Concerned audio file is corrupted

[tom_savvy]

Hi everyone,

I'm experiencing a frustrating issue in Adobe Audition when listening back to my recorded audio file. After exporting to file to see if that fixes, I noticed that the exported files have no sound, even though the file size suggests there's audio data present ( see screen shot)

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
:white_heavy_check_mark: Checked Master (mix) Channel & Track Outputs – No change
:white_heavy_check_mark: Verified Export Settings – Everything seems fine (format, sample rate, bit depth).
:white_heavy_check_mark: Tried Different Formats – WAV, MP3, FLAC—same muted result.
:white_heavy_check_mark: Restarted Audition & Reimported – No change.
:white_heavy_check_mark: Checked Audio Hardware Settings – My system plays other audio files normally.
:white_heavy_check_mark: Bypassed Effects & Plugins – No accidental gating or muting applied.
:white_heavy_check_mark: Reset Preferences – No luck after resetting Audition.

At this point, I’m stuck! Has anyone encountered this issue before, or does anyone have additional suggestions?
I'm now cocnerned that the file has corrupted somehow.

Thanks in advance! 

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

I'm presuming that you are using Export>Multitrack Mixdown>Entire session. Can you provide a screen-grab of the export dialog box and its Mixdown Options settings?

[tom_savvy]

Thank you for your time

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Now you need to click on the mixdown box 'change' to show all of the available settings... can we see that?

[tom_savvy]

yes i can

[tom_savvy]

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

... and there we go. No check in the Track one box,  so it won't be included in the export. Since that appears to be the only track, then silence is what I'd expect!

[tom_savvy]

Unfortuantely thats not worked. Depsite me exporting these files and there clealry being data in it, there is still no sound.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

That's a shame. If, instead of doing an export, you do a mixdown to a new file, does the same thing happen?

[tom_savvy]

Yes it does. Perhaps I'll need to re record it and leave this one as a mystery?

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Possibly - but there is also the possibility of a corrupted session file. The test for that would be to copy everything into a new session and see if the same thing happens...

[tom_savvy]

Ok. This is what I have done. Everytime I copy to a new multitrack session or copy the wav file to a new session it appears as a blank file each time.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Is it just one file doing this, or is it any file you put in the session?

[tom_savvy]

Morning

oh I see what you mean. I'll put a file in this session and see what happens. 

[tom_savvy]

As i opened the original file today, its completely gone now.

Its ok, i've mentally prepared myself that I'll have to re-record it!

Thank you for your time and offerings

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Completely gone? I have to say that I'm a bit suspicious about your file now!

[tom_savvy]

Yes it's just blank 

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

It's almost as though the audio has been deleted (somehow...) but the .pkf has remained. If you reopen the file and save it again, then the .pkf will update itself and display as above, assuming that the file really is empty. And the 'data' thing is a bit misleading - a silent file will display the same values as a noisy one; the file size is dependent on the bit rate and depth, and the number of channels. So ten seconds of silence as a 32-bit stereo file at 48k still gives a file size of 3.66MB, even though there's nothing to show for it!

[tom_savvy]

It's a odd one indeed.

ive re recorded and backed up the wav file so its fine now. Will keep a close eye on it for future recordings