! unable to open project file

What can be done to open a project with this warning and why would I get this warning?

Amy

With all these problems you are having beginning with not being able to capture, not being able to save and now not being able to open the project file, I'd spend some time looking at your Mac and the drives. Something is very screwed up or (and I mean this in a nice way) you need to spend time with the manual.

It's maybe the LaCie is your problem and if you want to solve it you will need to re format it. If you bought it and then just plugged it in, I'd wager that is what is causing your headaches.



Michael Horton
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Hey, thanks. I've been using Final Cut for 6 years and I've never had any such problems. I did buy the drive and just plug it in like I've done with my other hard drives in the past. I've already had someone come over and check the drive. He ran disk utilities and detected some problems which he claimed to have repaired. Wouldn't a computer teckie be able to tell if the drive needed to be reformatted at this point?

Is the drive formatted HFS+? New drives should never be just plugged in and played. They should be formatted at least using the Mac OSX disc utility? Solves a lot of problems

Mike



Michael Horton
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Amy,

If you keep getting this warning with one project file, then there's also the possibility that the file is corrupt (eg. if the computer crashed during a save). Such files are recognized by Mac OS as an FCP project, but don't contain the information necessary to be opened by FCP. I've never seen such a file successfully recovered. Check the file size; if it's abnormally small (eg. 500 KB for a project with 500 clips already logged), then I can almost guarantee it's corrupt.

If you're having this problem constantly, aside from Michael's suggestions, maybe your FCP is screwed up and keeps saving files in a corrupted manner. It could be necessary to reinstall FCP.

I don't like Lacie drives, by the way -- they die pretty easily, even when treated gingerly. Weirdly enough, ProMax drives are my favourite, and Lacie manufactures ProMax's drives. The first ProMax drive I bought in 2000 is still perfectly functional, though it did cost $800 for 42GB way back when...ouch.

I had similar problems on a project once, and I've heard two reasons for all of these problems.

First, Lacie Drives are unstable with OS 10.3.x It has something to do with the drives going to sleep, but the computer not knowing it, so when you go to save, it deosnt save correctly. Make sure you turn off any energy saver options in your system preferences.

The second, is that when you originally save an FCP project, always choose the "save as" in the pull down, dont just "apple S" and save. The reason is that when you just "save" FCP does not write a direct file directory to a file. It makes some suedo directory, which every time you save it deletes the file first, then saves on top (similar to a file in the autosave vault). This causes that damn missing file error (where your project disappears) , and errors that the file won't open.

I know... I didn't believe this either, but I have done this for every project since then.. and I haven't had any problems since.

Hope it helps.

Thanks, you're brilliant. That sounds like the most accurate explanation considering the circumstances. Should I replace the Lacie just to be on the safe side?