tracks showing 0bytes of data in audio file

[Rogue_Squirrel]

Guys I really need some help with this one! I've been searching for days for an answer- but cannot find a similar thread...
here is my issue;

I opened up a session recently to find all but the first few tracks missing.

pt was unable to automatically re link, so I went to do it manually. located the files but pt still couldn't make it happen.

when I went into the audio file folder, I found that the missing audio files have no data in them!

I have created a copy in of the session and this is now showing the correct file size for each audio file. however when I try and import any of these files into a new session, there is no sound and no sound wave in the clip... and this is where I have come stuck and need your help!

potential reasons for this happening;
I have been recording in pro tools first, as there is no wifi where we film/ record our artists.. and then mixing at home on pro tools. this process however has not affected any of my other sessions.

part of me feels that one drive has something to do with it, because it takes copies of everything

[Darryl Ramm]

Your comment about what Pro Tools versions you are using do not make sense.

If you have no WiFi (or presumably wired Internet?) on site how do you use Pro Tools First?

Did you have Pro Tools and Pro Tools First backwards in that description?

How exactly are you moving between Pro Tools First (Cloud) projects and Pro Tools sessions? And visa versa if needed? (And are you actually doing that or working in cloud Projects?)

You mean Microsoft OneDrive? What *exactly* are you using that for. You should never be actively working on any DAW session that is on a cloud/internet mounted drive volume. You can drag and drop session folders into those drive volumes for transfer or backup, but that is it.

[Rogue_Squirrel]

Hi Darryl, thanks for looking at my post

my laptop will let me use pro tools first without the use of ilok or an internet connection, but not pro tools. (Annoying, because none of my good plug ins work in first)

When I'm saving the session in pro tools first, I'm saving it to local storage device (my laptop), that way when I'm connected to the internet, I open up the full version of pro tools and it loads up into that (I'm guessing, before the session loads up, pro tools first, then uploads my work into the cloud?).... Either way, this is something I've been doing for a couple months and has been without fault. Indeed, even the last recording I did, is still fine and working in both pro tools. It just happens to be the ones prior, that now have this issue.

Microsoft one Drive is just on my laptop and not for any specific reason... So I'm guessing from your answer, I should delete it!

Could this be the reason audio is missing only from certain tracks?

And any idea why, when I have 'copied in' the session where the Audio files are showing as empty (0bytes of data)
The same audio files in the copy version are showing bytes of data but aren't playing any sound?

[Darryl Ramm]

You have shot yourself in the foot, or worse.

It sounds like you are manually manipulating the Pro Tools First cached project files? You are not ever supposed to touch those. The way you are supposed to move a Pro Tools First Project to Pro Tools is via a cloud account and then do a save as session in Pro Tools if you want a local copy on disk.

If that is what you have been doing and First cannot find the content in its cloud storage then it’s likely gone forever.

But you seem to have just have created a huge mess for yourself. You should not be using Pro Tools First *at all*. Get your Pro Tools license out of iLok Cloud and onto a physical iLok so you can work with Pro Tools at all times. Get rid of First, and work out how to backup your sessions, to at least three separate places. Your laptop may also be underpowered for Pro Tools (or even First).

[Rogue_Squirrel]

Yikes! I did not know they were not supposed to be touched! Thank you for that valuable information, I will leave them alone from now on.

However, I don't believe it is the reason I am in this mess, as I have only come across the cached folder and tried to manually import audio files from it, since the problem occurred. And I tried it only to see if it could have been a work around to the problem, which of course it wasn't.

even before I tried that manual manipulation, the audio files in the cache of the original session were suddenly not showing any data in them, whilst the 'copy in' ones did.

I just cannot get my head around how those 'copy in' audio files show data, but do not play. the sound must be there, otherwise what else is taking up bytes!?

You are completely right, I shouldn't be using pt first at all! I will get a physical ilok and be done with it. and yes a new laptop is my next purchase! I added more ram to this one to make it 8gb, but that's as far as I can push the old girl.

[Darryl Ramm]

My suspicion is when you get Pro Tools confused as you have and do a Save, it incorrectly writes our files that have some apparent size but no content. You can always find the underlying Audio file and just try playing it outside of Pro Tools to check, but I suspect you are screwed.

I would check is if Pro Tools First Projects online have any usable content.

Take some time to get yourself set up properly, make sure your system is fully optimized (see “help us help you” up the top of each DUC web page) and one thing that worries me about your laptop is the low end models have 5400 rpm HDD. Unless your model has a PVIe/NVMe boot drive you should be looking at an external USB SSD like a Samsung T5. But even then this laptop is likely to only going to handle lower-end work.