data recovery

[allen]

hi all, unfortunate events lead me to my first post...

has anyone had any sucess recovering Protools sessions accidentally deleted? i lost all sessions on a HD, most of them are backed up, all but a current project which i greatly need back.

if anyone can recomend a data recovery service in melbourne that would be great!! esp. if they have had experience with recovering Protools sessions.

[Jason Dirckze]

Was it just the session files or was the audio deleted as well????

[allen]

the audio as well... its not looking to good is it?

[Kurt]

Because audio files are so big chances are they'll be effectively unrecoverable, especially if the computer has been used since they were deleted. I'd assume Mac's are the same as pc's in this regard.

I learnt the hard way, back up, back up, back up!

[JulienG]

Here here Kurt!

Given how cheap a terabyte or two of networked disk is these days there's no excuse for not doing a daily backup, this can be totally automated removing the human aspect, and should cost < 8k (I just configured a system at my usual supplier that gives 1.6TB usable space after losing two disks to redundency for $5100 - a 2u rackmout server with 6 hot-swappable 400GB drives).
Basically get a PC, put a lot of disk in it (ideally with a good raid controller to protect your data), whack linux on it and have it do a daily backup, this is what my main job does (although only 750GB after RAID, they don't do a lot with media files) and it's already saved us several times.

[chris p]

Yeah. macs are the same as PCs as far as disk allocation is concerned - delete a big file, use the computer for not very much and the space used by the big file gets quickly reused by other stuff.

So Allen, have you used the computer much since the big wrong button? If no, Nortons Utilities has an undelete function. It can also (I believe) recover fragments of files, so some of the audio may be recoverable - whether its the usable bit or not depends on how lucky you're feeling.

If not, chalk it down to experience - you, for one, will now backup everything you do as soon as you do it to an external file. Julien G is right on the money for larger systems, for smaller home-based stuff, just buy yourself an external large GB firewire disk ($300 - $500 and worth every cent). You use it simply to backup files, so disk speed etc is not important.

And let me be the first to extend the hand of welcome to the "Oh no! was that the lead vocal track I just erased" club! My own experience was taping a flute/piano combo - I set up the mics carefully (monitored through the AD converter) and gave the "go ahead" sign. The talent then did a wonderful, expression filled performance, sounded wonderful through the headphones (again into the converter). I playback the file and its sounds horrible - tinny, no depth, total garbage. I had not set Logics Core Audio to the AD conveter driver, so it had recorded the whole thing through the laptops internal mic!!! Cough cough "That was good, let's try it again" - fortunately the next take (properly recorded) was even better.

Regards

Chris

[rick]

i had a problem on a digital system one day and started chasing down the fabled data recovery unicorn

i kept getting smug sounding guys on the phone telling me the golden rule of recording was back up back up back up,
what a hoax....

when i learnt to record the rule was press record , capture the magic, label the box and dont ever erase over it.

the are many reasons to talk about digital recording, lots of them are very cool but some of them are very uncool.

chalk it down to experience or try and get the data back
the result will be the same. ( you lose will something.... data or sanity !)

[JulienG]

when i learnt to record the rule was press record , capture the magic, label the box and dont ever erase over it.

True that, but what happens when you need to start cutting tape?

You make a safety copy (and usually cut that one up, not the master, but my point does stand).

One of the things analog tape got right was that they electrically prevented recording over a track if it wasn't record enabled (sure there are always problems with it, but far less then a multiplexed digital stream).

As I stated in my previous post, if you're in this as a business given how cheap a good automated backup solution can be there's little reason not to do it.

[Kris]

When you need to start cutting tape.... I'd say that's where pro tools/logic/nuendo come into their own. I'm not sure if it's audio bravado or what but nowadays there's no reason to ever cut tape. Sure, Bob Rock and Randy Staub did it all over Metallica's Black album as well as hundreds of other big shots on great albums but I bet if they had the choice they would have gone to tools, cut it up, then played it back to a new piece of tape.

[JustinS]

A bit over 1 1/2 years ago I was assisting on a Nick Launay session that was all tape based with verses and choruses and four bar blocks spliced together from different takes (yes there was a Protools rig in the room... and it did get used.... later). Also a Paul Mckercher record where he was doing no only this... but chopping little bits out in between the odd drum hit to tighten up timing!

Justin.

[heathen]

If you havnt used the computer much you could try Magic Recovery(company) software,I recently recoved about 80% of a dying hard drive of my mums. Part of the disk was destroyed though thats why I could only get 80%.The guy who tried to fix it first said he had reformatted the drive too,i said nooooooo big mistake. Though i doubt it had reformatted.