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31 changes: 30 additions & 1 deletion troubleshooting/recovering-corrupted-projects/README.md
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Expand Up @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ First, download the latest version of the Audacity Project Tools:

{% embed url="https://github.com/audacity/audacity-project-tools/releases" %}

After downloading, follow the instructions relevant to your system. Note: macOS is not supported yet.
After downloading, follow the instructions relevant to your system. Note: macOS is supported on Apple Silicon, but not Intel.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Caution:** Make sure you have plenty of space left on your computer. You will need roughly 4 times the size of your .aup3 for a successful recovery. If you have a 10GB file, you should have at least 40GB available.
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If the messages "`Invalid block xxxx: Block not found`", check to see if some audio was silenced - typically near your most recent edits. Usually these messages are spurious.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="MacOS" %}
1. In your Downloads folder, create a new sub-folder "AudRepair".
2. **Move** the two files from the downloaded folder into AudRepair.
3. **Copy** your defective .aup3 project file into the AudRepair folder.
4. **Rename** the file to `broken.aup3`.
5. Press `command + space`, type `terminal`, and press `return`. A (black) terminal screen will appear.
6. Navigate to your AudRepair folder by typing `cd Downloads/AudRepair` and pressing `return`.
7. Type `ls` and press `return`. The following three files should be listed: `audacity-project-tools`, `broken.aup3`, and `sqlite3`.
8. Type `audacity-project-tools -drop_autosave broken.aup3` and press `return`.
9. When the command prompt (`~/Downloads/AudRepair/`) reappears, type `ls` again.
10. If a `broken.recovered.aup3` file appears, open it in Audacity.\
\
If that file works as expected, go to **File -> Save As...** and save it to your usual location. The recovery process is now over, you can continue working as normal.\
\
If that file does not appear, or is still broken, continue with the following steps:
11. Type `audacity-project-tools -recover_db -recover_project broken.aup3` and press `return`.
12. The messages "`Project requires Audacity 3.0.0`", and "`Using 'sqlite3.exe' for recovery`" will appear. Later the message "`Executing query #xxxx....`" will appear as the rescued file is being recreated.\
**Note:** This process can take quite a while depending on your specific machine. There is no status (or % completion) indicator, so you just have to **be patient**.\
You should plan 15-30 minutes per GB, though it may be faster if you have a fast PC.\
**Keep an eye on available disk space**.\
\
Due to a glitch, sometimes a single character can appear when the program is done, eg "`z`". If this happens, simply press **Delete**.
13. When the process completes, your should be able to **open** the "broken.recovered.aup3" in Audacity.\
The message "File not saved properly" will appear the first time you open the recovered project. This is normal and you can ignore this message.

If the messages "`Invalid block xxxx: Block not found`", check to see if some audio was silenced - typically near your most recent edits. Usually these messages are spurious.
{% endtab %}

{% endtabs %}

{% hint style="info" %}
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