Hi guys and gals,

The following has been bugging me (if not PS) literally for years (or as many versions I've had that offered "Save as Movie (or Disc) as Package"

The "Save as Package" works fine.  However, often when I Restore the Package, some clips on the timeline are not linked, seemingly, can't be found.  The clips it can't find are in the subfolder it created under the project file (AXP) it placed in the Restored folder.  So, why must I take action to relink to the folder that they got copied to following the Restore action???

Below, I highlighted what I had to point to (Relink) following the restore of the package.  

Volume in drive J has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is DEE9-8560

 Directory of J:\Pinnacle Studio Project Packages\Restored Projects\PS21.5.0.274 NB Vignette Test - Rotation, Width, Height - VOB vs MP4 differences.Movie 30.Jan.2019 (10-54 AM)

01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          .
01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          ..
01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          c
               0 File(s)              0 bytes

 Directory of J:\Pinnacle Studio Project Packages\Restored Projects\PS21.5.0.274 NB Vignette Test - Rotation, Width, Height - VOB vs MP4 differences.Movie 30.Jan.2019 (10-54 AM)\c

01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          .
01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          ..
01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          tmp
               0 File(s)              0 bytes

 Directory of J:\Pinnacle Studio Project Packages\Restored Projects\PS21.5.0.274 NB Vignette Test - Rotation, Width, Height - VOB vs MP4 differences.Movie 30.Jan.2019 (10-54 AM)\c\tmp

01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          .
01/30/2019  10:59 AM    <DIR>          ..
02/27/2015  06:24 PM           937,491 20150219 026.jpg
01/30/2019  10:37 AM           176,746 screen capture - width 35.2 height 7 rotation +28.jpg
01/30/2019  10:38 AM           164,716 screen capture - width 35.2 height 7 rotation -28.jpg
01/30/2019  10:32 AM           159,398 screen capture - width 7 height 35.2 rotation +28.jpg
01/30/2019  10:34 AM           152,758 screen capture - width 7 height 35.2 rotation -28.jpg
               5 File(s)      1,591,109 bytes

     Total Files Listed:
               5 File(s)      1,591,109 bytes
               8 Dir(s)  115,554,869,248 bytes free

You need to know how I operate.  Images and video clips, source for a project, are placed in a tmp folder.  When the project is completed and exported to desired media types (typically mp4 and DVD), it is Saved as a Package.  I then move the images to a different drive/folder.  I also totally delete the raw video.  No way would any of the images or video clips be found where I created and completed the project.  I realize the Restore process only extracts tot the Restore sobfolder folder what can't be found at the original locations when the project was saved qas a package.  Hence it should know where it placed the images and video clips during the restore process.

Inquiring Minds Would Like To Know Why?

Tnx,

My initial thought... What is drive J: ? Is it a (slow) external USB2 connected disk?

If so, could the problem be down to a race-condition between Studio and Windows - for example:

• Studio unpacks the project archive, thereby creating the .AXP file + the restored asset files, and then goes on immediately to open the .AXP file from the restored project.
• But Windows hasn't quite finished writing all of the data of those unpacked assets onto the destination disk, or Windows Defender or other anti-malware program is still scanning them (so the files, although they do exist, are still locked by Windows when Studio tries to read them)

If the problem is due to unpacking onto a slow external hard disk, it may be reduced if using an internal (SATA) disk or a faster USB3 external disk...

Regards,
Richard

 

culpanr:

My initial thought... What is drive J: ? Is it a (slow) external USB2 connected disk?

If so, could the problem be down to a race-condition between Studio and Windows - for example:

• Studio unpacks the project archive, thereby creating the .AXP file + the restored asset files, and then goes on immediately to open the .AXP file from the restored project.
• But Windows hasn't quite finished writing all of the data of those unpacked assets onto the destination disk, or Windows Defender or other anti-malware program is still scanning them (so the files, although they do exist, are still locked by Windows when Studio tries to read them)

If the problem is due to unpacking onto a slow external hard disk, it may be reduced if using an internal (SATA) disk or a faster USB3 external disk...

Regards,
Richard

 Nope, Drive J is a partition on one of my 2 TB HD's.  I doubt there is a race condition going on.  All drives involved are internal SATA.  I will add something to the mix - At times, when the restore process reports an error (which was NOT the case for the situation of needing to relink), all I would do is reopen the package and 100% of the time it would find everything.  That sounds like a race condition.  Also important to note while my C drive is an SSD and has been an SSD for a couple of years, the SAME two issues occurred when the C drive was a 500GB partition on one of my 2TB HD's.  Also, both HD's are exactly the same MFG and Model ... but yes, the SSD is 10x faster than either HD.  As stated, I have seen these issues when running only with HD's.  To stay focused, I find it odd having to "walk" to the folder where restore process placed the darn files.  Funny perhaps.

Any other thoughts?

Thank you,

Ira

ISTR that Studio had a problem with "distant" drive letters in the past. Is J just an example - does it happen with "lower" drives such as D or E?

jjn:

ISTR that Studio had a problem with "distant" drive letters in the past. Is J just an example - does it happen with "lower" drives such as D or E?

Forgot your name?

Your response is much appreciated.  i never knew there distant drive letter assignment created such a problem.  No, I never assigned the Restore Project folder or others (except the main program and scratch and rendering rendering to C drive) let alone the lower drive letters you asked.  So, I have a likely cause.

We gotta say wow 😮 when s/w has issues working across “distant” drives letters when options allow user to assign locations.  I do realize it would not be wise to involve external drives, I do not.  I will remain with my distant drive letter assignment.  The origanization I have is more important than the inconvenience I experience.

 Thank you again, 

My ancient recall of the issue may well date back to pre-W10 and pre-NGStudio. My suggestion is only that. If you had said that it happened with an "E" drive restored project content folder then the suggestion would have been proved wrong, but as my hard drive assignments go only as far as F; and I've not seen the issue, then the suggestion is just a stab in the dark. I certainly wasn't suggesting you should change your workflow.

Here is another stab in the dark:

When you open your restored package, I assume that you are opening the restored project file created by the "save as package" process, not the original project file that you were working on beforehand?

 

jjn:

My ancient recall of the issue may well date back to pre-W10 and pre-NGStudio. My suggestion is only that. If you had said that it happened with an "E" drive restored project content folder then the suggestion would have been proved wrong, but as my hard drive assignments go only as far as F; and I've not seen the issue, then the suggestion is just a stab in the dark. I certainly wasn't suggesting you should change your workflow.

Here is another stab in the dark:

When you open your restored package, I assume that you are opening the restored project file created by the "save as package" process, not the original project file that you were working on beforehand?

 

I did not interpret your comment as suggesting I change.  I thanked you for suggesting a possible cause.  I just expressed my point that I was set on keeping the restored projects where I have it ... even if moving it to a letter closer to “C” would solve the problem.  As for your other thought, after I complete a project and have created the package (.axx), the project file is deleted.  It’s just an oddity it was time to share as I’ve experienced it with all versions of PS I’ve had that offered the package creation option.  Your suggestions are always appreciated.