I can’t see anywhere in this forum or the manual, a definition of ‘unused media’ and am a little paranoid about losing media I may need after emptying to trash then removing from project & disk.
I know many people have lost data when removing media from pool and the most common cause is having files in the project pool imported from other project folders (without ticking the option of ‘copy files to project’) so I’m aware of that situation and take control of that.
However, I’m still a little paranoid about clearing the pool of a large project before completion (intending to avoid large backups etc.) and constantly wonder what the definition of ‘unused media’ is.
For example, if I haven’t finished comping numerous takes, would I lose that option after sending unused media to trash & deleting from disk ie. does that delete the takes that I haven’t chosen on comping.
Also would it remove any ‘track versions’ I haven’t selected - surely it wouldn’t but I don’t want to take that chance.
I know I could make some tests but I expect our guru’s like Martin Jirsak will know the answer in detail to put my mind and rest and maybe others who wonder every time they remove media.
Your information will not only reassure this trembling mess of an artist that I’m not losing anything crucial and help me sleep at night but certainly speed up my workflow by using this remove function without hesitation!
It’s considered as used!
But to be really confident about it, I would suggest doing some tests by your own. Create a project, record one track, open the pool and see what happens in the different scenarios when you execute "remove unused media"command in the pool,
I lost important media files using this feature. Partly my fault since the backups I thought I was doing missed these files, but also party Cubase’s fault. What I had done was to create a template from a project, and the template ended up including some clips in its pool. I finally got tired of removing those events so I went to clean up the template. As part of that, I used the remove unused media from pool feature, however, because those clips were unused in template it deleted them, but it didn’t warn me that those same clips were used in other projects and were not trash! By then they’d been completely deleted, not even to moved to my Mac’s Trash. I tried almost everything I could think of to restore them (once I realized my backups were incomplete), but without success. Lesson learned.
Sorry to hear that
I had read about this and before removing from trash, I always look down the right hand column showing file location, if lots of files you can even click on the filename tab to order them so can see easily at top or bottom any files not in the current project folder. If there are some, then that’s another story I think covered in another topic thread, but without a single/simple solution, depending on the circumstances.
Surely this is why we back up projects? Copying the project folder to a different location, making sure that you have archived, (Prepare Archive in Media) to make sure that any file accidently not included in the project folder is copied in, If you have a backed up this project you can execute the remove unused media from the pool in the knowledge that if something goes wrong you can restore your project to how it was before this action.
In Preferences these settings can reduce/eliminate the possibility that the same Audio File appears in the Pools of multiple Projects. Assuming every Project has its own folder.
What a great find to avoid such issues
Thanks for spotting that!
I notice the option just a little higher that’s ticked “Treat muted events as deleted” which looks like a precarious option in the opposite direction. I know I’ve used the mute tool on a temporary basis at times whilst deciding what to keep on certain projects and presumably those muted events would be deleted with the ‘remove unused media’ action.
This is exactly what happened to me just now. Created a new project from a previous one with only the guide tracks kept. I saved it in a new folder. While the new project was open, I removed “unused media” and went on to “empty” the trash in the Pool Window not realizing it would affect the project I only intended to use as a template. Lost a good chunk of important audio files and edits. Good thing I had that previous session mixed down shortly before the incident.
Just out of interest, when using the ‘Removed Unused Media’ function, does it also remove the media from the associated .bak files as well?
If say I am working on the live .cpr project and decide to remove a couple of tracks and then remove unused media, if I need to roll back to one of the earlier .bak files, will the media have been removed from those too, making the backup files useless in this scenario?
Hi @manassas77 ,
Loading a cpr or bak will not bring back audio files that have been deleted and nor is it meant to. Let me try to explain how these functions are supposed to be used.
Firstly, unless you have a disk space issue (in which case it’s really worthwhile to add disks as they are relatively cheap these days), the only time you should be removing unused data is once the project is finished with.
The .bak files are created automatically by Cubase at timely intervals (eg 5 mins) which I think you can specify in settings preferences. It’s best not to rely on these but get in the habit of saving your project in the way that suits your workflow. For example you can ‘save as’ and enter a new file name with the description that helps you, for example, I tend to use song name followed by date followed by a note of what I’ve just completed eg ‘variaudio complete on main voc track’. Or you can simply use ‘file > Save new version’ then it will add a sequential number each time to the end of your existing file name.
When loading an earlier cpr or bak file, it will recall everything as far as I know (including those tracks you removed/deleted) except any audio files that have been deleted from the pool using ‘remove unused audio’. I’m not sure when bouncing tracks if you ask it to replace the files when asked, whether the original files are removed from the pool but I believe they aren’t. I know that if you freeze an instrument track and then unfreeze and do not tell it to keep the freeze audio files when asked, those audio freeze files (stored in the ‘freeze’ sub folder) will be deleted. I also always backup ‘incrementally’ on closing Cubase to keep as much available in case I have to restore anything. Macrium Reflect is great for that as it shuts down your computer after backup.
I hope that answers your question and helps your workflow.
Thanks for that Ken. I pretty much follow your work pattern, as I’ve had problems in the past with trashing media. I’ve also bumped issues with files being linked to the pool rather than imported and lost somewhere along the road.
I too try to retain everything - not an issue for me in terms of disk space, but for anyone reading this without experience (good and bad) of the way CB manages files, it is worth noting that ‘tidying up’ files is not recommended
As for my original point, thanks for clarifying the position regarding the .bak files. I thought this was the situation, but it is good to have an experienced head confirming it.
This happened to me a couple times. Media used in some other project was somehow carried over to a newer one. Clicking ‘delete unused media’ in the newer one wipes out the media in the older project. Since my projects are never finished, I no longer click that button.
but certainly speed up my workflow by using this remove function without hesitation! 
