File Structure

[herbmann]

New hard drive. Files are scattered everywhere. I have successfully relinked most, but is there an easy way to find out where all the associated files are? Then how do I make simplify where everything goes? I notice the are PRV files that I had to track down, too.

Does the Archive option or the Copy option copy all of the files in the project?

[ATR]

Herbmann

Under default conditions, the Premiere Elements folder is in the Adobe Folder in My Documents. In the Premiere Elements folder should be:
Folders for
a. Adobe Premiere Elements Auto-Save
b. Adobe Premiere Elements Preview Files
c. Encoded Files
d. Media Cache Files
As well as the project file (.prel)
It usually houses the Styles Folder (forget about that for now)

Depending on how you had your Scratch Disc setup some of these folders may be in a different location than the Project file (.prel). And, the Project file could be saved to any location that you designed when you opened the project in the first place (that is, you did not use the default location).

As I see it, your main focus should be on finding the Project File (.prel) for each project and reconnecting any links that were broken between a Project File and the hard drive location of the source media that went into that specific .prel. If the source media has been relocated since you last opened the Project File, the program will display a Where Is...dialog and attempt to find the file for you. If not, you search.

The .prv files are Preview Files that result from Rendering of the Timeline (in Edit Mode of Program) by pressing the Enter Key of the main keyboard in order to get a better preview, not improve or alter quality. These files can be regenerated by Rendering the Timeline once you open the Project File and have your media all relinked.

Looking back...if you were planning to get a new hard drive, then you should have used the Premiere Elements Project Archiver feature which saves the Project Files, its Media, etc. to a folder which in turn could have been saved to disc until your hard drive situation was ready for operation.

Check out that Project Archiver feature. Basically:
Archiver Option.....folder "Trimmed....." has Project File with Media on the Timeline.
Copy Option...folder "Copy...." has Project File with Media on the Timeline PLUS all the Media in the Media Panel (those that went onto the Timeline as well as those that were brought into the Media Panel and not used).

Let us know if that answered your question. If not, we will address it from another angle.

ATR

[herbmann]

Excellent response. Too bad I didn't look before I leaped.

Premier did not find my files, I did have to go look for them. It even made me go look for those oddly name PRV files. I'm not sure why I had to find that since I thought I could have re-rendered the PRV. But, it would not open the project without getting that file.

Once I saved the repaired Project it appears to have put all of the files where I want them...all in the same Documents folder where I specified my scratch disk for all items. I suppose it left copies of those media files where I found them and that it is safe to delete them.

Thanks a lot for your detailed explanation.

[ATR]

herbmann

I am glad that you found the comments helpful.

I think that you are OK now, but I just wanted to make sure:
a. when you talk about safe to delete and you have not used the Project Archiver, you are NOT talking about deleting media source files saved to the hard drive that went into a Project File (.prel) that still exists?

b. if you use the Project Archiver to save your Project file (.prel) with its Media as described previously, then deleting the hard drive-saved media source files linked to that Project file (.prel) is not going to create a reconnect issue when you open that Project file (.prel) housed in the "Trimmed.." or "Copy.." Folder.

If in doubt, try to leave yourself a safety net. But, as I said, I think that you are OK now.

ATR

[herbmann]

Got it.

One more question. When I try to find an AVI file, I find it but it has an extension like this....myfile.avi.mcdb. What the heck is an mcdb file and is my avi extractable from that file?

[ATR]

Are all your .avi files on the new hard drive = .avi.mcdb or a mixture of .avi and .avi.mcdb? I take it that the .avi.mcdb did not exist on the old system? For a given .avi.mcdb, do you have two versions of that specific file, one .avi and another .avi.mcdb?

Not much, but here are some links I found so far:

http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b71a86

http://forums.techguy.org/apple-macintosh/581089-file-extentions-file-not-opening.html

To be continued………..

ATR

[herbmann]

The avi files are gone. All that is left is myfile.avi.mcdb.

[Chuck Engels]

I am pretty sure these are database files, hense the db in the extension.
I have seen on a few sites that they can be Media Center Database files or Adobe data files. They seem to point to the location of various video files but do not actually hold the video. What did you use to move the files because it seems to have just created a pointer to the original files and not actually copied the files over to the new drive.

[ATR]

Herbmann

Where are you finding these .avi.mcdb files?
a. hard drive saved locations (like My Video)?
b. in one of the folders (like Media Cache) in the Adobe Folder in My Documents?

Are you finding any files with the extension of .cfa or .pek?
http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27494&highlight=cfa+files

I am still searching for an answer, but have not found IT yet.
With the letters "mcdb", I suspected that = media cache database". The concept of Media Cache is an important one. For now I will just say that these are files that are made to conform to the existing project preset. See link above for details.

The conforming audio files in the cache have the file extension .cfa for sure, and I am fairly certain that the video counterpart has the file extension of .macc, not .mcdb. If those .avi.mbdb were conformed video files, you should be able to delete them. But, do not delete anything until we determine what happened to the original .avi files. As CE suggested, have you ruled out that you transfered conforming files and left the original .avi behind on the old hard drive?

To be continued....

ATR

[ATR]

Herbmann

Back with more speculation....

Mcdb could also be a "record manager written in Java" and a "library built be used by other programs to manage small data sets of program settings". I have been hunting around in Premiere Elements and my Windows XP for a "mcdb" or "mcdb.dll" and have not come up with anything.

If this is the mcdb involved with your .avi.mcdb, then may need to go over your transfer from old to new computer in greater detail.

To be continued....

ATR

[herbmann]

I was obsessive with my back up. My consultant backed up my files, I backed up my files to Carbonite and used Nero to back them up to an external drive. And, I just dragged my entire D&S file to the external drive. YET, I cannot find the original AVIs, just the mcdb.

The good thing is that I recovered most of my prized videos and not a great deal is lost.

Thanks for all the help.

[ATR]

Herbmann,

Sorry we have not yet defined the .avi.mcdb file issue.
If I understood you correctly, you replaced the internal hard drive on your computer with another. I am assuming that you cannot open these .avi.mcdb files in Premiere Elements or elsewhere.

What version of Premiere Elements do you have? What is the operating system for this computer?

ATR

[herbmann]

I have come up with nada on how to open these files or even where they came from.

I am running XP MCE and Premier Elements 4.

[mimages]

Hi there. I have read this thread with interest as well as checked out the links that were provided. I have a similar problem. I have an external hard drive that has a folder that keeps popping up, no matter how many times I delete the folder. The only contents of that folder (that is named from a project 2 years ago!) are mcdb files of projects that have been opened in that hard drive. All of these files are 1 kb in size and are named after clips that are saved and accessed from that drive (although other files can also show up in this folder from the computer's internal drive if we access that file from a project that is saved on this external drive.).

We use Adobe Elements as well as Pro and these mcdb files will show up from either. We run windows xp. Any help in finally getting this folder off of this drive and never coming back would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

[ATR]

Since this thread was started and the subject of these mcdb files came up, I have located the hide out for these Premiere Elements video cache files stored on my computer....over 200 of them...probably more to find.

In my Window XP Professional operating system, they were found
Local Drive (C)
Documents & Settings
Owner
Application Data
Adobe
Common
Media Cache

These specific files should not regenerate, but others will come to take their place when these others are imported in Premiere Elements.

To wipe them out of existance forever, I would think that we would have to find a way to tell Premiere Elements to stop generating these files so that we can get a better preview. Do we want to do that?

But between the .mcdb (video conformed files) and the .cfa & .pek (audio conformed files), they do add up rapidly in in those small KB file sizes.

ATR