OT: Compatible going incompatible?

[A_Sapp]

I ran into a very unusual problem with Sonar. I tried reopening a sequencing file, but now for some reason it says that the file is not compatible with this version of the sequencer. Thing is, I CREATED the file WITH this version... so my mind is blown.

Anybody run into this kind of problem with other sequencers?

[JonFairhurst]

I think they used the wrong word. The file isn't incompatible. It's corrupted.

Did you have a crash when this file was open? Maybe you have a hard drive or other hardware problem. Corrupted files are usually a sign of problems lurking.

Let's hope this was just a one time event.

-JF

[A_Sapp]

Funny you mentioned that - Gigastudio froze on loading instruments, so I forced it to close in the task manager. I then saved the Sonar file, restarted the computer, tried reopening the file, and VOILA!

So there's no way to fix it, is there...?

A friend mentioned that in Logic, you are able to save up to ten versions of one piece - that way if the file ever goes corrupt again, you can go the previously saved file and pick up where you left off twenty minutes ago (or whenever you saved second to last). I understand Sonar has an auto-save function, but does it have the ability to save a set number of versions instead of saving over the same file?

Thanks in advance - although I have to say this really really sucks. :)

[josejherring]

What about system restore to a point prior to the crash? You could then save the uncorrupted file and reinstall any software in case their really is a problem with GS3.

I'm not much with PC's but would this work.

Jose

[Hawkes]

I don't think there is a way to have Sonar create multiple backups. Hopefully I'm wrong though. :) You could at least manually make backups of your file.

Anyway, I was mainly posting to let you know that if this ever happens again (hopefully not) - hold the shift key while opening your project to open it in safe mode. It will ask you one by one if you want to load plugins. This technique allowed me to get around a corrupted file in the past. Once I figured out which plugin was the problem I just deleted that one, then re-loaded the plugin and all was fine.

[Bruce A. Richardson]

A friend mentioned that in Logic, you are able to save up to ten versions of one piece - that way if the file ever goes corrupt again, you can go the previously saved file and pick up where you left off twenty minutes ago

Hard lesson learned, eh?

Always save your files under a new name, every time you make significant changes (whether automatic or otherwise). It also makes it easy to revert when you've gone off in left field, and need to get back to something listenable.

The golden rule of data is that everything you care about should exist in two physical locations at all times, as well, so point AutoSave to a separate drive from your saved files.

That way, you will hardly ever be screwed. At least not in the bad way.

Sorry about your piece.

[joshj]

Oh man I feel your pain! I was working on a piece for show and I was in a time crunch. RIGHT as I was saving my pc had some sort of a hiccup and when I tried to open that song file 5 minutes later, Boop. I got the same exact error message. I have to agree with the others, your file is officially corrupted. What you might be able to do though is go into the Cakewalk Audio folder and import those wave files associated with the project. That might save a little time.
Going along with what Bruce said, I would save my projects in Sonar everytime I make some major changes as "xyz song 1" then "xyz song 2" and so on. After you're all finished with the project just erase all the previous versions. It does save a headache in the future. Sorry, like I said I feel your pain.

[A_Sapp]

Well, this was the first song I used a lot of vsti's in, ALONG with giga 2.5 - so with giga at 85% and several unfrozen RMX drum tracks on the same pc, something was bound to go wrong. :)

Thanks though! It gives me hope that there have been other victims of sequencer file corruption - thankfully my client is more forgiving than most! I'll be sure to create unique backups.

[Not Dudley Simpson]

I had this problem TODAY with Cubase! Damn it.

I've always saved multiple versions of the files under different names (I just give them a single name followed by a version number), as Bruce suggests. But in this case, all of the files were corrupted. I think the corruption must have existed from the first version, so the error was carried through into the subsequent ones. So Bruce's solution, while generally advisable, doesn't always work.

In my case, the error must have occured while I was getting my new GS3 and Cubase to talk to each other last week. After lots of crashes, things seemed to settled down. I thought I'd gotten away with it, but noooo!

Computers are b'stards, it's as simple as that.

Heath

[JonFairhurst]

A_Sapp, the good news is that you're likely not dealing with a dying system.

I'd recommend turning off the Quicksound audo-scan. You'll need to manually scan when you change your sample files, but you only have to do that so often. You'll still want to save your stuff in a couple locations, but if you can minimize data failures, you're way ahead in the game.

-JF

[Evan Gamble]

Im sorry Aaron :( . But I am glad you saved a backup mp3! :)

[Haydn]

I do what Bruce recommends and save at least 2 copies of each song. Have never lost a song doing this in 15 years.

Sonar does have a safe mode. You hold something like the shift key when loading the song. Check the manual or Sonar's help file for the correct key to use.