Topic: MicroTrack - corrupted files - (ANSWER: errors with FAT32 filesystem)

[JasonSobel]

hey everyone, I'm sorry if this is buried somewhere in one of the existing threads, but I don't remember seeing this one before.

Last night, I recorded a show.  a great show, one of the best Club d'Elf shows I have ever seen.  Today, I stick the CF card into my USB2 card reader, double click on my H: drive (for the CF card), and windows gives me this error message:

"The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable"

and then it won't even show me what is on the CF card or even let me try to copy it.  Turned everything off, and tried again.  Same thing.  Connected the MicroTrack via USB2, and tried to access it from there.  Same problem.

but, I know it's on there, and I know it's a great recording.  hooking up either the RCA line outs or the headphone outs, I can play the files from the MicroTrack.  it's a 1.5 hour first set and a 1 hour second set.  the files are on the card and they are playable.  how can I get them off and onto my computer?

Last night, everything went smoothly, nothing out of the ordinary, everything went fine, recorded at 24/48 via S/PDIF from my V3.
The ONLY thing different about this that I hadn't done in the past is actually play the files from the MicroTrack.  This morning, before I left for work, and before I had tried copying the files to my computer, I hooked the MicroTrack, via the headphone output, to my stereo, and listened to portions of set 2 for a few minutes.  I did this because I was so excited from the increble show that I had witnessed.  Could playing the files on the MicroTrack somehow corrupt them so that Windows can't even recognize the CF card?  I don't think so, but, really, that is the only thing different from my other recordings with the MicroTrack.

please help if you can.  if I can't salvage this recording, I'll be stuck listening to a schoeps recording (although, to be honest, I am interested to hear what the on-stage, schoeps omnis > tubes > v2 > ad2k sound like.  whatever it sound like, though, I think I want to hear my MG's  )

[BC]

The ONLY thing different about this that I hadn't done in the past is actually play the files from the MicroTrack.  This morning, before I left for work, and before I had tried copying the files to my computer, I hooked the MicroTrack, via the headphone output, to my stereo, and listened to portions of set 2 for a few minutes.  I did this because I was so excited from the increble show that I had witnessed.  Could playing the files on the MicroTrack somehow corrupt them so that Windows can't even recognize the CF card?  I don't think so, but, really, that is the only thing different from my other recordings with the MicroTrack.

I would doubt it, I have done that a couple times, listen via the line out and then dump the file. No problems. Might want to do a test recording to see if it happens again.

[JasonSobel]

Might want to do a test recording to see if it happens again.

you mean, on the same card?  or try a different CF card?  the only other one that I have is the small 64 MB card that came with it.  I probably can't try it out for a few hours, because we've got some dinner guests coming over in 10 minutes.  definitely something I'll try later this evening, though.

any other ideas?

[BC]

maybe if you know someone else with a MT you could try putting the media in there and see if you can 1) playback from the MT and 2) make a computer recognize the MT and associated files. That would at least eliminate your specific MT as the transfer problem. Seems like the file should be ok since you can play it back from the MT, seems like something is goofy in how the files are being recognized though.

Also, can you playback the entirety of each file glitch-free? Could be that a sub-set of the data is corrupted and screwing up recognition of the files.

Damn, for important shows I am definitely running the D8 as a backup...

[JasonSobel]

here's something.
My girlfriend has an iBook G4 laptop.  I've only used a mac once or twice in my life, so I really don't know what I'm doing there.  but anyway, she's not home yet, so I turned on her laptop, and plugged in the MicroTrack via the USB connector.  the MAC instantly was able to read the card, and I'm now copying the files to her laptop.  I think it's going at USB 1, because I only grabbed the first set, 1.45 gigs, and it says that it'll take another 18 minutes to copy the file.  then I'll copy the second set.

the NEXT step, is to figure out how to get the files from her laptop to my computer.  She has no audio prorgams on there, and only a CD burner, not a DVD burner.  maybe I could somehow get cd wave on her mac, and cut it up and burn data CDs   actually, I don't even know how to install programs on a mac, let alone if CD wave is even available for it.  hmmmm, well, at least now I have more hope that the recording can be salvaged.  maybe it's my computer that is the problem, although I've done many shows at 24/48 with the MicroTrack, and not a single problem before...

anyway, if you have any input on any part of my situation, I'd love to hear it.

thanks - Jason

[JasonSobel]

Damn, for important shows I am definitely running the D8 as a backup...

seriously.  actually, the only reason why I haven't been running my D8 backup is because I know that there are a couple of other tapers, also on-stage.  (even if they are schoeps tapers)

maybe if you know someone else with a MT you could try putting the media in there and see if you can 1) playback from the MT and 2) make a computer recognize the MT and associated files. That would at least eliminate your specific MT as the transfer problem. Seems like the file should be ok since you can play it back from the MT, seems like something is goofy in how the files are being recognized though.

well, also, I think I already have elminated my specific MT as the problem, because I get the same error when using the CF card in my card reader, which is how I usually go about the transfers anyway.  also, as I just mentioned, the files are now transferring to my girlfriend's laptop via the MT.  and I don't know anyone else with a MT anyway

thanks for your suggestions though, I do appreciate it (+T).  any one else want to chime in??

[Genghis Cougar Mellen Khan]

thanks for your suggestions though, I do appreciate it (+T).  any one else want to chime in??

Yes, which card are you using?  Brand/size/speed...

Does the .gif below look familiar?

I had a similar issue with my PMD-671.  I've recorded a handful of shows with it, all at 24/48 with no problems.  I recorded Claypool (set wasn't longer than previous things I had recorded) and I had this issue.  I COULD drag and drop tracks 1 and 2 (1hr length tracks) but the third file gives me the error message.  I have been using a Kingston 45X 4gig card (no problems the first 6 shows), I'm wondering if it's the media, not the recorder.  Doug @ Oade told me he's heard of a few people having this problem from time to time with various brands of CF and various recorders. 

[JasonSobel]

I am using a Sandisk Ultra II 4 gig CF card.  offhand, I'm not sure what the speed rating is.

and that .gif image is very similar, but not quite.  Windows (and DOS, for that matter, I even tried DOS  ) won't even read the drive, so it doesn't give me that message when I try to copy the files, because I cannot even get to the point where I select the files to copy.  does that make sense?  I am not sure if I am communicating this clearly.

thanks,
Jason

[cmoorevt]

Off the top of my head, couple things to test:

1.)Is the card reader corrupt?  Can you copy, say, images from a digital camera CF card using it?

2.)Not sure what type of reader you have, but if it also allows you to copy from SD sources, maybe try something from a SD source.  Maybe it is just the CF portion that is messed up....

3.) Is your USB 2.0 input messed up? Please don't ask me to explain it because I don't know, but I've read of USB ports getting "constipated" and not functioning correctly.  Maybe try another USB port?

Glad to hear you were able to save the recording to the gf's mac.

[JasonSobel]

thanks for everyone's input.  here is where it stands now

1 - I don't think this is actually a problem with the files from the MicroTrack, something must be funny with my computer.

I copied the files to my gf's mac, via USB by plugging the MT directly to the mac.  I then copied the files from the Mac to Scott's external USB2 harddrive, which I just happen to have lying around   (one of these days, I'll get some time to track out some of his 24 bit recordings that he is too lazy to do).  I then connected the external harddrive to my PC, and successfully copied the files to my harddrive.  I have now md5'ed them and burned a backup to DVD.

so, with the files now accessable from my girlfriend's laptop, the external harddrive, and the DVD backup, I am going to do some tests with the CF card.

I'll re-format in the MciroTrack and do a few test recordings.  see if I can transfer them directly.  while I'm hoping everything will work fine, it sort of makes me wonder, because it seems like there is no straight answer for this problem, other than just general computer quirkiness.  maybe it's time to go clean slate, reformat my HD, and re-install windows.  with Windows, it certainly is a good idea to do that every once in a while   of course, with only 4 hours of sleep last night, these tests will have to wait until tomorrow.  at least I can rest easy knowing that I've got the recording

1.)Is the card reader corrupt?  Can you copy, say, images from a digital camera CF card using it?

2.)Not sure what type of reader you have, but if it also allows you to copy from SD sources, maybe try something from a SD source.  Maybe it is just the CF portion that is messed up....

I'll do these tests tomorrow.

3.) Is your USB 2.0 input messed up? Please don't ask me to explain it because I don't know, but I've read of USB ports getting "constipated" and not functioning correctly.  Maybe try another USB port?

When I tried it with the card reader, and also with the MicroTrack, they were plugged into different USB ports, so I don't think that's it either.  vrey strange, and a bit unsettling overall.  if I do find anything out tomorrow in my tests, I'll be sure to report back..  thanks again for all of the input, and if anyone is just popping into this thread now, please feel free to share your thoughts, while this recording is salvaged, the strange problem is not yet resolved...

[eupeptic]

It could also be that the file system on the CF card is messed up (FAT32 isn't exactly a robust file system).

If that's the case then probably the easiest thing to try first (it sounds to me like you haven't reformatted the card yet) is just to run chkdsk d: (I'm just using drive D: for this example...) from the command prompt to see if detects any errors, and if so, add the /f switch to repair those errors - then see if you can access the files.

If that doesn't help and you're interested in seeing what other options you have before giving up and reformatting the card (as a Mac may not be a solution to all of your problems... ), then there are a number of programs which allow you to recover (or undelete) files from media which has become corrupt. There are a couple at http://diskinternals.com/ that look interesting (Uneraser and FAT Recovery), but I haven't used them, and one I have used (that doesn't cost an exorbitant amount of money; and like because it does a complete scan (if you wish) of all of the data on the media in search of files that can be recovered) is GetDataBack (http://www.runtime.org/) (though this could be overkill as you didn't have more than a few files on the CF card (things can get quite messy when you have tens or hundreds of thousands of files...)).

And one option in a data recovery program that may be handy (for anyone that may come into a problem like this) if you don't already have Norton Ghost (so you can make a backup image (preferably sector-by-sector) of all the data on the CF card) is the ability to create an image of the CF card. For example, if you don't have the time to attempt and verify the recovered data before you need to use the card again, you can just create an image of the card and reformat it for use, and later use the image to recover whatever data was still on the card (although, Norton Ghost would probably be the most ideal as then you could use any number of programs to attempt to recover your data (assuming that you cannot use the data recovery program's image to restore the media to its original state - which you certainly can do with Norton Ghost)).

[JasonSobel]

You are awesome.  Huge +T.   I ran chkdsk h:, and it found errors.  I ran chkdsk h: /f and it fixed them.  I was then able to read and copy the files from my reader, as I normally would.  here are a couple of pictures for reference:

the check


and then the fix


and thank you for your good advice about recovery programs and Norton Ghost.  it looks like I won't be needing them at the moment, but this thread is a great reference for me.

my only lingering questions are:
How did the FAT32 file system get messed up?  is there anything I can do to try to prevent that in the future?  and if the filesystem was whack, why was it readable from the mac?  is the mac not as picky when it comes to reading drives?

 thanks again to everyone who has offered help.
 - Jason

It could also be that the file system on the CF card is messed up (FAT32 isn't exactly a robust file system).

If that's the case then probably the easiest thing to try first (it sounds to me like you haven't reformatted the card yet) is just to run chkdsk d: (I'm just using drive D: for this example...) from the command prompt to see if detects any errors, and if so, add the /f switch to repair those errors - then see if you can access the files.

If that doesn't help and you're interested in seeing what other options you have before giving up and reformatting the card (as a Mac may not be a solution to all of your problems... ), then there are a number of programs which allow you to recover (or undelete) files from media which has become corrupt. There are a couple at http://diskinternals.com/ that look interesting (Uneraser and FAT Recovery), but I haven't used them, and one I have used (that doesn't cost an exorbitant amount of money; and like because it does a complete scan (if you wish) of all of the data on the media in search of files that can be recovered) is GetDataBack (http://www.runtime.org/) (though this could be overkill as you didn't have more than a few files on the CF card (things can get quite messy when you have tens or hundreds of thousands of files...)).

And one option in a data recovery program that may be handy (for anyone that may come into a problem like this) if you don't already have Norton Ghost (so you can make a backup image (preferably sector-by-sector) of all the data on the CF card) is the ability to create an image of the CF card. For example, if you don't have the time to attempt and verify the recovered data before you need to use the card again, you can just create an image of the card and reformat it for use, and later use the image to recover whatever data was still on the card (although, Norton Ghost would probably be the most ideal as then you could use any number of programs to attempt to recover your data (assuming that you cannot use the data recovery program's image to restore the media to its original state - which you certainly can do with Norton Ghost)).

[Genghis Cougar Mellen Khan]

You are awesome.  Huge +T.   I ran chkdsk h:, and it found errors.  I ran chkdsk h: /f and it fixed them.  I was then able to read and copy the files from my reader, as I normally would.  here are a couple of pictures for reference:

+T awsome!

I did a couple searches of CHKDSK in windows, they explain the process, but not HOW to get there?  Do I need to get to the DOS prompt?  I haven't seen a DOS prompt since 1992.

[keepongoin]

I have added this to the MT2496 FAQ as topic [061].  I reference this thread for the solution.

[cmoorevt]

I did a couple searches of CHKDSK in windows, they explain the process, but not HOW to get there?  Do I need to get to the DOS prompt?  I haven't seen a DOS prompt since 1992.

Within Win XP at least:  Start>All Programs>Accessories>Command Prompt.