Mac transfer software lost files

[Phil Bloom]

When i last imported something on my mac through the xdcam hd software it warned me that the volume i had previously been importing to was no longer connecting. Instead of choosing a new volume it still imported the files but to a non existent hidden volume named after the external hard drive that wasnt connected.

So somewhere on my mac are very large files that dont show up in any searches but are there as my hard drive space is lower than it should be.

How can i find these files now?

[Andy Mees]

this is a known bug in th etransfer software and one I have posted on before.

the hidden files are in the "/volumes" directory on your mac ... you can access them by using the Go menu in the Finder. choose Go > Go To Folder...
and type in /Volumes

full details below:

Is anyone missing any hard disk space? XDCAM Transfer has a bug that can be caused by setting the “Import” location to an external hard disk.
If you are using an external hard disc as a media drive then its possible that XDCAM may not actually be using it, despite your preferences.

There are two import locations, which can be set up in the XDCAM Transfer > Preferences window.
The first is the (low-res) Proxies and Thumbnails cache location, set in the Cache tab. I recommend you save the proxies only to the system disk – the default location is fine (~/Library/Application Support/Sony XDCAM Transfer)
The second is (full-res) Import Location, set in the Import tab. I recommend you should save full-res media to an external media disk ... but if you ever launch XDCAM Transfer without that media drive attached, if you are not careful you might get some annoying and unexpected results.

XDCAM Transfer has a bug, whereby if you chose an external drive as an import location, it may actually create an import folder in the ‘mountpoint’ directory of the system disk. This happens if and when you open XDCAM Transfer when the external target disc is not mounted. You are warned that the “Clip Import Location” cannot be found, and are then asked to reset the location. You click “OK” and the XDCAM Transfer Setup window opens. At this point you MUST reset the Import Location (or reconnect/mount the targetted media drive), IF you do not, IF you just click OK to dismiss the window, then the error WILL occur ... and after the fact, even when you do mount the external drive, it will still continue to use the ghost directory that it has created on the system disk ... so all subsequent full-res media ends up on the system disk, not on the external media disk.

Here’s how to find and clear out these unwanted files and folders:
First, if it is running, Quit XDCAM Transfer
Next, disconnect / unmount any external hard drives.
Then, in the Finder, click on the “Go” menu and choose “Go to Folder” (Cmd-Shift-G)
Type “/Volumes” (without the quotes)
That will open a Finder window to your system disk’s ‘mountpoint’ directory.
There should only be disc alias icon(s) in there to th esystem disc volume(s). Nothing else. If there is any "normal" folder, with the same name as your external drive volume, then XDCAM Transfer may be saving media to the wrong location, as noted above.
WARNING: You need to delete these extra folders BUT DO NOT DO SO UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED ANY EDITS THAT ARE USING THE CONTAINED MEDIA.

That’s it.

The tricky bit is always remembering to connect your external media drive before you use XDCAM Transfer.
However, until the bug is fixed, you can recover your disk space using the procedure outlined above.

[Greg Boston]

Awesome post, Andy. I'm going to sticky this thread.

-gb-