lost audio files?

[jp]

i run dp, an imac and store onto a glyph 82 gig drive. i recorded drum tracks thru an 828 and an 896. checked the files earlier in the day and all was cool. cked them again in the evening and all the tracks recorded using the 828 are missing. my hardive is getting full, only about 16 gigs left. any ideas?

[cassembler]

1) Backup data more often
2) Defrag more often
3) 16 gigs should still be plenty (I've done whole 16/44.1 albums on 3 gig drives)
4) Check the garbage bin
5) If not, Norton makes some decent recovery utilities (I dunno about Mac)
6) Backup data more often
7) Try searching for the files (use finder)- you may have accidentlayy saved them in the wrong folder/ moved them
good luck, let us know how you did

[pscottm]

this happened to me a couple years ago, lost a couple thousand files due to a bug in peak 2.5.2. you're not running that are you? there's a known bug in that version that causes this to happen if you batch process. anyway, i was able to get all my files back using norton disc recover, part of norton 6 i believe. the downside is that disc recover renames the files as it pulls them up (1.aiff, 2.aiff, 3.aiff, etc), and truncates them to a maximum size (4 min @ stereo 16/44.1, i think). so renaming and restructuring directories for projects using these files is a nightmare. but at least you can usually get them back.

the lesson i learned: BACKUP

backup tip: if you're using OSX, check out carbon copy cloner. it has scheduled or manual sync between your workdrive and backup drive, and updates changed files automatically, couldn't be easier, and it's FREE.
can also use it to clone your OSX system onto a backup drive so you can run your system on someone elses machine, apps and all. all you need is a FW drive with a 'carbon copy clone' of your machine on it. boot it up on any mac w FW and it's like being on your own machine. amazing!

[A.L.]

don't know what version you're on but maybe check motu.com for any software updates? I wouldn't think the box (896 vs 828) would matter. Have you been juggling projects? Maybe DP dumped them into some other session's audio files folder? Unlikely, but hey... If you take the Norton plunge, it should be noted that the less you do with the drive until then the better the chance of recovering the files.

I'm reminded of the old Final Cut (since revised) quirk of allowing the user to save / dump scratch misc. into invisible folders... ResEdit, come to meeee...

[JES]

Ouch, I feel for you. I'm sorry if this is too obvious, but I screw this up all the time.

Every time I record a new song in DP, I set up a new project. Every time, it asks me if I want to save the new project in some place I don't want to save it (like the DP folder on my main HD rather than on my audio HD). Half the time, I'm thinking about other stuff, and I wind up saving it in the wrong place. Since I know that I do this, I then just go looking in the following places:

--the desktop

--the DP folder on my main drive

--INSIDE other song "project" folders.

I've found the audio every time.

I hope your problem is as simple as mine!

Best,
--JES