Audio Block files missing. In dire need of assistance.

[BigDNice]

Windows 10
Audacity 2.1.2


I recently recorded a 35 minute audio file in Audacity. Prior to beginning my edits which involved simply clipping and dragging some audio files into the audacity track, I saved my progress using the 'save as' in the audacity menu.

After I finished editing and gave it a thorough listen-through, I exported the file using the lame thing into an mp3. The file folder where I export was just my desktop, I keep all current projects on my desktop.
I used 7zip to compress the mp3, then uploaded it both compressed and non compressed to google drive as a .mp3 file. I still had the file for the unedited version on my desktop as well.

Restart my computer, come back and wham. None of the mp3 files worked on drive, none of them play on my computer using any audio player ,vlc, wmv, etc.

To top things off I cant even open the Audacity file of the unedited version without getting the missing audio blocks error.

I've tried the _data folder, it's empty. I've tried the preferences folder and recovery tool, but that's empty as well.

The info is all there on the .au file when I open it in a text format and the mp3 files are all 32min, which is how large it was however they just play silence.

Please help, I don't want several hours of editing and recording to go to waste.

[kozikowski]

I recently recorded a 35 minute audio file in Audacity.

How? What's the show? You talking? USB microphone?

I saved my progress using the 'save as' in the audacity menu.

And used different filenames as you went. right? So you now have thirty or forty different AUP files and _DATA folders following your progress through the edit?

Tuesday-Edit1.AUP
Tuesday-Edit2.AUP
Tuesday-Edit3.AUP
Tuesday-Edit4.AUP

I keep all current projects on my desktop.

So do I.

I used 7zip to compress the mp3

I think that's the first place you go flying off the rails. WAV is uncompressed. WAV is Audacity default File Export.

You can make a Compressed MP3 from the WAV and if you feel like it, make another Compressed MP3 at a different compression to get smaller or larger files at higher or lower compression distortion. There is "lightly compressed" MP3, but there is no such thing as Uncompressed MP3.

That error should only have given you odd-sounding MP3 files, not empty projects.

The info is all there on the .au file

This is an Audacity Project.



So you would be opening the AUP file to read the programming that Audacity wrote to remember how to make the show out of the contents of the _DATA folder. It's most unusual to have a working AUP file and an empty _DATA folder. File management errors usually work the other way around.

I have no idea. It's really unusual to get vast damage like this in a reasonably simple edit.

We need to wait for the Windows elves.

Koz

[kozikowski]

In case I missed the description of how you work, I Export a perfect quality WAV of each live recording and production capture I do.

Jiggly-Fenn_VoiceCapture-RAW_ThursdayMorning.wav

And then make sure the files play.

If I'm feeling particularly obsessive, I'll make a copy to a protective thumb drive, just to get a copy of the work off the machine.

If everything goes into the toilet, I have those to go back to, to recreate the show. It's good to be able to tell the show Producer that when something goes horribly wrong. Nobody wants to wrangle actors, talent and presenters for a reshoot.

Koz

[Gale Andrews]

First, drag the MP3's into Audacity to make sure they actually are silence (flat line).

Then open the "Saved as" AUP file in Audacity and attach the log from Help > Show Log... top right of Audacity so we can see the errors. Also attach the AUP file. Please see here for how to attach files: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 49&t=64936.

Do you have an AUP file saved before you did the Save As? If so, does that open?

Is your Desktop synced to Google Drive or other cloud services? You should save projects to a folder that the internet can't touch.


Gale

[kozikowski]

Is your Desktop synced to Google Drive or other cloud services? You should save projects to a folder that the internet can't touch.

That is a New and Improved way to mess this process up, isn't it?

What happens during a sync?

Koz

[kozikowski]

Oh, wait. I think I know this one. The system freezes the local files during a sync so as not to try to sync to a moving target. It's a minor inconvenience or maybe not even noticeable if you're typing a letter, but If Audacity is trying to write data files........

Koz

[Gale Andrews]

Also if you delete files in the cloud, doesn't sync try to mirror that change in the locally synced folder?

Gale

[kozikowski]

delete files in the cloud

I would have put handsome money that's forbidden. Can you picture the Customer Service complaints?

Koz