Help to Recover Deleted "Capture Scratch" Contents - After I Emptied Trash

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Level 1

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Help to Recover Deleted "Capture Scratch" Contents - After I Emptied Trash

Yes, I made a huge mistake. I didn't know what the function of the Capture Scratch folder was until I moved all of the contents to the trash and emptied the trash. (used final cut express hd to download video)

Does anyone know how I can undelete?

I thought I recovered the data (to an external drive) using Data Rescue III but, according to Prosoftengineering, recovering deleted Capture Scratch folder contents is not supported by their data recovery product. Very Lame!

Please help!!!! No, I don't have the tapes anymore to re-download the video.

imac, Mac OS X (10.4.11), LaCie 1TB External Drive

Posted on Oct 26, 2009 3:12 PM

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Answer 1

Alchroma

Level 7

23,918 points

Oct 27, 2009 1:01 AM in response to rlopezdenver

So the clips are still in the Trash, or have you deleted the contents of the Trash as well?

Al

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Answer 2

rlopezdenver Author

Level 1

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Oct 27, 2009 6:46 PM in response to Alchroma

I have emptied the trash.

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Answer 3

Alchroma

Level 7

23,918 points

Oct 28, 2009 1:05 AM in response to rlopezdenver

The only way I know of is a third party recovery app like you have already tried.
Not looking good at this stage. 😟

Al

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Answer 4

rlopezdenver Author

Level 1

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Oct 28, 2009 7:28 PM in response to Alchroma

I took my drives to a professional. They were not able to recover any additional files. Below is a list of the only files I was able to recover. Could someone please tell me how I know whether I can use them in FCEHD? I don't know where they are supposed to go or what the file names should be.

1. Directory name = ARCHIVE, it contains another dir labeled ZIP. In that dir I have several .gz files
2. Directory name = AUDIO, it contains another dir labeled AIFF. In that dir I have several .aif files
3. Directory name = Documents, contains other dirs labeled itunes lib, Office, PDF and SQLite
4. Directory name = Images, contains other dirs labeled GIF, Illustrator EPS, JPEG, NIB, Photoshop JPEG, PNG, TIFF
5. Directory name = Mail, contains another dir labeled AppleMail
6. Directory name = Misc, contains other dirs labeled BPLIST, ETC, MISC, PEF, RSRC
7. Directory name = Movies, contains other dirs labeled DV, DV1, DV2, DV3, DV4, DV5, DV6, Flash, MPEG, QT, Quicktime, WMV
8. Directory name = Text, contains other dirs labeled HTML, Perl_CGI Code, PHP_font, PHP_link, PHP_meta, PHP_script, PHP_title, PLIST, Rich Text, XML

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Answer 5

MartinR

Level 7

24,456 points

Oct 28, 2009 8:23 PM in response to rlopezdenver

+" ... 7. Directory name = Movies, contains other dirs labeled DV, DV1, DV2, DV3, DV4, DV5, DV6, Flash, MPEG, QT, Quicktime, WMV ... "+

These are not directories. These names are file types. Could be your missing video clips, however clips captured in FCE are not typically saved in the Movies directory.

Look for directories named Final Cut Express Documents or Capture Scratch. Did those names show up in any listing? More specifically, look in the #3 - Documents directory for a directory named Final Cut Express Documents, and inside that, Capture Scratch. Your captured clips would be QuickTime (aka QT) files.

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Answer 6

MartinR

Level 7

24,456 points

Oct 28, 2009 8:20 PM in response to rlopezdenver

Question - exactly what drive originally had your video clips on it? Your internal system HD? Your external Lacie drive? Another drive? Were they all formatted as Mac OS Extended?

Exactly what did you do & what happened when you ran Data Rescue III? Did the scan locate any folder called Final Cut Express Documents or Capture Scratch? I have never heard of Data Rescue II or III being unable to recover files in the Capture Scratch folder.

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Answer 7

rlopezdenver Author

Level 1

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Oct 29, 2009 5:38 PM in response to MartinR

This is exactly what happened:

I have been downloading training video from a camera every week to the point where I ran out of disk space. I used FCEHD for the download. I finally figured out how to convert the downloaded .fcp files to .wmv then move them to DVD. I did this for several .fcp files. As I did this I deleted the .fcp files so that I could regain disk space. In doing so I gained very little disk space. So I began poking around to see whether FCEHD created any temporary files that were not being deleted when I deleted the .fcp files. I ran across a dir titled Capture Scratch. Well, because I knew where I saved my Yet-to-be-converted .fcp files I figured the Capture Scratch files had to be temporary files. After all, who in their right minds would call an important file a "scratch" file? Therefore I moved all of the capture scratch files to the trash and emptied the trash. Lo and behold I gained all of this free disk space! My disk space problem was solved. It was not until I tried to convert my next .fcp file to a .wmv file did I realize the importance of the Capture Scratch files that I just deleted and emptied from the trash.

I immediately located data recovery software (Data Rescue III - sold at the Apple store BTW) and bought an external drive so I would have a location to install the software and recover the files. I recovered files and they were restored by file type in the folders that I mentioned above. I called Apple and prosoft (the makers of DRIII) and they told me, even though I recovered some files I did not recover THE files, so sorry charlie. So I took my Mac and external drive to a professional who recovers files for a living. They were only able to recover the same exact files recovered by Data Rescue III, again, listed above. They also told me that those files were useless.

My question is: is there anything I can do with those recovered files? If they are usable, where in Capture Scratch do I put them. What file names do I use? Can I use Autorecovery in FCEHD?

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Answer 8

MartinR

Level 7

24,456 points

Oct 29, 2009 6:15 PM in response to rlopezdenver

First, you have to understand that .fcp files are Final Cut Express +project files+ ; they do not contain any media; they are only the 'instructions' that you created while you edited your project in FCE. That's why .fcp files are small.

Second, the media that FCE captures from your camcorder are automatically saved in the folder called +Capture Scratch+. The media files in +Capture Scratch+ will be QuickTime movie files. I don't know what camcorder you used, but DV files will be about 13GB per hour of video; HDV or AVCHD video will take anywhere from 25GB-50GB per hour of video. So, yes, when you trashed the files in Capture Scratch you regained a lot of disk space. You also lost the source media files that your FCE projects (those .fcp files) need for your projects.

Go through some of the QuickTime files in that recovered Movies directory. You can open & play them in the QuickTime player. If they are the video files you need, you can copy them back to your +Final Cut Express Documents > Capture Scratch+ folder. They may or may not be able to be reconnected to your FCE projects; you'll have to experiment to find out. Focus on going through the video files that were recovered to see if any of them are the files you need.

Autorecovery in FCE will not work in this situation. You would need to have the original tapes.

You may have to use the wmv files that you burned to DVD if you need to do further editing.

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Answer 9

rlopezdenver Author

Level 1

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Oct 29, 2009 6:58 PM in response to MartinR

"First, you have to understand that .fcp files are Final Cut Express project files ; they do not contain any media; they are only the 'instructions' that you created while you edited your project in FCE. That's why .fcp files are small."

- I know that ... now. Now is a little too late.

"Second, the media that FCE captures from your camcorder are automatically saved in the folder called Capture Scratch. The media files in Capture Scratch will be QuickTime movie files. I don't know what camcorder you used, but DV files will be about 13GB per hour of video; HDV or AVCHD video will take anywhere from 25GB-50GB per hour of video. So, yes, when you trashed the files in Capture Scratch you regained a lot of disk space. You also lost the source media files that your FCE projects (those .fcp files) need for your projects."

- I know that ... now. Now is a little too late.

Please - After the responses I have received I would appreciate if folks stopped posting. I am tired of repeating myself and not getting the help that I really need. Good luck to you all. BTW - I am expecting lots of comments to this posting. Rest assured I will not be reading them.

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