Unable to Recover Lost Session - 1 Hour of Recording LOST - Please Help!

[s_ashwin]

I'll keep it simple. Just after I finished recording 4 "Audio Files" (not Multitrack Sessions) my PC crashed. And asusual, upon rebooting and opening Audition the recovery window pops up asking if I want to continue the session, delete it, or cancel to continue later. BUT if I click continue, Audition doesn't open, it's stuck in "Initializing Required Application Components..." (refer pic)

However, when I click 'Cancel' Audition opens and works fine. I'm able to do everything. So the problem isn't with Audition start-up, but has something to do with my previous session? I could also find the temp file of the previous session C:\Users\Ash\AppData\Local\Temp\Adobe\Audition\11.0 - but it doesn't even have a format. I have no idea how to open it. Is there any method to open it from inside Audition?

Btw, I could not find the session in "Open Recent"

[SteveG_AudioMasters_ · Accepted solution]

I don't think that there's any good news here, I'm afraid, but I will try to explain. It's pretty clear that the 'Initializing Required Application Components' message indicates that it wants to find a valid recovery file, but can't - as you say, Audition opens normally if you cancel that option. The file doesn't have an extension, and isn't just an audio file, which is why you can't open it directly. It's a record of exactly what Audition was doing when it crashed. It doesn't show up as a session in Open Recent as such, because it isn't a 'session' as in Multitrack session, which is what that list refers to - it's a whole Audition session, if you see what I mean. And the only option for opening it correctly is for Audition to do it as part of a start-up routine. Yes there is audio in that temp file, but the only way you could perhaps locate it (and there are no guarantees of being able to do this successfully) is to open the file as Raw, and see if there's anything retrievable then. My guess is that re-recording, assuming that's possible, would take less time and effort. I'm slightly surprised that the temp file reopening doesn't work though - normally recovery this way works fine.

I have to say that recording in Multitrack is a lot safer, as it's direct to file and not to a temp file, as Waveform is. If that crashes, then all you have is a badly terminated file, and those tend to open normally.

[s_ashwin]

Hey Steve, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my query.

I understand what's going on now. I don't have much hope, but is there any specific method you'd suggest to open the file as Raw? Like you said, there is audio in that temp file because its size is over 2GB. Just curious. I'm planning to re-record anyway.

Yes, I'm shifting to Multitrack right away. Any notable disadvantage?

And yes, temp file reopening has always worked fine for me. My CMOS battery failed in between, that's why the PC crashed (few minutes after the recordings were done) and multiple times it failed to boot. Tried removing the CMOS battery and plugging it back in, that worked. This could have something to do with the temp file saving.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Opening files as RAW: (this is the official guidance)

1) Choose File > Import > Raw Data.
2) Select the file, and click Open.
3) Set the following options:

Sample Rate: Match the known rate of the file, if possible. For examples of common settings, see Understanding sample rate. Adobe Audition can import raw data with rates ranging from 1 to 10,000,000 Hz, but playback and recording are supported only between 6000 Hz and 192,000 Hz.

Channels: Enter a number from 1 to 32.

Encoding: Specifies the data storage scheme for the file. If you are unsure what encoding the file uses, consult the supplier of the file, or the documentation for the application that created it.

Byte Order: Specifies the numerical sequence for bytes of data. The Little-Endian method is common to WAV files, while the Big-Endian method is common to AIFF files. The Default Byte Order automatically applies the default for your system processor and is typically the best option.

Start Byte Offset: Specifies the data point in the file at which the import process begins.

You can probably leave the last three options at their default settings, but if you get nowhere, then initially look at the encoding and start byte offset values. I have no idea how well, if at all, this is going to work - I haven't tried it for about 15 years!

The only disadvantage to recording in Multitrack is if you really enjoy living dangerously, because this pleasure will have been taken away from you... 😉

Most computers function fine without the CMOS battery, but you have to reset the date every time you start up. Not doing this correctly results in some software (including Audition...) throwing something of a hissy fit either immediately or after a while. Generally this happens when it does its periodic reconnection to Adobe.

[Coco5E8C]

I'm late to the game on this, but the same just happened to me. I finally just let it run and run, and after about 30 min, it came up. Wanted to let you know. Had to take a break in the meantime.