On opening one of my Sibelius file, it kept coming up with the message "There was an error opening the score ....This file seems to be corrupted......". Anyone can help me fix this problem ? Thanks.
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
The file is corrupted on the "flash drive" because of previous user error, and there is nothing that can be done to fix it now: it has gone for ever.
Users must take care to "safely remove" a USB-connected memory device BEFORE pulling it out of the USB socket. On Windows, "Safely Remove" is available on the Task Bar, or in the "Hidden icons" for the Task Bar.
If "Safely Remove" refuses to proceed, then you must close the applications that have files open on the flash device, and keep the USB device plugged in until "Safely Remove" indicates that it is safe to remove.
NEVER EVER pull out a USB memory device until "Safely Remove" has indicated that it is safe to do so.
It is also better never to use Sibelius to edit a score file located on a USB memory device: copy the file to hard disk first, then edit it in Sibelius, then copy the edited file back to the USB device.
Edit: I should add that this sort of corruption on USB memory devices is much more common on macOS than it is on Windows. If the USB device had ever been used on a Mac, then that is the most likely time that the corruption occurred.
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Sibelius 8.7/7.5.1/7.1.3/6.2/5.2.5, PhotoScore Ult 8.8.2, Dolet 6.6 for Sibelius, Windows 10 64-bit 16GB. Desktop, and Microsoft Surface Book.
I do follow the Safety Removal Procedure to the letter, but as I just wrote to Laurence, Murphy's Law can still prevail anyway, or perhaps sheer back luck.
One advice from you though I can start using is to edit/change/etc a Sibelius file on the hard drive, and then copy it, as a back-up sort of ?, onto a USB drive.
I never used my USB drive on a Mac either.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. Cheers !
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
Hi Laurence,
Thanks for the response. If there is one thing I know I do is to wait until it shows 'safe to remove' in the bottom right hand corner of the computer (Remove Hardware Procedure) However, I suppose 'Murphy's Law' at times prevail anyway. Luckily I have a printed out Reduction which I can use to reconstruct back. Cheers, and thanks again.
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
I hate to admit that I do not have a Backup Scores folder. I never had any issues with USB devices. I was using the stick to edit/add/and whatever else, but never backing up to another device. Robin suggested that I should work on Sibelius on the hard drive, then copy onto a USB device (perhaps as a back-up source ?). Any ideas what's best to use to back-up my scores. Thanks.
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
If you are very lucky, you could see if there is a recent backup copy in your backup scores folder. I have occasionally managed to rescue a damaged file from there. Look for the name of your original file plus a number. The bigger the number the better.
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Win 10 Pro x64, 1.6GHz Intel i7 Quad core, 8GB,7TB 7200rpm HDD, Scarlett 6i6, Sib 6.2,7.5, 8.7.0 NotePerformer, GPO4 & 5, COMB2, EWQLSO Plat, EWQLSC,
Si me castigare vis, necesse est me intellexisse.
I have never so far used to back-up my scores. I kept one single USB device for each score, and I thought this should be OK, as I had transferred them earlier from RW disks, which I read are not reliable at all. What do you think is best to use as a back-up source for my scores ? I am lucky, in a small way though, that I got a printed out Piano/Reduction, which I can at least copy again onto another USB stick. Thanks for the response - regards.
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
You DO have a Backup Scores folder. Sibelius created it when it was installed. I seem to remember it's moved around a bit with different Sibelius versions and possibly different operating systems. On my Windows 10 computer with the latest Sibelius, it's in C:\users\{my username}\Documents\Scores\Backup Scores. (Which is NOT my default Save location for scores, though it's very likely yours if you haven't changed it.)
The reliability of different media types is one thing. The absolute necessity of having at least TWO copies of anything important is another. For really important data, a nice definition of safety is 'three copies of everything, at least one of which is located in a different postcode.'
We also have Cloud storage options now. Most of us have some - certainly enough for a lot of Sibelius scores, they aren't big - thrown in with our Internet deal or just with Windows.
If it would be inconvenient to lose any particular data, do something about backup NOW!
>>For really important data, a nice definition of safety is 'three copies of everything, at least one of which is located in a different postcode.
I would add: one copy on an optical medium like CD-R or DVD-R.
Every time I complete a new score, I do a new DVD-R of all my scores.
At any point there is the possibility of a solar event that will produce an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that will corrupt many if not all magnetic drives on the planet. Or there are indeed EMP weapons.
The last such big (solar) EMP event was in the 19th century and it fried telegraph operators. It would have destroyed the internet if we'd had it then.
At this stage, something like that would probably destroy our civilisaton if it was extensive enough, so walking around in a Mad Max scenario clutching a DVD-R of one's scores may be poignantly pathetic.
But if it was a less extensive EMP, but you were still unlucky enough that your local drives and your cloud servers' were amongst the ones taken down, you would bless your optical disk.
I find it comforting that my work is actually *physically etched* in optical media, and thus not as ephemerally and vulnerably encoded via a transient electromagnetic state as is the case with HDDs and SSDs. I don't know anyone else who has thought this through to that extent.
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A composer www.markisaacs.com www.facebook.com/markisaacsmusic Sibelius 6.2.0 build 88, Sibelius 5.2.5 build 37, Bob Zawalich plugins, Windows 32-bit Vista SP1, Intel quad CPU Q9450 2.66Ghz, 3GB RAM, 27'' monitor, M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard, Bose Computer Music Monitor speakers, Sibelius Sounds Essentials, Sibelius Sounds, Garritan Personal Orchestra 3, Garritan Authorised Steinway.
Unfortunately, 'burnt' CD and DVD media have a poor track record for longevity. Actual 'etched' media may be better, but I don't think many of us are cutting glass masters for our archive data.
Would a 'Carrington' event wipe computer storage? I'm reading about the 2012 flare which missed Earth but struck a solar observation satellite, which nevertheless survived and managed to send data. And there were SOME computers in Quebec (and elsewhere) in 1989. Were they wiped? Information is somewhat obscured by survivalist paranoia.
Survivalist paranoia is one thing, but burning a CD/DVD is a very small amount of trouble compared to its likely benefit in a (very unlikely) EMP event.
I realise optical isn't foolproof, but their average longevity far exceeds HHD/SSD drives, and the main point is that an EMP event would not touch them.
So they become one extra piece in the puzzle.
An onsite backup drive in case your main computer drive fails. Cloud backup in case of fire/flood/burglary at your home that takes out both your computer and its external HDD. And a CD/DVD in case of an wide-scale EMP event.
Also, because I burn a fresh DVD-R of my scores every few months, whenever I do a new major work, I don't need "longevity" from the medium as such.
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A composer www.markisaacs.com www.facebook.com/markisaacsmusic Sibelius 6.2.0 build 88, Sibelius 5.2.5 build 37, Bob Zawalich plugins, Windows 32-bit Vista SP1, Intel quad CPU Q9450 2.66Ghz, 3GB RAM, 27'' monitor, M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard, Bose Computer Music Monitor speakers, Sibelius Sounds Essentials, Sibelius Sounds, Garritan Personal Orchestra 3, Garritan Authorised Steinway.
Is 'actual etched media' referring to something like a USB flash drive ? I am really learning quite a bit about back-ups and what to use - at least I can say that I gained something from starting this thread, irrespective of the loss of my data on this corrupted file of mine. Thank you.
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
Hi Mark,
I never heard about EMP I must admit, and I do apologise for the ignorance in this matter. Your message is quite serious and foreboding, though apparently possible, though hopefully unlikely.
What I gather from your message (if I understood correctly) is that it is best to have multiple copies (2 to 3) of each completed score, using different media, i.e. USB and CD-R or DVD-R.
I actually used to use RWD, when compiling the score and then storing it away, but I then read, and found out for myself, that they are not very reliable. I believe "physically etched" media is referring to these CD-R,DVD-R, RWD ?
I can at least say that I learned quite a bit from this thread about backups and what to use.
Many thanks for your great insight (though somewhat scary message - in a nice way).
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
Hi Laurence,
Yes you are right - I found the Backup Scores folder but it only has the last 3 days on it, which does not help me at all regarding this problem. Do you know whether I can set how much far back this Backup Scores folder can hold, as I could not find a way how ? Yes I do need to do something about backup. Thanks.
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits
Let your programs store their data in the default location on your computer, which will probably be a sub-folder of My Documents. That's your working copy, always available as long as the computer keeps functioning. Then set up an automatic system for copying the contents of My Documents to at least one other place. Maybe an external hard drive (but it must be permanently connected and powered) maybe a Cloud service. But it has to be an automatic system, else I guarantee it won't get done. I visit too many computers where I set up a backup system a year ago and discover the last backup was made - a year ago!
I think it would be best if you called in an expert to do this for you. You're the music expert...
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FAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/sibelius.html If you want help with a score, attach the sib file!
Also, AutoSave doesn't do what you think. Press Ctrl-S often.
Thank you Laurence Payne, and also my thanks to Robin Walker, Mark Isaacs, and Mike Lyons who collectively gave me a good insight into the way I should update, save and store Sibelius files.
Carmelo Galea
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I am using: Sibelius 6.2
My operating system is Windows 10 x 64Bits