Pro Tools File Lost! Have All Audio Files!

[Renegade Prod]

Hey guys,
im in a real pickle ... the .ptf file for one of my songs has vanished from the computer, but i still have all the audio files for it ...

does this mean i have to piece the 315 audio files back together ....


Please offer some assistance...

[travisbrown]

First thing I'd do is get Data Rescue II and see if you can find the file. I believe you can try the app to see if the files there, then license it to retrieve the file.

Generally when you trash a file, it stays on your hard drive until something overwrites it. This is why when you format a drive, you can format it at a low level - overwrites the whole disk to clear any lingering files.

[pramrod]

maybe not much help, but i hope you had autosave on and set to save 99 session file backups and autosave every minute. then you can just go into the session file backups folder and take the most recent autosave and you are in business. but if you did not have autosave on, and you don't have a backup anywhere of the session, then you are about to start down a long and dusty road... good luck- pram

[six_wax]

Worst case, you can create a new session file & import all the audio files, then use Spot Mode [Auto Spot off!] to put the session back together, since the original PT session timestamp is saved in the audio file header. You can discern what audio goes on what tracks or playlists from the file name [see PT manual]... If you named your tracks & playlists sensibly prior to recording, you can do this pretty easily for a measly 315 audio files.

If your session management was sloppy [read: industry standard] and you didn't name tracks or playlists well... You will learn a valuable lesson.

[cbc459]

I agree that using spot mode is probably the best way to go. Original time stamp will send them where they were recorded, and user time stamp will send them where they were you put them. This is only works if your files are BWF (broadcast wave), which is PT's default.

[Renegade Prod]

Hey,
Thanks for that. Only drums and guide guitars were recorded but with about 3 playlists / takes. And of course tracks were named accordingly.

Can someone walk me through the spot mode process? i am clueless.

[cbc459]

-Create a new session
-Import all your audio files to the region list
-Enter spot mode (click on Spot at the top left corner or press Option(Alt on Windows)-3 on your keyboard
-Drag an audio file onto a track, anywhere.
-Immediately, a dialogue will come up. Either press the little triangle next to Original Time Stamp or User Time Stamp, depending on what you want. You'll that time value is now displayed above. Then press OK.
-The audio file will go to it's position in the session.
-Repeat 314 times!

All you have to manage is what audio files go in what track. You can audition the tracks from the region list directly, without having to move them first, by option(alt)-clicking on it (you have to keep the mouse button pressed)

[Tony Shepperd]

Have you checked your session backup?

[Renegade Prod]

Thanks so much cbc459.

and yes i have checked for backups :(
All that remains in the folder in

Audio Files
Fade Files


Thanks again guys!

[Rick Sutton]

I'm sure that you have probably done this but didn't see it mentioned. Have you used the search function to look all over your computer system for it. I've seen session files dropped into some pretty unlikely places (like inside a folder that has nothing to do with PT).
Sorry if this is redundant or too basic.

[Renegade Prod]

haha yeah ,,, tried a few thousand times, thanks anyway!

[Rick Sutton]

Oh well,
count your blessings that you still have the audio files! You're gonna get real familiar with the SPOT routine.
Last week I picked up an album project because a local studio lost 14 months of work when a hard drive vaporized. Poof, gone, finito. No back up. Hundreds of hours and lots of paid musician's time. This wasn't the first project this studio lost, got a great project a year ago when they allowed the same thing to happen. This guy's a good engineer but he's gonna lose all his customers if he can't protect the work. Ouch!
Don't be unprotected, get a solid backup routine going and save yourself the heartache.
Best of luck.

One other thing.......in the future it is useful to use "save as" on your work in progress rather than save. Just use the same name and increment a number behind it. The sessions before it are not eliminated so you always have multiple session files. Session files take very little space, but are "mission critical" and in your case would have saved you a lot of work if you could go back one step instead of having to go back to the beginning. Just a thought.

[PDC]

I have repeatedly posted that I have never had issues with PT and did not understand why people complained. Then last night, after mixing for 8 hours, I have a crash induced by a Digi plug (which I repeated in other sessions, so I know that is the reason). I lost some files. I now hate PT...for now. I really hate doing things twice. It is like recutting the best vocal take or guitar solo, expecting the same magic. Not bloody damn likely.

Whoever makes a system that doesn't crack up like this gets my money next time.

[DontLetMeDrown]

Did you look in the backup folder inside the session folder?

[Astrain]

Originally Posted by Rick Sutton

Oh well,

Last week I picked up an album project because a local studio lost 14 months of work when a hard drive vaporized. Poof, gone, finito. No back up. Hundreds of hours and lots of paid musician's time. This wasn't the first project this studio lost, got a great project a year ago when they allowed the same thing to happen.

He would be a great client for this guys

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[Rick Sutton]

Originally Posted by Astrain

He would be a great client for this guys

Data Recovery by DriveSavers | Hard Drive & RAID Data Recovery
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I think this companies charge around $1000 for every GB recovered. Correct me if Im wrong

Well, he went that route (not sure what company) and they told him they couldn't save his ass. Too far gone. He then called the client offering to re-do all the recordings no charge and pay for the session musicians. Client never wants to see the guy again so he brought the project to me. We're going to salvage what we can from rough mixes and re-cut everything else.

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Back-up.

[Birdi]

Originally Posted by Tony Shepperd

Have you checked your session backup?

you need to have had checked that wee box.... auto backup for there to be a session backup folder.

not in front of ptools right now but think lives in setup/prefs/and under what ever the 2nd tab in from the left is in that window - then bottom right hand corner area of that tab (ptools 7.3.1)

Heres a question tho.. I know that .wav files support time stamping, and SD2 doent...does aiff?

And if the orig poster has done much cutting/moving/ pasting without consolidating that will be a bummer.

Bird

[drBill]

Originally Posted by Birdi

ydoes aiff?

Yes.

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by PDC

I have repeatedly posted that I have never had issues with PT and did not understand why people complained. Then last night, after mixing for 8 hours, I have a crash induced by a Digi plug (which I repeated in other sessions, so I know that is the reason). I lost some files. I now hate PT...for now. I really hate doing things twice. It is like recutting the best vocal take or guitar solo, expecting the same magic. Not bloody damn likely.

Whoever makes a system that doesn't crack up like this gets my money next time.

Dont worry - I've had 2 inch tapes snapping on an 820 . Part of life!