Permanently "DELETING" files from HD

[Sabe]

Hi everyone,

I have noticed throughout my PT sessions an odd inconsistency. I regularly go to my "regions" list and click "select all unused regions". Then I click "delete all unused regions". When the deleting options requester box pops up the "remove" selection is sometimes not available. Not understanding why I simply continue with my tracking/mixing and eventually come back to it later only to find that the "remove" option has become available again. I am confused by this.

Is there some indication as to which regions can be permanently removed and which ones can only be deleted from the regions list but left on the HD for manual deletion later?

I apologize if this has been already covered in the DUC, I did a search and did not find a concrete answer.

Thanks in advance for any information.

[mjames08]

There are two types of regions in the region list. The bold ones are 'parent' regions, and the rest are just edits and parts of the bold ones. When I move sessions from computer to computer I first will highlight each track and do a Consolidate Selection. This will turn the whole track into 1 parent file. After doing that for every track you can go through and delete the ones you don't need, permanently off your disk.

[Sabe]

mjames08,

Thank you for your reply. I have done as you have mentioned many times, however sometimes after consolidating the track the delete permanently box is still unavailable. Like I mentioned in my first post, it completely baffles me.

I understand the track/region arrangement with edits/plugs applied and etc... I just do not understand why it will not allow me to permanently delete a region in one instance and a minute later (without changing a thing) allow it.

I guess it could be a peculiar bug my system has or a PTLE issue, whichever the case, I am used to it and I know I can eventually permanently delete the regions.

Thanks again for your reply.

[Sabe]

...by the way, I should mention that I am letting ProTools decide which regions are not being used, rather than manually selecting them. I have been using the "select unused regions" command in the regions list pull down menu.

I can determine which regions are not being used manually and delete them, but I was hoping that ProTools would do it for me with the "select unused regions" command. It does work most of the time though, it is just those few little times that baffle me why it chooses not to work [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Mr_Seven]

http://duc.digidesign.com/cgi-bin/ub...&f=32&t=003886

[murph16]

Wow, seems almost every thread the past few days directly relates to stuff I'm doing.
I spent three hours cleaning up my HD yesterday, and noticed the same problem. I don't know how it happens, but simply closing Pro Tools and opening it back up got the Delete option to come back. Strange.
Meanwhile, I discovered that even after getting the files "deleted", sometimes the files still showed up in an "audio files" folder somewhere else. I went to My Computer, clicked on the drive, found this mysterious Audio files" folder, and then manually previewed each one in winamp, one at a time and deleted them again. This time they were gone for good. Finally.
Apparently, PT was making copies of some files and saving them in a separate folder.
After I was done, I deleted the empty folder and organized my sessions.
When all was said and done, I went from 36% available space to 56% available space, but it took three steps of deleting in some cases.
Time consuming, but worth it.
Now that I've deleted these extra folders, we'll see if it stays more organized.

[mjames08]

I am under the impression, if you cannot 'delete the file from disk', it is actually part of another file or an instance of a parent file, or just an edit..

[murph16]

True.
But we're talking about "unused files". As long as the edit page still has your vital tracks in it, and you "consolidate" them, the segments, or "parent" files are no longer needed and thus should be considered "unused".
They even show up highlighted when you choose "select unused files", but the delete button disappears randomly. This is the mystery we were discussing. Simply closing out ProTools and opening it back up can make it re-appear.
In my case, even after getting it to come back, and deleting them, they sometimes remain in an audio files folder and have to be deleted again. Weird.

[Sabe]

murph106,

I am glad you posted to this thread, though I am sorry you experience the same "weirdness" it is comforting knowing I am not alone. Just when I think I have it figured out, BAM!, the "remove" option is not available again. I too have had good luck with closing and reopening ProTools, but it doesn't seem like that is the way it should work. Maybe if we keep this thread going long enough Brent will take notice of it and offer an explanation.

I will keep my findings posted here, that is if I do discover anything that will clarify this "weirdness".

[murph16]

I am meeting with a ProTools dealer here in Miami today for something unrelated, but I will mention this to him and get back to you guys.