Crashed Hard Drive
My computer was malfunctioning.
The technician said that the hard drive had crashed and nothing was saved.
A new hard drive was installed.
I downloaded Musescore.
Can I get back all my songs that were stored there?
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Comments
MuseScore files are just normal files on a computer. If you had no backups of your files, then no.
In reply to MuseScore files are just… by jeetee
I have pdf copies.
Can they be converted to Musescore files?
In reply to I have pdf copies. Can they… by cedy
Yes, but it takes some work.
It is probably too late. But almost all the time when a hard drive goes bad it has to do with the part of the language that lets the drive communicate with the computer. Your files are most likely still there. And it is most likely possible to retrieve them. But since the shop told you the drive was no good, they or you threw it out. I have 3 or 4 drives from family members that went bad. Every one I was able to get files off of. It's not hard or expensive. I wipe them and use them as back up drives.
In reply to Yes, but it takes some work… by bobjp
The tech guy told me that the HD was not "reading anything." ................ whatever that means.
In reply to The tech guy told me that… by cedy
Because it couldn't communicate. It happens.
In reply to The tech guy told me that… by cedy
Sorry but if old hard drive is not read-able, impossible to get your old files back unfortunately. They live on a drive, if the drive is broken and can't be read, that's the end of it. You could possibly pay a tech $$$ to try and retrieve them, but if not, they're totally gone sorry. Although see Sabatella's response below, you may be lucky and still have them on your OneDrive account, but that's probably beyond this forum to sort out for you as it's a MS OneDrive question, not a MuseScore question. Good luck!
In reply to Sorry but if old hard drive… by Lofo
I agree that OneDrive is the way to go here.
Sorry but all the files are still on the old drive. They just can't be read by the OS. When you delete a file, it goes to the recycle bin. When you empty the Recycle Bin, the file is not erased from the drive. The empty routine makes the OS forget how to find the file. The file is still there waiting to be over-written. The case of a "failed drive" it is not always a hardware problem. But usually a software problem in the drive. That's an over simplification. The point is that the drive can be accessed with a USB adaptor and read directly or scanned with free file recovery software. I've done it many times.
If you are using Windows and you didn't go out of your way to disable OneDrive, then probably there are backups waiting for you there.
In reply to If you are using Windows and… by Marc Sabatella
I've never used One Drive.
How would that be possible?
In reply to I've never used One Drive… by cedy
If you are on any version of Windows from the last 10 years or so and didn't go out of your way to disable it, you are using OneDrive - it's on by default. For more info, you'd need to consult Microsoft's documentation. Generally it's as simple as logging into the Onefrive site, finding your computer listed there, and then finding your files.
In reply to If you are on any version of… by Marc Sabatella
I went into "My Files" in One Drive and clicked on music.
There were a few files there, but nothing from Musescore.
In reply to I went into "My Files" in… by cedy
Good start! But, unless you customized the location of where you save things, MuseScore files wouldn't be under Music - they are under Documents. You should see folders for each major version of MuseScore you've used (eg, MuseScore 3, MuseScore 2), and within each, a folder called Scores. If you didn't deliebrately go out of your way to save your files somewhere else, that's where they are. If you did deliberatey save them somewhere else, that's where you'd need to look instead. The folder structure of your files on OneDrive should exactly match that of the computer they were synchronized from.
In reply to Good start! But, unless you… by Marc Sabatella
I save my files in Scores.
I went back to one drive and clicked on Documents.
Page opened showing Name... Modified... File size... Sharing... across the page at the top.
I clicked on Name and I got A - Z.
Clicked on A - Z and I get nothing.
In reply to I save my files in Scores. I… by cedy
If you see that folder, but don't see the files listed there, then it suggests you either saved them elsewhere, or you may have turned off OneDrive sometime after installing MuseScore but before actually creating files.
Best to find a computer-savvy friend or relative who lives near you to help out in person; it's very difficult to diagnose problems via these forums.
In reply to If you are on any version of… by Marc Sabatella
Not if you set up your computer as a local account, which I think a lot of people do
In reply to Not if you set up your… by Joshua Pettus
Not sure what to read from this post.
In reply to Not sure what to read from… by cedy
When you first set up your computer, you were asked if you wanted to accept the defaults and use a Microsoft account, or if you wanted to go out of way to create a local account instead. If you did the latter, then OneDrive wouldn't be set up for you.
In reply to When you first set up your… by Marc Sabatella
Many moons ago, I might have remembered that.
Now? No way.
In reply to Many moons ago, I might have… by cedy
Click the start button in the left of the task bar. Select Settings/Account. Upper left says what kind of account you have.
In the old days a Local account used to be the default type that would be set up. Now Administrator is the default type. And there is a good reason for it.
In reply to Click the start button in… by bobjp
Administrator.
In reply to Administrator. by cedy
Chances are that your old hard drive was set up the same way. If you go to the OneDrive websitehttps://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/online-cloud-sto… and select "already have OneDrive". Sign in with your old account info.
BTW, The shop put a new hard drive in your computer. Did they charge you for a new Windows license? You still own your old one.
Different people find & use various backing-up strategies... FWIW, not only do I utilize an automated backup to a local NAS (network attached storage) drive, I also have an EXTERNAL USB hard disk. Incrementally, I sync my MuseScore 'Scores' subdirectory to the USB disk. I rely on the odds that TWO external copies of my scores won't both crash/become unavailable. And if you were to upload your songs to the MuseScore 'repository' (either public or private), that would give another backup. Best luck in future.
In reply to Different people find & use… by Are Jayem
I did a song in the empty, newly-installed Musescore last night.
When I opened Musescore today, most of my files were there.
File type read 'Midi sequence."
What the..............
In reply to I did a song in the empty,… by cedy
Do the filenames have the extension ".MSCZ" or ".MID"? If you don't don't see either, probably you still have the default settings in Windows to not show extensions, which is terrible setting you should definitely change to avoid further confusion. Do a web search on "window show default file extensions" to learn how to fix that if so. Then, you can see whether the filenames end in MSCZ or MID.
If they end in MSCZ, those are your scores, but somehow Windows doesn't know what to call them - an indication that MuseScore was not properly installed
If they end in MID, those are not your score,s but MIDI files that may or may not have been exported from your scores. They bear the same relationship to your actual scores that a picture of a beach out your window bears to an actual beach out your window, but, they are better than nothing!
In reply to Do the filenames have the… by Marc Sabatella
Midi all the way.
Still have not found a "technician" with the skills or tools to read that old hard drive.
Why do the lyrics fade during playback?
In reply to Midi all the way. Still have… by cedy
You don't need a tech. You can easily do it yourself with a $20 adapter and free software.
In reply to You don't need a tech. You… by bobjp
What about if I send it to you?
In reply to What about if I send it to… by cedy
Maybe. But if you do it ( not that hard), you could wipe the drive and use it for backup.
In reply to Maybe. But if you do it (… by bobjp
I am not computer savvy.
No way I am going to try that.
In reply to I am not computer savvy. No… by cedy
The problem is that some repair shops have gotten into trouble and have been accused of stealing information from customers hard drives. So it is easier, and safer, for them to say that they don't do that kind of work. Your drive crashed and nothing was saved, so they say. Maybe maybe not. You don't have to have an ounce of computer savvy to find out. Do you know how to plug in a flash drive? That's all you need to know. Adapters cost between 10 and 20 dollars. I can give you a recommendation. Are your files worth that much to you?
Besides, I would have the same privacy issues a shop would have.
In reply to The problem is that some… by bobjp
ALL the songs I ever composed are on that drive in sheet music form.
I have the melodies in mp3 format and the lyrics in pdf format.
In reply to ALL the songs I ever… by cedy
OK, hopefully lesson learned then - in the future, please before sure to enable backups, whether automatically through the OneDrive service from Microsoft or through whatever other third-party service you choose to purchase, install, and configure. You don't want to risk losing all your music again in the future!
In reply to The problem is that some… by bobjp
@cedy sent you a PM.
In reply to Midi all the way. Still have… by cedy
Since I am putting back music "into Musescore I have noticed noticed:
That the lyrics fade during playback and.....
The music appears different in the same score. See screenshot
???
In reply to Since I am putting back… by cedy
It's not really clear what you mean from just a picture, but if you attach your score itself and give precise steps to reproduce the problem you are seeing, someone should be able to understand and assist better.
In reply to It's not really clear what… by Marc Sabatella
Two pages of music fit on the page to the left and one page of music is on the page to the right.....in the same score.
What did I touch by mistake?
In reply to Two pages of music fit on… by cedy
Sorry, I still don't understand what you're asking. Are you saying you don't "zoom out" on purpose? Simply zoom back in again, using the controls on the toolbar, your Ctrl+scroll wheel, or the kleybaord shortcuts Ctrl+- and Ctrl++ , or pinch to xoom if using a touch screen. Same way zooming is accomplished on any software, really.
In reply to Sorry, I still don't… by Marc Sabatella
Every time I open a score, I go to the top of the page left of page view and increase that number to 150. My eyes are comfortable with that 150 number. I do not use Ctrl +- or x. That is why I feel that I might have touched some key by mistake.
In the screenshot, the page on the left is filled by two 8 set of staves, while the page on the right is filled by one 8 set of staves streched out.
Most of the pages in the score have two 8 sets of staves.
So how do I get the page on the right to hold two 8 set of staves?
In reply to Every time I open a score, I… by cedy
Again, really impossible to say for sure from just a picture, but presumably, it just doesn't fit. It only barely fits on the previous page. All it would take is one extra dynamic marking to require more space and the previous page wouldn't fit either. It's too crowded as it is. So best to simply decrease the staff size in Format / Page settings.
This is a Musescore site, not a tech disk support site, not sure anyone here can help you unfortunately. Your issue sounds like it has nothing to do with Musescore itself. A more advanced tech support provider who can retrieve data from broken disks may be able to help you, but musescore.org is not the best place to seek help so I think people have done their best to help you, but you need to go to a disk tech provider and pay them to retrieve your data, if possible. But nothing to do with Musescore.
In reply to This is a Musescore site,… by Lofo
Didn't I say in one of my posts that I had not yet found a technician .................?
Why do you keep repeating yourself?
In reply to Didn't I say in one of my… by cedy
Hmmmm
I retrieved a couple of my files from the forum.
Santa did not forget me after all.
In reply to Didn't I say in one of my… by cedy
Because you keep asking for technical disk malfunction support from the MuseScore site. We cannot find a technician for you, your problem has nothing to do with MuseScore, but you keep asking. Is it not obvious by now?
In reply to Because you keep asking for… by Lofo
Obvious?
Thanks for teaching me a new word.
I am using version 3-6-2.
I tried to save an mp3 in "Scores" as usual.
But I am not seeing "Scores " anywhere.
Can I get some help with this?
In reply to I am using version 3-6-2. I… by cedy
Assuming you have installed everything normally, your Scores folder is under Documents/MuseScore3 underneath you normal user account home folder.
In reply to Assuming you have installed… by Marc Sabatella
File Explorer--Documents-- Musescore 3-- Scores
To save an mp3 I would go to File--Export and choose mp3.
Then export and box opens. But I am not seeing scores in it.
So if I click on save I do not know where the mp3 would go.
In reply to File Explorer--Documents--… by cedy
The export location that opens is either the last place you saved a file to. Or the place where you got the file from.
Across the top of the export window is the path to, and the folder the export will be saved to. On the left side will be major folder locations you can select.
I tried to save an mp3 in "Scores" as usual.
But I am not seeing "Scores" anywhere.
Can I get some help with this?
In reply to I tried to save an mp3 in … by cedy
Yes, this is normal and correct.
When you export mp3 files, only the existing mp3 files are displayed in the window. All other files will be hidden. There is a "*.mp3" filter active.
This allows you to see what other mp3's are still in the folder, making it easier to avoid overwriting any if the name happens to be the same. Or even select one to overwrite it on purpose.
To also see the scores in this folder, use the file explorer of your operating system. All files will be displayed there.
Or type *.* in the export window, press Enter and see all files.
Did my post appear?
Keep the old drive. Do not do anything further to the old drive. No error checking, no repair disk, no disc check. Take it to a good file recovery service. Outcome depends in the type of drive failure as some have a small chance of recovery, others none. I had this happen on a Windows computer and spent a week using recovery tools that I researched online and ran from a CD using Ubuntu, a portable operating system. Very time consuming DIY but I saved many files. Moving forward only use quality SSD such as the better Samsung models.
In reply to Keep the old drive. Do not… by pchaps
The crashed hard drive was a problem in November 2022, this is no longer relevant today. Now he had a new problem with saving mp3 files.
@cedy should have created a new thread for a completely different topic ...
In reply to The crashed hard drive was a… by HildeK
Do the filenames have the extension ".MSCZ" or ".MID"? If you don't don't see either, probably you still have the default settings in Windows to not show extensions, which is terrible setting you should definitely change to avoid further confusion. Do a web search on "window show default file extensions" to learn how to fix that if so. Then, you can see whether the filenames end in MSCZ or MID.
In reply to Do the filenames have the… by clotspond
"Lightening does not strike twice....."
Oh yeah?
The new hard drive that was installed when the original one crashed, has itself crashed.
Another one has been installed.
The crashed one was still on guarantee.
In reply to "Lightening does not strike… by cedy
Which prooves that hard drives ain't lightenings ;-)
In reply to Which prooves that hard… by Jojo-Schmitz
Life goes on.