This is apparently an ongoing problem with certain Behringer x32 audio boards. Even if you properly eject the USB drive, random cases of 0 (zero) byte files happen.
The best way to recover the corrupted or lost 0 byte files is to use the CHKDSK command in Windows and then use the VLC Player to convert the audio. Even after recovering the file, many audio players such as Windows Media Player, won’t handle the audio correctly.
The best way to recover the files is to use a Windows pc.
Here are the basic steps – and you can watch the video:
(1) I recommend creating a backup image of the USB drive/device first. This is always a good practice just in case, but it is not required. On a Mac, you can use Disk Utility to create a .DMG file. On Windows, you will need a 3rd party tool such as IMGBURN or similar.
Rule #1: You are only as good as your last successful backup – from which you can recover!
(2) On a Windows pc, go to the Control Panel and set the folder options (use the search bar) to “show all files” and “show system files”. This will allow you to see the recovered .CHK files.
(3) Check the drive letter assigned to the USB drive by Windows. You will need this for the command line.
(4) Open up the Command Prompt in Windows and type the following command – lets assume the drive letter is “G:”. After running the command, you should see that X number of files have been fixed.
chkdsk G: /f
(5) Open up the USB drive (ex: G: ) and look for a “Found.XXX” folder. If you don’t see it, make sure you have set the Folder Options to show hidden files/folders AND system files.
(6) Look for the recovered files such as FILE000.CHK and compare the “creation date” and file sizes to what you are looking for. You may need to show the “creation date” column. Copy the file(s) to your desktop or other folder.
(7) Rename the file(s) to replace the .CHK extension with .WAV then open the file(s) with VLC Player.
(8) Using VLC Player save/convert option – create a new MP3 or other audio file. You can now use this new file in your software.
h/t to TimeBandit from [ this forum ] – thanks!
IMPORTANT: There are some cases where the audio data will fail to save on the Behringer such that it is not recoverable. If the above method will not restore the audio, then short of another backup audio source, you are probably out of luck. By the way – if you are not using a backup audio recorder for important events, you certainly should be.
What happens when there are no files to fix?
That presents a challenge – since most likely the device was not recording or just simply did not write the file at all. I would “show hidden files” in Windows just to make sure, but that is going to be about impossible to fix.
Rex
THANK YOU.
You are welcome. Hope it helps you recover the audio. Most of the time you can – but there are times when some other event caused the file not to save properly.
Do you have any tips on making this work entirely on a Mac? Even when I make hidden files visible on Mac I’m not seeing the files.
Hmm – I haven’t tried it entirely on a Mac (even though I use a Macbook primarily). Can you create a DMG of the drive and upload it to me?
http://www.smartergeek.com/send
Hey Rex, I know this post is old, but have you found a way to do this on a mac over the last 6 months or so? Thanks.
Not really, but honestly I haven’t looked into much more either.
The few times I’ve had to do it in the last year – I just use a Windows box or Parallels.
Hi Rex, I have made it as far as being able to type in the information into the cmd window and I have been able to see the dates of the files that are showing up as 0 KB. However, I do not have a folder that says “found”. My end shows two folders that says “spotlight” as well as “trashes” Is there something that I haven’t done or missed? Can these files still be repaired?? I wish you were able to see what I see someway. Thanks in advance for your help!!
Hi Darnicha – have you enabled “show hidden files / folders” in Windows? If so and you still don’t see the “found” folder, then unfortunately some other issue corrupted the files.
Yes, I did that. Could it be that my PC is not up to date so this could be causing the issue? Do you suggest that I take it a local tech store maybe and have them try or is it just completely a lost cause? Am I able to send them to you and maybe you can see? If so, I am willing to pay a fee for you to test this out for me. Thanks Rex!!
It won’t be a “pc update” issue. It’s a file system “corruption” on those particular files. Sending the 0 byte files to me won’t help unfortunately.
You might can try a local tech shop as long as they have a good understanding of what is going on.
Thank you Rex! I appreciate all your help!
Thanks for this troubleshoot. My issue occurred on a Midas M32 but the issue seems to be a carbon copy of what you described. Unfortunately, when I did the CHKDSK there was no FOUND folder. I was able to find deleted files. I’m worried that my last option is to delete the file and hope that I can recover it as a deleted file with the others in the hidden TRASH folder. Any other ideas? I’ve also tried entering the raw data through Audacity and that didn’t work either.
Below is the screenshot of the USB prior to the CHKDSK.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/159f0b31697ea13dbfa0dd76652bd4eaa1f6157df3e6d042744b0895fbf450b5.png
Sorry I missed this comment. Typically the method described in my article only works if you get the “found” folder.
Hi Rex, I am wondering if it is possible to save a file that is 0 bytes due to the Behringer x32 getting shut down BEFORE the recording was stopped. This is an issue I have run into twice with sound engineers, where they shut down the soundboard and therefore recording gets interrupted. The recording itself is on the USB recorder, but is 0 bytes.
It’s possible. Usually the issue happens when the USB drive is unplugged before it’s disengaged. Let me know if it works.
Hi Rex. This method has been helping me out of jams for a few years now. But I have a new snag. I have the issue that the drive is now FULL of these undefined chains, and therefore cannot recover due to “insufficient disk space to recover lost data”. Any way to perform the recovery, but have the conversion bounce to a different disk? Or perform this with a disk image?
Your PC drive is now full? Can you not delete / remove the files? 🤔
Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I meant the USB drive. I had 3 of these “0 bytes” files, and nothing else. 4 gigs worth. When I try to run the chkdsk command, it cannot complete.
Ok – gotcha. First, you might need to format the drive or do a “secure erase” to completely clean it. MAKE SURE you don’t have files on there that you are trying to recover though. 😉
In theory you could make an image/clone of the drive and and then apply that clone to a new larger capacity drive. I suppose (though I haven’t tried it) that you could use something like Acronis to create a image / clone and then mount that clone file (Acronis uses a .tib extension) as a drive and try to recover.
Hope those ideas help ya.