• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Lost files on Mac

billiard

billiard

Inactive
Apr 20, 2015
502
535
46
#1
I copied a bunch of old ProTools sessions as a backup to an iMac that is running osx 10.5.1.
I just got a new external hard drive and am trying to copy the files to it from the iMac. There are 25 GB of used storage on the iMac, so I know the files are on it, but I can't for the life of me locate them.
I had formatted the iMac hard drive for prior to storing these files, so I know it's not any excess programs or anything like that. Does anyone know how to find them?

I've check folder names, extensions like.Wav and .PtX or PTF, and nothing shows up.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks in advance.
 
#2
Did you air drop them? They might be in your download folder, possibly in a zip file, and that zip file won’t include extension identifiers until you unzip it into a folder.
Did you send them to the cloud accidentally? Might be there as a zip or loose files.
Good luck on your search.
 
#3
AK Bass Guy said:
Did you air drop them? They might be in your download folder, possibly in a zip file, and that zip file won’t include extension identifiers until you unzip it into a folder.
Did you send them to the cloud accidentally? Might be there as a zip or loose files.
Good luck on your search.
Click to expand...
Hi, thanks for the reply. I transferred them directly via FireWire from my laptop. No clouds or anything like that.....
The hard drive on the computer that I put them in has 25 gigs of space used, I just can't find where those files are.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AK Bass Guy
#4
You could try Disk Drill. It’s an app that has two functions that can be useful here:
  • Scan for deleted files (in case the files were accidentally deleted). I think that if you want to recover files, you have to get the paid version though. Maybe there are free alternatives.
  • See what files and folders are taking large amounts of space on yours hard drive.
Are there multiple user accounts on the computer? I’m not sure how this works, but could the files be stored in another user’s folder (possibly encrypted) that’s invisible to the account you’re using?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Microbass and AK Bass Guy
#5
BismarckHerring said:
You could try Disk Drill. It’s an app that has two functions that can be useful here:
  • Scan for deleted files (in case the files were accidentally deleted). I think that if you want to recover files, you have to get the paid version though. Maybe there are free alternatives.
  • See what files and folders are taking large amounts of space on yours hard drive.
Are there multiple user accounts on the computer? I’m not sure how this works, but could the files be stored in another user’s folder (possibly encrypted) that’s invisible to the account you’re using?
Click to expand...
I'll look into that, thank you.

Nope. I fresh reinstalled the operating software to the computer to use as a hard drive. I transferred the PT files directly from the laptop to it.

I don't know a way to search it for files by size. Have tried the Spotlight search, looked in the Finder folders, etc ...

I can't find the stuff. Is some cool stuff.
 
#8
At least 9 of that is probably system files, but the rest should be your data.

That OS actually goes back before I started using Mac’s. Did you not select the destination when copying the files over?
 
#13
To find hidden files on a Mac, open a Finder window, navigate to the desired location, and then press Command (⌘) + Shift (⇧) + Period (.) simultaneously. Hidden files will appear with a semi-transparent or greyed-out icon, and you can press the same key combination again to hide them. Some System files and folders including backups are sometimes hidden.
 
Last edited:
#15
Krisfield said:
To find hidden files on a Mac, open a Finder window, navigate to the desired location, and then press Command (⌘) + Shift (⇧) + Period (.) simultaneously. Hidden files will appear with a semi-transparent or greyed-out icon, and you can press the same key combination again to hide them. Some System files and folders including backups are sometimes hidden.
Click to expand...
Thanks. When you say desired location, does that mean Documents, Audio, etc... to the left on a Finder window? I'm pretty old and not so computer savvy.
 
#16
Desired location means the folder you sent the backup files to. So yeah, Documents, Download, etc.

Just to clarify. You're copying Pro Tools files FROM an external hard drive TO an iMac?

billiard said:
Thanks. When you say desired location, does that mean Documents, Audio, etc... to the left on a Finder window? I'm pretty old and not so computer savvy.
Click to expand...
 
#18
Using FireWire. I dropped it to the desktop folder/area, but it's no longer there.
I did look in the recent downloads and an mp3 from the transfer was listed, but it would not open. None of the other stuff was in the recent download area.
 
#19
I think the copying from the Laptop to the iMac failed. I would try another method like copy to a USB drive then to the iMac. You can use AirDrop between Apple devices as well.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back