addressed Sound clips processing for over 24 hours

[borate]

All is well here.

With Videopad open, at the bottom-right of the Windows screen right-click the speaker icon and confirm that the Videopad volume is turned up.  Windows 11 here...

In Videopad, check that the volume sliders at the left of the audio tracks are at the far right...

Make sure that the tracks or individual clips haven't been muted.

The speaker icon to the left of audio tracks and those on the individual clips should not be displaying a RED X.

[Redfox]

Okay, I made sure the volume settings were in order, restarted the application, and now everything is working perfectly well: no slow start-up, no indefinite processing, and the volume plays as expected.

To that end, I want to sincerely thank you for your help and patience with this problem. Without your help, I don't know what I would've done, so I'm glad you were able and willing to help me despite the difficulty of the issue and my time constraints. You've been immensely helpful and I don't think I could have recovered this 3-month project without you, so thank you!

[borate]

Very good.  Back up regularly, for protection.  Save Project File AS, giving it a unique # or name, so as not to overwrite prior saves.  Using Save Project Files (no AS) will overwrite.  From the HOME tab, that choice is available by clicking the chevron to the right of the Save Project button on the toolbar.

For very long projects, consider breaking them down into smaller exports, for later assembly.  Good luck!

Come back if problems arise;  there are users willing to help.