I have a client that just got back from LA recording their album and
the files that they have returned with will not open. They had no
extensions at all. I had to add .pts to the session files to get them
to open, and after looking at the audio files it looks like they are
all labeled as .BAK files. Is anyone familiar with these files and do
you have any suggestions as to what to do? I really don't want to have
to rename all of the files as .aif so that they open.

Thanks in advance

On Apr 5, 2005, chris_ahrens commented:

I had to add .pts to the session files to get them
to open, and after looking at the audio files it looks like they are
all labeled as .BAK files. Is anyone familiar with these files and do
you have any suggestions as to what to do? I really don't want to have
to rename all of the files as .aif so that they open.
--------------------------------snip----------------------------------

Is this a Windows session or Mac?

Are you trying to open these files on a Mac or a PC?

When you open the session (assuming ProTools 6.4 or higher), do you get an
error message that says it can't find the audio files? If so, what happens
when you click the button and have it search for the files and re-link to
them?

Assuming you're trying to do this on a Mac, there's a chance the files were
created or changed on a Windows machine, and that might have damaged (or
eliminated) the resource fork, which can confuse a Mac program. Or, if
you're doing this on a Windows machine, it's possible the audio file headers
have gotten changed or damaged in some way, so ProTools may not know what
kind of files they are (or what format in which they're recorded).

In the 8 or 9 years I've been using ProTools TDM, I've never seen it save an
audio file and give it a BAK extension. Are you positive these are audio
files? Can you at least tell by file size that these are audio files, as
opposed to something else?

Lastly, when all else fails, my advice would be to pick the phone up and call
the guy who made the files, and tell them what you want is a complete Session
Backup. Make sure they check off "Enforce Mac/PC compatibility," and that
copies of all audio files are saved. Unless it's a massive session, all the
files should fit one (or more) DVD-R's, which will allow you to restore the
session with that. I've never had this process fail, except possibly in
cases where the client's session used plug-ins I don't have (or vice-versa),
or you have a very early version of the program. Of course, you'll run into
trouble if you try to open, a version 6.x session with ProTools 5.x.

And be sure to check in with the Digi user group, which is he

http://duc.digidesign.com/

Lotsa great, knowledgeable experienced ProTools people there. I've never
found a problem they couldn't answer there, usually in just a few hours.

--MFW

I think .BAK is a backup file extension which ProTools can auto-generate
if you have that preference set. It usually creates back-up files of
the session only, though. I don't think it auto-saves audio files. I
could be completely wrong about all of this info, though....

Cheers,
Trevor de Clercq

Marc Wielage wrote:
On Apr 5, 2005, chris_ahrens commented:


I had to add .pts to the session files to get them
to open, and after looking at the audio files it looks like they are
all labeled as .BAK files. Is anyone familiar with these files and do
you have any suggestions as to what to do? I really don't want to have
to rename all of the files as .aif so that they open.

It is a mac session that was recorded in ptools 5 on a G3. I use
version 6.1.2 on my G4. These are the only files that were saved in
the audio folder. Since this is an external drive I am thinking that
the band didn't backup the session correctly, because this whole thing
is just too weird. I haven't ever seen anything like it. The weirdest
thing is that the session didn't even have an extension so once I added
..pts to the name then it would open and was all there except for the
audio files. It did the auto search and found nothing, so I started
looking on my own and didn't find one file in any of the audio folders
that even began to resemble an audio file. As far as the size of the
folders I am not sure because I don't have the drive with me currently.
The phone call is inevitable I was just really ****ed because the
bands backup drive is USB so I spent about two hours transferring files
to my Firewire drive before I realized that it was a waste of time.
That is a good idea with the DVD backups that is what I have started to
do but apparently this guy doesn't have a DVD burner in the studio, and
he has an all SCSI G3 setup. Does anyone remember if the B&W came with
firewire? If so, I might just go back to the coast with them and take
a decent drive to get everything.

thanks very much for the advice

On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 11:09:19 -0400, chris_ahrens wrote
(in article .com):

It is a mac session that was recorded in ptools 5 on a G3. I use
version 6.1.2 on my G4. These are the only files that were saved in
the audio folder. Since this is an external drive I am thinking that
the band didn't backup the session correctly, because this whole thing
is just too weird. I haven't ever seen anything like it. The weirdest
thing is that the session didn't even have an extension so once I added
.pts to the name then it would open and was all there except for the
audio files. It did the auto search and found nothing, so I started
looking on my own and didn't find one file in any of the audio folders
that even began to resemble an audio file. As far as the size of the
folders I am not sure because I don't have the drive with me currently.
The phone call is inevitable I was just really ****ed because the
bands backup drive is USB so I spent about two hours transferring files
to my Firewire drive before I realized that it was a waste of time.
That is a good idea with the DVD backups that is what I have started to
do but apparently this guy doesn't have a DVD burner in the studio, and
he has an all SCSI G3 setup. Does anyone remember if the B&W came with
firewire? If so, I might just go back to the coast with them and take
a decent drive to get everything.

thanks very much for the advice


If they simply dragged and dropped the session folder, you're probably
screwed. To copy sessions properly to some where else, you have to save copy
as form the file menu. I know. I have the scars to prove it.

Go back to them and have them save and copy the session properly, if they
can.

Regards,

Ty Ford


-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

In article .com,
chris_ahrens wrote:

Does anyone remember if the B&W came with
firewire? If so, I might just go back to the coast with them and take
a decent drive to get everything



I had to add a FW card to our B&W G3 back in the day. It didn't have
any USB either.




David Correia
Celebration Sound
Warren, Rhode Island


www.CelebrationSound.com