corrupted .auf file

[fsutrill]

I came here a few minutes ago looking for the answer to my question- I think this answer may be on the track of helping.

Open your .aup file in NotePad and see if there are any lines that look like this:
<waveblock start="0" >
<pcmaliasblockfile summaryfile='b00000.auf' aliasfile='C:/path/to/folder/audiofile.wav
If you see "pcmaliasblockfile", then you have an external file linked to your project. The stuff after "aliasfile=" tells you what the file name is and where Audacity expects to find it.

I have a project, imported from a wav file, that I can see visually, but it's silent. My 2 questions are this- 1. can I use notepad somehow to fix/change the source (after 'aliasfile')? I don't have access to the source file anymore, though, so I don't know what I would put in its place.

When I look in the aup data folder, I have (all are of type AUF) b00006, b00007, b00008, b00009, then it jumps to b000086 then sequentially up to b0000119. Then, at b0000120- it (and all the rest, with skips in sequence) changes to "AU format sound" in the type column.

my other question- is it possible to macgyver what's there and manually change the extensions of the files that say "AU Format Sound" to be "AUF" as they are in all my other data folders? Is there any hope that we won't have to go re-record everything? THANKS!

[steve]

Create a new folder and copy the Audacity Project file (.AUP) and the project data folder (filename_data) into it. That's your backup in case you mess up.

.AU and .AUF are different types of file - they cannot be converted from one to the other.

Probably the best option is to open the Audacity Project, select all tracks (Ctrl+A) and from the Effect menu select "Amplify".
Set "Amplification (dB)" to 0 and apply.
This will re-copy all existing data in the project. Missing data will be converted to a flat line, so at least you can see what's missing.
Save the project with a new name (to avoid overwriting the original file).

As you don't have access to the source file any more it is not possible to recover the lost data (because it's not there), but if you can see where it is missing then you may be able to replace it with something else.

[fsutrill]

thanks! I'll give that a shot!

I did, after going through the rest of my files, figure out where my mistake happened. I opened the wav file directly from the digital recorder hooked to our sound board. I then saved it as an AUP. When I unplugged the recorder, the source file was gone (and has subsequently been deleted). So, always always always save your WAV!

[steve]

So, always always always save your WAV!

Yes, absolutely.
I'd also recommend upgrading to Audacity 1.3.12 which has a feature in the "File" menu called "Check Dependencies". This allows you to check if your project is dependent on any external files and if there are it gives you the option to copy them into the project (so eliminating this problem).

Note that Audacity 1.3.x can open Audacity 1.2.x projects, but Audacity 1.2.x cannot open projects that have been saved by Audacity 1.3.x

[fsutrill]

So, always always always save your WAV!

Yes, absolutely.
I'd also recommend upgrading to Audacity 1.3.12 which has a feature in the "File" menu called "Check Dependencies". This allows you to check if your project is dependent on any external files and if there are it gives you the option to copy them into the project (so eliminating this problem).

Note that Audacity 1.3.x can open Audacity 1.2.x projects, but Audacity 1.2.x cannot open projects that have been saved by Audacity 1.3.x

am upgrading right now- that's an extremely useful feature!

[kozikowski]

So, always always always save your WAV!

Export, but yes. I went for a very long time doing entertainment grade voice captures and sound processing without using Audacity Projects at all.

There is another, slightly more complex version of that. Don't step on your original work. We get people posting all the time that exported their show as the original file name instead of a new name and it destroyed the master sound files and their show.

Don't do that. Use new filenames.

LRMonoPhase4.wav. That's one of the sound tests from my web site. It's the fourth version -- and the hero one.

Koz