MAC to PC Corrupt Files HELP!

[traviskendall]

I recently closed down my studio (MAC based PT Mix+) and moved all my session files home on my firewire drive to my XP home computer. I am able to see the files on my MAC formated firewire drive because I use MacDrive a program that facilitates this.

Recently a former client requested his old session files and I moved them from my firewire drive to his using my PC but when he took them to his session (MAC based PT HD) the files could not be read. They seem to be viewed by the MAC as PC files of unknown type.

It looks like they were copied as straight binary files and because there was no file association the computer did not know what to do with them. Is there anyway to recover these files since the orginals have been deleted from my old MAC formated firewire drive and now only exist in this unreadable PC format?

[Brandonx1]

traviskendall,
It may be very difficult to recover the session. If you know the sample rate, bit depth, and frame rate of the session , your half way to solving the problem. The first thing I would do is make a new, blank session with all the same sample rate, bit depth, and frame rate as the session you want to recover. Then import the session data from the old session to the new session. In the past, I've done this and it works to recreate the session. The only problem left would be to relink the sound files. You may have to convert the sound files into SD2 or Waves or something using a utility. I think someone on this forum has a utility for this. Hope this helps.
Peace,
Brandon

[traviskendall]

Thank you Brandonx2.

I think my sessions will be ok if I can get the MAC to read the files. So I will call out to the DUC to see if anyone has this utility you are speaking of. If you think of who or what it is I would really appreciate you letting me know. This is going to be my biggest hurdle I think.

[email protected]

Thanks.

[KingFish]

Travis, it sounds like you dragged these sessions to a windows formatted volume, losing the resource fork in the file.

You need to open the original sessions, on the original HFS, or HFS+ volume, on your Mac system, and on EACH session you want to back up, you need to open the session, "SAVE SESSION COPY IN" select "WAV" - check the Mac/PC compat box, and save ALL your sessions this way, do NOT just drag them over to your firewire if they are going to see a PC volume.

Once you've done this, you can drag the sessions between windows, and mac formatted volumes without any problem.

The session files you have lost the resource fork data on, can not be recovered on the mac, or PC, they are useless, you need to go back to the original sessions.
Good Luck

[Brandonx1]

Hi traviskendall,
This is the link to the software I was referring to : http://www.railjonrogut.com/
The program is called sd2towav. It just converts the sd2 file to a wav file. You have to supply the sample rate, bite depth, and mono/stereo information. Like king fish said, the easiest way is to just open the session on a mac and save a copy in. Chosing enforce mac pc compatability. If you don't have a mac and the original session file, try the method I stated before. I've converted mac sessions to pc with that method a lot of times and it works. You just have to set the session up the same way the session your trying to recover. Use the same sample rate, bite depth, and frame rate. Good Luck.
Peace,
Brandon

[bricoleur]

traviskendall,
The only problem left would be to relink the sound files. You may have to convert the sound files into SD2 or Waves or something using a utility. I think someone on this forum has a utility for this. Hope this helps.
Peace,
Brandon

Excuse my ignorance but why is this necessary?

thanks,
Michael.

[Rail Jon Rogut]

Because the file system on the Mac used what is termed "streams" under NTFS.. where the files are split into 2 parts.. one part holds the data, and the other part holds the "resource fork".. the resource fork keeps track of which application created the file, etc. For a sd2 file it also keeps track of the sample rate, the time stamp etc. A FAT32 formatted drive doesn't know how to handle these split files and drops the resource fork. To get it back -- you'd have to go back to the source, the Mac formatted drive. NTFS formatted drives, as I said above, have streams which are similar -- the file can have multiple streams.. so if you copied an sd2 file to an NTFS disk with MacDrive and a Mac formatted drive.. the resource fork would survive. NTFS streams aren't widely used (except to create hidden files).. and aren't well documented. Copying a file with a steam to a FAT32 drive would also strip the file of the stream (and generate a warning).

Rail

[bricoleur]

Thanks for that Rail.

[bricoleur]

I am now wondering where the SdTwoWav utility fits into all this.

According to the website "SdTwoWav will batch convert Sound Designer 2 (sd2) files to BWF (WAV) files." The previous poster, Brandon(?), suggests that one has to "convert the sound files into SD11 or WAVES" which he thinks can be done by using the above utility - can it? What if one does not have an SD11 file to begin with?

Again apologies for my ignorance, I am unfamiliar with the s/w in question....

[Brandonx1]

Hi Bricoleur,
You can't recover the aound file unless you have the PCM part the file and the info about the file like # of channels, sample rate and bite depth. If you have all this you just tell the program, sd2towav, the info and tell it which files to convert. Your done. You have the original file or files back.
Peace,
Brandon