That message usually shows up when the original videos have been moved or an external HD holding the media has been disconnected.

You could try to open one of the auto saves if you have not turned this off. Go to "Edit"---"preferences"---"project" to find out where they are stored on your computer and open one of the auto-saves.

If that doesn't work I would open the project again and browse for the missing files.

If you re talking about a back up of the "pds" file, this file is very small and only contains the editing information.

If after you finish your project you want to make sure you have all of the files backed up in one folder for archiving you should "Pack" your project under "File"---"Export"---"Pack" this copies all of your videos, audio and settings to a separate folder for archiving. My youtube channel====> http://www.youtube.com/user/relate2?feature=mhsn

Hi Peter

Welcome to the forum.

It appears you may of moved the original video clips and/or moved the origin folder from where you imported these from or even deleted it.

There are are couple of options:

1. Re-open the project and when it asks you to 'browse' actively look for the file and import it - for all the clips - time consuming I know but worth it.

2. If you have the auto save function enabled go to Documents > AppData>Roaming>Cyberlink>Powerdirector> it might be Auto Save? not sure because I don't enable auto save.

In this folder there should be your last autosave - just look at the date/time and go back a couple of auto save files and double click.

Hope this helps
Happing editing

Best Regards

Neil
CubbyHouseFilms
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Thanks guys for the input. I checked and found that the "Auto Save" function was enabled and set for every 10 minutes which I have reduced to 5. However, I am having difficulty in locating the missing files. I suppose that if the auto save was set to 10 minute intervals, it is possible I lost the missing files in question, after the previous auto save but before the last one. I presume that if (in the future) I use the "File" - "Export" - "Pack" feature to save all files to an archive, their is really no need to enable the "Auto Save" as I can simply go to the archives if this was to happen again, correct? Having said that, if "Auto Save" is enabled, this file could become very large unless it has a size limit with the oldest files being deleted as new ones are added. Is this the case or must they be manually deleted?

Peter

Hi peter,

The auto save only saves the instructions not the files and is just kilobytes in size, not megabytes. Packing a project saves the instructions and the videos used in the project.

Have you tried searching your computer for the videos in windows file manager? My youtube channel====> http://www.youtube.com/user/relate2?feature=mhsn

PD9 does not alter the original assets at all but just uses them to produce the edited version that you have worked so hard at. To do so it produces a .pds file that has all the project "instructions" coded within it.

PD9 hard references the file locations and addresses in the .pds file, therefore if any of the assets are moved, renamed or deleted the .pds file cannot find them and, rather than stop altogether, replaces the missing files with a black space in the timeline.

PD gives a user choice to ignore/browse to enable the user to manually search for missing assets to avoid the "black space" in the timeline.

If you cannot find the missing files, for whatever reason, your editing efforts will be wasted.

It is therefore wise, except for very small projects, to properly plan your work to avoid inadvertently falling into this hole.

Ideally this may mean assembling copies of all the assets first in a location to ensure that you can easily reference them again. There was a PD8 tutorial on project planning but I can't locate it just at the moment.

Cheers
Adrian Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Hi Robert,
No, I have not tried to located the files in Windows file manager but I will give that a shot later. Fortunately not a great deal was lost and it won’t be that difficult to import the files again onto the timeline. I began this project with the intention of using it to gain a learning curve in Power Director, but it seems that in the process, I’m learning a few other things about Windows while doing so, which is good.
Thanks again for your input.

Hi Adrian,
I’m beginning to better understand now what is necessary to safely back-up a project. In my efforts to do so, I remember renaming the file while creating a separate folder for the back-up copy. I shall look around to see if I can locate the tutorial you mention on, “Project Planning.” If you remember where it is, I’d appreciate you letting me know in case I can‘t locate it.
Thanks also for the instruction Adrian.

Note: On another subject for a moment guys. How does one contact someone like yourself without posting it on the forum. I don’t see any links such as FAQ’s on how to use the forum.
1. What does clicking on “Private Messages” do?
2. I notice a small icon in the top left hand corner of the post from the responding individual which says [Post
New], where does that go?
3. How do you use, and what does the “Member Listing” do?

Peter

Actually, it appears it was a PD7 tutorial that I did - shows what my memory is like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuK7Fhawaf4

Cheers
Adrian Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Thanks again Adrian
Have a good day
Peter