggestions, but because they are they can often be overlooked.

Have sounds been assigned to parts in  the Score Manager?

Are the mixer levels set at an audible range?

Make sure your mic is enabled even though you may not have one. It will work