Audio files missing when a song is moved to another computer

Cubase
#1

Is there anything special you have to do when copying a song containing both midi tracks and audio tracks, to another computer? I’m so tired of getting files from my husband’s PC and having to do an audio import each time, of all the missing audio files that aren’t really missing. Out of 20 .wav files it seems to only show 8 to 10 and I have to get the rest in there by hand. Not a huge task but surely I am (read: my husband is) doing something wrong in the first place for this to happen.

He sends me the entire folder - we discovered that some audio tracks had gone into another folder called “edits” - I suspect those are audio tracks he adjusted the gain on, after creating them. But even so, we still get this whole list of missing files to resolve each time. Unfortunately he has been using Cubase since it was on a 2 meg Atari… and is used to doing things like reciting the alphabet backwards and turning around 3 times, to get things to work. I prefer a more scientific approach but am still very very green.

#2

Update - I am quite sure now that this is something to do with the path he specifies when creating the audio track. I believe on some tracks he chose the project path which was assigned when the piece was created. So I think I have a solution. Am doing some experiments now.

#3

With Cubase it pays to be very careful where files are created. If your focus is on audio (as opposed to MIDI and Instrument Tracks) then you really need to understand the Audio Pool (Ctrl-P) … but it’s all in the manual, even the short “Getting Started” PDF.

When transferring files between computers, if you’ve maintained a proper folder structure then it shouldn’t be a problem, but it is still very easy to “drop” files outside of the project folder, which are then referenced in the project but not contained within the folder itself. One way around this is to use the “Backup Project …” function in the File menu – this allows you to specify a completely new folder, into which will be copied all the bits required by the project. You can then safely copy this new folder to another computer safe in the knowledge that it will work.

#4

When drag-and-dropping external audio files into Cubase, ensure the option for adding the file to the project is checked, ensuring the files are COPIED into the Audio folder.

Also, see About missing files on page 384 of the Operation Manual.


You need the entire folder, which should contain:
a) .cpr project file, which contains project-specific settings, MIDI, and references to each audio file
b) Audio folder = where ALL the audio should be
c) Edits folder = unsaved offline edits (like Normalise, Pitch Shift) = additional to Audio files = MUST keep if NOT empty
d) Images folder = waveform display files = if absent, Cubase will create them all upon project opening
e) Freeze folder = frozen tracks = MUST keep if NOT empty.

Ensure only one project per project folder, otherwise you might accidently delete files when using the cleanup tools. If this has been done, for each project file, use Cubase’s Backup to create a new and separate unique project folder.


+1 to learning about The Pool on page 376 of the Operation Manual, as it is the place where you can really manage your project’s files for renaming, etc.

#5

before you take a project from your husband he should make a back up project under file menu to get all audio files in singel folder. you’ll get only files included in his project and it also clears all unnecessary unused files. it must work and I’m sure your husband has like petanjali mentioned to change in preferences so that imported files wil be copied to project folder directly.