Subject:Back Up Question

Posted by: drbam

Date:6/14/2008 6:41:51 AM

I posted this on the Vegas Audio forum but as usual, not much activity there so I thought I might get a reply here as my question applies to both Acid and Vegas.

Question: I'm in the mix phase of a long form 70 min project. Is simply backing up the .veg or .acd file sufficient for daily, in progress backups if I'm only doing mix moves, adjusting plugin parameters, etc (not recording new files or adding files that aren't already part of the project)? To be safe, once the project is completed, I would back up all the files again.

Thanks!

Subject:RE: Back Up Question

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:6/14/2008 8:32:45 AM

Of course i'm assuming that you've already backed up all your media files at the beginning of the project, right? There are only a few things that come to mind at the moment.

- Midi files that you generate within ACID. These are stored separately, unlike generated media in Vegas that is part of the .veg file.

- Files output from "render to new track" operations.

- Frame images generated by the "save frame as" button.

I suppose backing up all the .sfk files would save you a little bit of time if you had to reconstruct the project after a catastrophe, but not a whole lot.

Subject:RE: Back Up Question

Reply by: drbam

Date:6/14/2008 8:54:00 AM

Thanks Chienworks - yes all media files are backed up, including all rendered files and even all the original media content that didn't end up in the final mix session that I'm currently working on. In this case there are only .wav files - no midi or frames. So again in a situation like this, will simply backing up the .veg or .acd file be sufficient for daily back ups of the mix moves I'm doing? (Mixing this project will take several days).

Thanks again!

Subject:RE: Back Up Question

Reply by: tascolas

Date:6/14/2008 4:17:58 PM

If your audio/midi is backed up then u are on the safe side backing just the .acd file. Sfk's are stored at the same location as the audio files used so if u r backing these folders,u ll be backing the skfs too normally. I personally like to have a written log of all the plugs/presets/settings used in there too just in case of total system failure.

Subject:RE: Back Up Question

Reply by: drbam

Date:6/14/2008 4:22:16 PM

Thanks tascolas!

Subject:RE: Back Up Question

Reply by: tascolas

Date:6/15/2008 4:13:54 PM

Anytime m8 - just one small reminder. It would save u searching time if all audio, midis, and the rest backed up media subfolders of each respective project is saved along with the .acd file in one folder . Then if u have to move your song(s)/projects on another comp every song will be one folder with its subfolders and the .acd file there. I know most of us do it this way but some ppl leave scattered audio files with similar names on back up disk and when disaster hits a disk,retrieving a project becomes hell when u have 150 files named eg. gtr2 ,gtr3 etc etc.
Btw, the safest backup without any backup time spent but a bit on the expensive side is a raid 1 partition. Any modern or not so modern mobo has at least raid 0,1 capability. Raid 1 (named mirroring ) requires a 2nd identical hd and its practically hidden from all operations u do with ur various soft. When u write on the 1st disk,the data is being written on the 2nd hidden disk as well and its always there. The 2nd disk is actually a hidden mirror of the 1st disk and in any case of the 1st disk failing, its very easy to retrieve your data on the spot . With the prices of hds having reached almost ridiculous status, i would recommend this to any1 really concerned 'bout his/her data. Cheers