Project possibly corrupted, looking for opinions...

Will Thompson · August 2nd, 2007, 10:19 AM

Jonathan, it sounds like some random, unidentifiable part of your Windows install is corrupted. I keep all of my project files and temp AV files on a separate drive, so in the past I've just installed Windows fresh on a formatted hard drive, installed Premiere, and that's it. I kept the other drive around for other applications and documents until I had time to reinstall all of them and copy my important non-project files.

If you're considering upgrading to PPro 2, you might as well suck it up and do the full shabang reinstall. I noticed increased stability going from v1 to v1.5, but I've heard conflicting things about v2 and CS3; specifically, that long-form projects are still buggy. If anyone else can confirm or deny this, I'd also be interested to hear.

One time-saving suggestion - if you don't have one, get a Windows disk with SP2 already installed, or slipstream (http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...slipstream.asp) a CD yourself. This will save you hours of Windows updating.

Jonathan Pokay · August 2nd, 2007, 09:59 PM

Mr. Thompson, thanks for the additional help! :)

I haven't done the uninstall yet, but to make sure it's an Adobe problem first, I'm going to try to export another project that has never given me any problems. If it fails, then it looks like it's a Windows issue. If it doesn't, then it's a problem with the project itself.

From there, I'll try uninstalling Premiere Pro, re-installing and see what happens...

(I've heard the same reports about large projects not transferring satisfactorily to PPro2 or CS3.)

Jonathan Pokay · August 3rd, 2007, 06:58 PM

Just an update- the other project exported beautifully without problems- and it was only somewhat smaller than the problem project.

I attempted another export with the problem project and got the infamous "failed to return a video frame" error.

It would appear that something within the project is bad.

Jonathan Pokay · August 4th, 2007, 09:22 AM

Just another update- I was able to change the .exe file to "Premiere Pro"; another fix that's been mentioned previously...

...but of course this had no effect. Any attempt to export causes an error randomly (it's not the same place every time.) :(

Jonathan Pokay · August 5th, 2007, 11:36 PM

Okay, I've just about exhausted every workaround I can find to make this happen- through process of elimination, I've determined that it is NOT a Windows XP problem, nor is it the Adobe software- it HAS to be the project itself.

Here's my rather newbie question for anyone still following this thread: I want to try exporting smaller sections of the timeline and join up the segments in Encore, rather than trying to export the entire timeline at once.

I do this in AVID all the time, but PPro doesn't seem to allow me to pick a small section. The timeline bar doesn't appear to allow frame-accurate exports, and every attempt to export the work area simply results in the program attempting to export the whole thing- which, as we all know from following this thread, simply does not work anymore.

So, what am I doing wrong? What can I do (for example) to set an IN point at 00:00:00 and end it at 00:30:00, and pick up my next segment at 00:30:01???

Will Thompson · August 6th, 2007, 09:12 AM

I'm curious - did you ever wipe the drive clean and start over from scratch? From my experience, you can't always tell if it's a Windows issue until you try on a clean install. It's a tricky beast.

Try reimporting that project file into a new one also - after you do the clean install. You've probably already tried it, but it's worth doing at every troubleshooting step. Also, if you're really a hacker, you can rename the .prproj extension to .xml - the project file is just an XML document and has to be well formed, like all XML. There are XML tools that can possibly find errors and fix them - take a look at this thread:

http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bc3c0d8

Reinstall Windows if you haven't done it.

Jonathan Pokay · August 22nd, 2007, 01:38 PM

Just an update & question- after six weeks, this issue still has not been resolved- I'm looking at seeing if purchasing Cinemacraft Basic might get the job done.

Currently, I'm trying to export the timeline in smaller 25 minute segments as either Microsoft AVIs or the Cineform encoder, but neither one works consistently. The idea is to take all the encoded AVIs and re-import them into a completely new project, and attempt another export as an Encore-ready file.

The thing is, I don't see this as any guarantee that it's going to work, so that's why I'm looking to see if Cinemacraft might be the answer.

Any opinions are welcome. :)

Chris Barcellos · August 22nd, 2007, 02:45 PM

Jonathan:

Just a question. I have crashing problems all the time in Premiere when I am using my USB 2.0 drives to store my captured footage. Sounds a bit like what I go through.... When I use on board hard drives no problem. But if I start accessing the USB drives, crashes constantly occur. I felt it was just a mother board driver issue in my case, but it seems to occur in Premiere primarily. Is that what you are doing ?

Jonathan Pokay · August 22nd, 2007, 03:00 PM

Hi Chris! :)

I usually export to the C drive; I've tried to export files to my storage drives before, and if they're too large, they will fail. It was explained to me that the data transfer rate from the main drive to the USB drive is not fast enough, and the process fails. The files I'm currently trying to export come no smaller than 6 GB, and have been as large as 30 GB in some instances!

Ervin Farkas · August 23rd, 2007, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan Pokay

... I want to try exporting smaller sections of the timeline and join up the segments in Encore, rather than trying to export the entire timeline at once.
... The timeline bar doesn't appear to allow frame-accurate exports, and every attempt to export the work area simply results in the program attempting to export the whole thing- which, as we all know from following this thread, simply does not work anymore. So, what am I doing wrong? What can I do (for example) to set an IN point at 00:00:00 and end it at 00:30:00, and pick up my next segment at 00:30:01???

I just finished a widescreen standard definition project where I had to export small sections instead of the whole timeline, it is a concert project with 15 pieces of classical music and I need them separate. What I did is this: went through the timeline and put markers where the pieces started, then went back and used the 'cut all' control+K command (is it called 'cut all'?) to cut all of the tracks at the same frame. Then selected the portion I wanted (click+drag over all of the tracks) and control+C to copy. Created a new timeline for each piece and control+P to paste. Exported each piece to the final AVI and imported the individual AVIs into Encore for DVD authoring.

The cuts seem to be frame accurate, playback of DVD is seamless. Just another idea for you to try...

Chris Barcellos · August 23rd, 2007, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan Pokay

Hi Chris! :)

I usually export to the C drive; I've tried to export files to my storage drives before, and if they're too large, they will fail. It was explained to me that the data transfer rate from the main drive to the USB drive is not fast enough, and the process fails. The files I'm currently trying to export come no smaller than 6 GB, and have been as large as 30 GB in some instances!

Okay, this tells me you are running your video transfer to the same drive your program is operating from... C drive, I assume. I would consider an additional on board drive.... you can get a 300 gig for around $100.00, and use that separate drive, for capture and export

Jonathan Pokay · August 23rd, 2007, 10:33 PM

I have two 500GB drives I use for capturing, so space isn't an issue- it's that I can't export my timeline to a DVD!

An update- I downloaded (after purchasing) the Cinemacraft Encoder Basic and let it try to encode the timeline- the result? It crapped out after 15 seconds. Even the Adobe Media Encoder put up a better fight than that!

Bill Hamell · August 24th, 2007, 08:31 AM

To export part of your time line set your Work Area Bar to the area of the project you wish to export. After you select Export from the menu click on Settings change the Range to Work Area Bar ((Work Area) in some dialog windows.) Now only the part of the timeline you have designated will export.

Bill

Jonathan Pokay · August 29th, 2007, 10:46 PM

Well, time to stick a fork in this one, folks. The project has become so corrupted that it might as well get a job at City Hall. No exporting of any type of file works, and the program gets a serious error and crashes after any attempt anyway. I've tried saving the project under different names, imported it into new projects, examined the project for corruption, you name it.

I've tried every workaround and every bit of advice everyone's given me (except reloading Windows) so my thanks for the helping hands. The two things that really irk me is that one; this was the last step before handing off a finished product. The second is that I never found out what caused this, so there's no guarantee that after starting all over from scratch (I wince at this prospect) that it won't happen again...

A year of postproduction and about $10K down the drain. I hope the info in this thread helps someone else avoid this situation. Well, I'm off to find the nearest sharp object or maybe a cup of hemlock.

Steve Wolla · August 30th, 2007, 03:26 AM

I too have had that happen to me with P'Pro 1.5. The stuff about dropping a frame on export was generally resolved with a patch I downloaded from Adobe.
DON'T GIVE UP!
1. Can you export to tape, and then capture onto another computer?
I have done that before with good success. Once exported a "problem" file to tape, and dumped it into Premiere Elements 3 and finished it there. I know, it's a lowly consumer-ish prpgram, but guess what--it works great in cases like this. It also seems to be a lot less picky than 1.5.

2. If you cannot export to tape, can yoy go straight to Export To DVD from the P'Pro 1.5 Media Encoder menu? DVD's burned on that will not always play on earlier versions of Windows Media Player, but hey, this too saved me once on perhaps the hottest most significant project I was involved in this year.

August 22nd, 2007, 02:45 PM	#38
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Jonathan: Just a question. I have crashing problems all the time in Premiere when I am using my USB 2.0 drives to store my captured footage. Sounds a bit like what I go through.... When I use on board hard drives no problem. But if I start accessing the USB drives, crashes constantly occur. I felt it was just a mother board driver issue in my case, but it seems to occur in Premiere primarily. Is that what you are doing ? __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

August 24th, 2007, 08:31 AM	#43
Bill Hamell Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Mystic Ct. Posts: 477	To export part of your time line set your Work Area Bar to the area of the project you wish to export. After you select Export from the menu click on Settings change the Range to Work Area Bar ((Work Area) in some dialog windows.) Now only the part of the timeline you have designated will export. Bill __________________ Cinematographers Bring Shadow To Light

August 2nd, 2007, 10:19 AM	#31
Will Thompson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 75	Jonathan, it sounds like some random, unidentifiable part of your Windows install is corrupted. I keep all of my project files and temp AV files on a separate drive, so in the past I've just installed Windows fresh on a formatted hard drive, installed Premiere, and that's it. I kept the other drive around for other applications and documents until I had time to reinstall all of them and copy my important non-project files. If you're considering upgrading to PPro 2, you might as well suck it up and do the full shabang reinstall. I noticed increased stability going from v1 to v1.5, but I've heard conflicting things about v2 and CS3; specifically, that long-form projects are still buggy. If anyone else can confirm or deny this, I'd also be interested to hear. One time-saving suggestion - if you don't have one, get a Windows disk with SP2 already installed, or slipstream (http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...slipstream.asp) a CD yourself. This will save you hours of Windows updating.

August 2nd, 2007, 09:59 PM	#32
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	Mr. Thompson, thanks for the additional help! :) I haven't done the uninstall yet, but to make sure it's an Adobe problem first, I'm going to try to export another project that has never given me any problems. If it fails, then it looks like it's a Windows issue. If it doesn't, then it's a problem with the project itself. From there, I'll try uninstalling Premiere Pro, re-installing and see what happens... (I've heard the same reports about large projects not transferring satisfactorily to PPro2 or CS3.)

August 3rd, 2007, 06:58 PM	#33
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	Just an update- the other project exported beautifully without problems- and it was only somewhat smaller than the problem project. I attempted another export with the problem project and got the infamous "failed to return a video frame" error. It would appear that something within the project is bad.

August 4th, 2007, 09:22 AM	#34
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	Just another update- I was able to change the .exe file to "Premiere Pro"; another fix that's been mentioned previously... ...but of course this had no effect. Any attempt to export causes an error randomly (it's not the same place every time.) :(

August 5th, 2007, 11:36 PM	#35
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	Okay, I've just about exhausted every workaround I can find to make this happen- through process of elimination, I've determined that it is NOT a Windows XP problem, nor is it the Adobe software- it HAS to be the project itself. Here's my rather newbie question for anyone still following this thread: I want to try exporting smaller sections of the timeline and join up the segments in Encore, rather than trying to export the entire timeline at once. I do this in AVID all the time, but PPro doesn't seem to allow me to pick a small section. The timeline bar doesn't appear to allow frame-accurate exports, and every attempt to export the work area simply results in the program attempting to export the whole thing- which, as we all know from following this thread, simply does not work anymore. So, what am I doing wrong? What can I do (for example) to set an IN point at 00:00:00 and end it at 00:30:00, and pick up my next segment at 00:30:01???

August 6th, 2007, 09:12 AM	#36
Will Thompson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 75	I'm curious - did you ever wipe the drive clean and start over from scratch? From my experience, you can't always tell if it's a Windows issue until you try on a clean install. It's a tricky beast. Try reimporting that project file into a new one also - after you do the clean install. You've probably already tried it, but it's worth doing at every troubleshooting step. Also, if you're really a hacker, you can rename the .prproj extension to .xml - the project file is just an XML document and has to be well formed, like all XML. There are XML tools that can possibly find errors and fix them - take a look at this thread: http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bc3c0d8 Reinstall Windows if you haven't done it.

August 22nd, 2007, 01:38 PM	#37
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	Just an update & question- after six weeks, this issue still has not been resolved- I'm looking at seeing if purchasing Cinemacraft Basic might get the job done. Currently, I'm trying to export the timeline in smaller 25 minute segments as either Microsoft AVIs or the Cineform encoder, but neither one works consistently. The idea is to take all the encoded AVIs and re-import them into a completely new project, and attempt another export as an Encore-ready file. The thing is, I don't see this as any guarantee that it's going to work, so that's why I'm looking to see if Cinemacraft might be the answer. Any opinions are welcome. :)

August 22nd, 2007, 03:00 PM	#39
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	Hi Chris! :) I usually export to the C drive; I've tried to export files to my storage drives before, and if they're too large, they will fail. It was explained to me that the data transfer rate from the main drive to the USB drive is not fast enough, and the process fails. The files I'm currently trying to export come no smaller than 6 GB, and have been as large as 30 GB in some instances!

August 23rd, 2007, 10:33 PM	#42
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	I have two 500GB drives I use for capturing, so space isn't an issue- it's that I can't export my timeline to a DVD! An update- I downloaded (after purchasing) the Cinemacraft Encoder Basic and let it try to encode the timeline- the result? It crapped out after 15 seconds. Even the Adobe Media Encoder put up a better fight than that!

August 29th, 2007, 10:46 PM	#44
Jonathan Pokay Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 47	Well, time to stick a fork in this one, folks. The project has become so corrupted that it might as well get a job at City Hall. No exporting of any type of file works, and the program gets a serious error and crashes after any attempt anyway. I've tried saving the project under different names, imported it into new projects, examined the project for corruption, you name it. I've tried every workaround and every bit of advice everyone's given me (except reloading Windows) so my thanks for the helping hands. The two things that really irk me is that one; this was the last step before handing off a finished product. The second is that I never found out what caused this, so there's no guarantee that after starting all over from scratch (I wince at this prospect) that it won't happen again... A year of postproduction and about $10K down the drain. I hope the info in this thread helps someone else avoid this situation. Well, I'm off to find the nearest sharp object or maybe a cup of hemlock.

August 30th, 2007, 03:26 AM	#45
Steve Wolla Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 477	I too have had that happen to me with P'Pro 1.5. The stuff about dropping a frame on export was generally resolved with a patch I downloaded from Adobe. DON'T GIVE UP! 1. Can you export to tape, and then capture onto another computer? I have done that before with good success. Once exported a "problem" file to tape, and dumped it into Premiere Elements 3 and finished it there. I know, it's a lowly consumer-ish prpgram, but guess what--it works great in cases like this. It also seems to be a lot less picky than 1.5. 2. If you cannot export to tape, can yoy go straight to Export To DVD from the P'Pro 1.5 Media Encoder menu? DVD's burned on that will not always play on earlier versions of Windows Media Player, but hey, this too saved me once on perhaps the hottest most significant project I was involved in this year.