Saving Cakewalk files

  • Thread starter Thread starter jbltwin1
  • Start date Start date
J

jbltwin1

New member
I have been using Producer 5 for a long time and now use producer 7. Yeah, it's been discontinued but I like it. Anyway, I have a lot of stuff that I have done and I have run into a problem. When I want to clear my computer to save space, I want to move my Cakewalk projects to an external hard drive. When I go to the cakewalk folder and move the ENTIRE folder to a project to my external hard drive, It moves fine. However, when I want to work on it again later, I move the ENTIRE folder(with all data and sound files) BACK into the Cakewalk projects folder. It goes there, no problem. HOWEVER, when I open it in Producer, the CPU usage is extremely high and the disc says high capacity too. When I try to PLAY the file, then I have problems and altering ANYTHING is a lost cause. It then suffers a dropout and it is PITA. Don't know if all the files that I have moved to the external hard drive are now junk are what. Have I done an incorrect move here or am I just missing something. Mike.
 
I experienced something similar when exporting a project from Cubase and then re-building it in Live. Depending on the number of projects you are talking about, my advice would be to bounce each track down to audio, and export each track either as an audio or midi file. It's more time consuming but you end up with a complete replication of your project that can be taken just about anywhere - providing you can deploy the same plug-ins/instruments.

Make sure you set all the "markers" to the same length for each track - generates a larger file size initially, but you can always trim the bits you don't need at a later date if that makes sense.
 
jbltwin1 said:
I want to move my Cakewalk projects to an external hard drive.
Click to expand...

thats your problem right there,the external drive cant keep up with the data flow ... you could take that drive out the case and install it internally :)
 
So "move the ENTIRE folder to a project to my external hard drive", and then later move it back to the original internal drive-?
That would be everything (Cake', the CWP and the song data) running off the 'C drive I guess?

And one song/project per this folder, or all songs/projects data and CWPs?
-Not sure this matters at this point, just trying to get the picture.

One thing- on a different note, is I hope you are keeping at least two sets of the data during this for backup.

I don't know what's to think yet, but how about trying a 'Consolidate Audio for a test for one of the projects?
That gathers and copies everything for just that one project into a new folder it generates (make sure there disk room for it..)

That new folder should be copied to the backup drive. With the original data, plus this new 'consolidated folder safe on the b/u drive, it should be safe to remove the old troubled version data from your primary drive and run from this new folder.

When you run the project now since you changed the location/folder name it may likely say 'files missing. But it should have a 'refer project files from' for direction to the new folder (or similar. In 8' when I've done this and it seems to 'see the new data once and acknowledge and swap to the new location as 'the project folder. (this info BTW can be seen under 'file, 'project audio files'.
Anyway maybe a clean start might help clear things up?
 
When I load a Cakewalk project that hasn't been used for a while, the computer will often spend several minutes re-building the images of the waveforms and during this time the CPU and disk load is very high. Way too high to do anything. Once the images are built, it works as normal. I don't know much about how Cake stores those images or picture caches or whatever they're called, and maybe I'm doing something wrong, but this is what happens.
 
Seems to me it might be your guys' computer or settings, maybe you don't have enough RAM?. I use an external USB HD and have no problems working on Sonar projects saved on that drive, which is also routed thru a USB Hub. Which I have several External HD's and use for my camera, phone and printer. And I don't go moving files or folders back and forth. When I open a file in Sonar, I just go to the drive and folder and open it.
 
Sorry I haven't responded to these suggestions-broke my wrist so I've been away from the game. Anyway, I still don't get what the problem is here. I move the ENTIRE folder from the "Cakewalk Projects" folder. This includes all cwp data, sound files, everything. It all transfers to the backup drive. Later, If I want to yutz with it some more, I move the entire folder BACK into the "Cakewalk Projects" folder on my main computer. The data is ALL there-sound files, cwp, everything. But when I open the project from the folder view, it loads alright but cpu usage is off the charts and drops out. Doesn't do it until it's been moved out and back. It's reading the data FROM the main hard drive, not the backup. I'm still confused. Mike.
 
Mike:

Do the waveforms appear right away or does Cake "rebuild" them when you open the project?
 
jbltwin1 said:
... But when I open the project from the folder view, it loads alright but cpu usage is off the charts and drops out. Doesn't do it until it's been moved out and back. It's reading the data FROM the main hard drive, not the backup. I'm still confused. Mike.
Click to expand...
So open from the folder view is; Select the project's data folder in 'Global, 'General(?-- not sure that's the tab's name), 'Project Data, then from cake's list of CWP's start the project?

..not at the daw here, and still not sure I got those names right.. The place where you steer 'Cake to the correct project audio/data folder..
 
System and still a problem.

Sorry-been out again. Had to have surgery on the same stinking wrist and I am am SUCH a panzy. Anyway, computer is a dell with 2.79 GHZ processor and 2.0 gigs of ram. System runs fine when original project is opened either by opening from the "Projects" menu or even by going to the cakewalk projects file and opening from there. The only time I have a problem is if I have either copied the ENTIRE file to the external hard drive and then tried to move it back or MOVED the entire file. It doesn't seem to make any difference. The sound files are all there and I COULD import every freaking sound file back in to another project, I guess and just re-align everything but it SHOULD just move and go back, unless there is some reason the file extension has changed in the move. If moved or copied, the CPU usage goes to 85% or so and then it drops out. It's the same freaking data and it's being moved back into the SAME folder that it came from. I do NOT get it. The projects WILL open and re-build from the external hard drive but it DOES take several minute but the cpu usage is much higher and it will glitch. Any more ideas? Mike.
 
Best idea I can think of is to install a 2nd, high capacity internal hard drive and migrate all of your projects to it, then point Sonar to the new location in Global Options
 
I keep all my song files on a external Drive and have the same computer setup with the exception of have 4 gigs of ram. Never have any problems file are set to save to the external and the only files I keep on the main drive are the operating system, you want to keep your main drive uncluttered and not full of useless files.. When you are moving files to other locations for archive purposes save your file as a Bundle file it is in your save function, This retains your work and settings and acts like a zip file
Tim
 
To be honest, saving as a bundle can be extremely dangerous because they are know to be a bit buggy.

If a bundle fails - for whatever reason - you have lost the entire project, wavs, settings, plugs
If you save as a CWP and any element of it fails, you still have access to various strategies for getting it back, so I would never rely on bundles to save my precious work.
 
Moving files

I still just do NOT understand what the hel! can be happening. It just bugs me that the ENTIRE file with sound files, all SONAR data and everything are moved or copied. IT'S THERE. It just makes no sense. EVERYTHING is copied. It SHOULD work.
 
Well after all the crap, I CAN make it work. After RE-importing the project BACK into the main computer, open the project the first time. Give it a crapload of time to re-initialize the ENTIRE project. Then SAVE it again. THEN it opens normally and I can work on my old projects like normal. Don't know why, but it works. Mike.
 
Funny, I havent been to this site in a while. Was having Mixdown Aborted problems, play dropouts and playback skipping. I too put my files on f drive thinking it had more space then my c drive and would work better. Just the opposite. I moved my cakewalk folder back to my c drive and everything works again. Not sure why...
 
You should open the original file off the internal drive in Sonar, then do a "save as" to the external drive. This will copy all the relevant files to the new drive (you'll probably want to create a new folder on the external drive during this process) and reset the pathways for which Sonar accesses these files for playback. Now Sonar knows to play the files from the external drive. Merely copying or dragging and dropping a folder will not change where Sonar thinks the files are. Although, someone mentioned earlier that running a project off an external hard drive is not a good idea, and I agree, depending on the quality of the drive (rpms, connection...). What I've done in the past when working with a collaborator who also ran Sonar on his computer is to save my project "save as" on to the external. Then bring it to his place, open the project in Sonar directly off the external, then immediately do another "save as" on to his internal hard drive. Then press play. Worked great. We could work on it, then do the same process when it was time to take it back to my place. When you first open it your audio ins and outs need to be reset to fit your interface, and the plugins might not show up, depending on what pathway/ directories the second computer is using, but there's ways to around that.
 
Jonesey9 said:
To be honest, saving as a bundle can be extremely dangerous because they are know to be a bit buggy.

If a bundle fails - for whatever reason - you have lost the entire project, wavs, settings, plugs
If you save as a CWP and any element of it fails, you still have access to various strategies for getting it back, so I would never rely on bundles to save my precious work.
Click to expand...

I was gonna suggest saving as a bundle also. That's the only way I save. Never had a problem in over 15 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top