Missing Files

[Keniko]

I was cleaning up three sessions getting rid of unused tracks to archive the projects to DVD's. I consolidated all the tracks (each session) hit remove unused tracks and all was good. I even played back each session to make sure I was good. No problems. The following day I reopened all three sessions and got a missing 144 tracks error message for each session. All the missing files are from the same audio folder. I tried to relink through ID only and name and ID and nothing. I tried to recover the files using Mac Keepers utility but found it doesn't support recovering AIFF files(How does a Mac utility program not support AIFF files???) I did back up all the sessions to another drive. Is there a recovery program anyone could suggest to try and restore these files back into the audio folder? Any suggestions? What's my options?

[Keniko]

Can anyone help? Thank you in advance

[Darryl Ramm]

You got a backup or the session from before doing this? To that other drive... so the pre-consolidated files are there right? Carefully copy that session somewhere else and try again on it. Do not destroy the only copy you may have by being careless. Even better make a DVD backup of that session before doing anything destructive anywhere.

All the partitions you are working on are HFS+ aka Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format right?

Did you have other drives attached when you were doing this and since removed (or just not powered on?).

Do you know the names of some of the files. Try searching for them across all drives (using Spotlight or find command in a terminal window).

[Keniko]

GREAT news. Plugged in the back up drive and Pro Tools relinked the files on all three sessions. Then I dragged these files into the sessions audio folders on the main drive and skipped the duplicates. I'm good to go. I'm so glad I backed up the project to the back up drive. Saved my bacon. Thanks so much for your response.

[Darryl Ramm]

I'm suspicious it was running off those other files all the time. You've got to be super careful what media files are being actually used. Great you had that separate drive.

[Keniko]

The back up drive was not hooked up and sitting on a shelf. I must have done something wrong in deleting the unused files in the session???? Like I said. After cleaning the sessions of unused files. The sessions played back perfectly. Weird.....