Corrupt Veg Files... Lightening got me :(

jrazz wrote on 8/15/2006, 5:36 PM
Okay, I know... I should have been using protection. Actually, I had my system protected, but I just added yet another external drive for a wedding I have been working on. Transfered all the files with no back up being made to the external drive. (Second mistake). I also had this one drive hooked up to a bare outlet b/c I was out of space on my surge protectors and I thought, I'll get one soon (Third mistake).

When I hooked the drive up in another enclosure it powered on and I saw all my folders, good I thought. I opened Vegas to start editing on the ceremony I have been working on and what does Vegas say? This version of Vegas cannot open this file (Vegas 6d) go to the sony website and download the newest version of vegas.
It was the veg file and I tried the .veg.bak file to no avail. I also tried several others as I like to have back ups of back ups of veg files just in case, but they are corrupted as well. Now, I can look at all my captured footage on windows media, but I cannot open the veg to piece them together. It will load the media once starting the veg file in vegas and get almost to the end of the load (green bars showing that it is loading project media) when it throws up the previous stated error.
I am also having problems some png files pulled from the media. None of my programs can open them. The wmv files I made to preview the edit are corrupt as well. Windows Media Player says, this is a wmv file but is not recognized, do you want to attempt to play it anyways? I click yes and it says it can't.

What is more, like I said, when I first hooked the drive back up, the folders where there but files were gone. I got them back just by restarting windows, including the veg files- but they are still corrupt.

I did a search and found several threads- one including a post by john meyer stating that symantec has a program good for fixing corrupt data, but no name was given. Is there anything else out there that would just fix corrupt data?

Maybe someday I will learn.

Thanks,

j razz

Comments

Former user wrote on 8/15/2006, 6:30 PM
There is a chance that it is Windows that is corrupt, not the files.

Do you have access to another computer to see if the .wmv or .png files will open?

Dave T2
jrazz wrote on 8/15/2006, 7:08 PM
They won't open there either. The external drive was daisy-chained via firewire to another external drive. All the files on it and the others are fine. Of course, all of them were hooked up through surge protectors. This one drive was the only one that was not.

Vegas will open other vegs, just not the ones on this particular drive. Windows is also acting normal.

I still haven't found any software that would fix file corruption and allow me a trial as I don't want to plop down some cash only to find that it doesn't work for veg files.

j razz
jrazz wrote on 8/15/2006, 8:58 PM
Is it just me or is it extremely hard to find a program that will "fix" files other than .zip or microsoft office files?
I need a program, or <gulp> service that will restore my veg file. The media I am not concerned about, but I would hate to redo all the editing!

Any suggestions for software or services would be great!

j razz
fldave wrote on 8/15/2006, 9:10 PM
If I understand correctly, you copied data from drive "a" to drive "b". Deleted drive "a" data. Drive "b" data is bad.

If that is correct, then do not do anything else to drive "a". Drive "b" is probably not recoverable. You should concentrate on recovering the data you can from drive "a".

I haven't tried it, but search this forum for "getdataback". I put a mention of this utility in my systems utilities folder in case I needed it.

Edited: I have used a free program called RUndelete that worked on some files, but not all. It depends on if other activities have written data over the disk sectors where the original files were. I'd stick with getdataback. I really don't think you can "repair" the files you need because there are millions of file structures. No standard utility could accomplish that.
jrazz wrote on 8/15/2006, 9:21 PM
Actually, drive a AND drive b have the data as I copied the files over to drive b so I could experiment on them while still retaining the original corrupt files on drive a.

I am finding a lot of file recovery programs out there where I can recover lost files, but none that allow me to fix corrupt files save the ones I mentioned earlier for Microsoft office products.

I have tried File Recovery, Quick Recovery, Data Doctor Recovery, Handy Recovery, Easy Recovery Professional, Data Doctor, Fix It Utilities, etc, but none work on repairing files, just recovering them.

Sounds like I might have to send it in... or redo about 48 hours worth of work!!!!

j razz
fldave wrote on 8/15/2006, 9:33 PM
Ouch. b is a copy of corrupted a.

I hate to say, even if you send it in, would where you send it know how to rebuild a veg file? I just opened a veg file in my mongo editor, it is definitely a binary file. Unlikely to rebuild manually, much less automatically.

Anybody else have any thoughts?

Chienworks wrote on 8/16/2006, 5:34 AM
I think what Dave was referring to with drive "a" and drive "b" was to try recovering them from the original drive they were on before you moved them to the unprotected drive.
farss wrote on 8/16/2006, 6:39 AM
The best backup is probably in your head.
It might have taken 48hrs work to create the original but I'd reckon 40 hours of that was making decisions and you'll very soon recall those. I wouldn't loose too much time trying to recover your files, cut your loses and start over again, I suspect you'll rebuild everything way quicker than you think, probably do a better job too if you're anything like me.

Bob.
JJKizak wrote on 8/16/2006, 7:02 AM
Lightning is very peculiar and selective. The MOV's in your protection devices do help a lot but they are not fullproof. If you get a big enough hit the lightning will travel slowly as a small blue ball and follow metallic items, jump through windows, and total out everything in your electronic devices weather there is protection or not. I personally saw a lightning ball come down a lightning rod, jump through a window, travel through a clothes dryer then end up in the basement. The dryer was totalled but the window was just fine. Another time I was standing by a window eating a donut during a vicious storm and lightning hit a 100 year old huge oak tree 30 ft from the house and blew the bark off from the ground to about 20 ft high. All I saw was debris in all quadrants. The lightning travelled down the center of the tree splitting it in 4 perfect longitudenal sections then 6 ft through the earth in 1" thick carbon tracks to the sewer pipe then followed the sewer pipe 30 ft to the house and melted the aluminum siding. It also totalled out the well pump 88 ft down, all the security system sensors on that side of the house, the security system control boards and keyboard and battery, the computer modem, the Denon receiver, and tripped off 1/2 of the circuit breakers in the electrical panel. The upstairs phone was also blown up. The computer modem was protected. What I am saying is you are lucky. Maybe "Abby" on NCIS can retrieve the data. (joke)
JJK