How do I recover a previous version of a song in Garageband?

rjames1973 · #1 01-08-2012, 07:02 PM

I am a newbie to Garageband. I have been working on a song for the past couple of weeks, and had almost all of the tracks the way I wanted them. Then, I did something completely stupid tonight. I wanted to re-record the vocal tracks, and thought I was deleting them. What I deleted, however, was the guitar tracks. Thinking that I had deleted what I needed, I then saved the project (yes, pretty stupid...I know.) Now, I am at a complete loss as to how I can proceed with the project without deleting everything and starting over. Is there any way I can locate a previous version of the project from earlier in the day? If there is any way I can recover what I deleted, please let me know. Thanks!

muscmp · #2 01-08-2012, 11:25 PM

hopefully, you take advantage of time machine. if so, just go back in time machine to the period prior to deletion. you may want to drag those files to your desktop, come back to the present time and then reinsert the tracks into the song.

rjames1973 · #3 01-09-2012, 09:05 AM

muscmp,

Unfortunately, I have not been using Time Machine, so I am out of luck. It's not a big deal, though. It's just a recording project in Garageband that I'm doing for fun. Now, if it had been a project for work, then I'd be in big trouble. In any case, it's a learning experience, and it won't happen again!

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

hopefully, you take advantage of time machine. if so, just go back in time machine to the period prior to deletion. you may want to drag those files to your desktop, come back to the present time and then reinsert the tracks into the song.

Sombras · #4 01-09-2012, 02:38 PM

I have *a little* experience using Garageband. It may be that the tracks you lost are gone forever, unless someone has a genius workaround. I hope that happens!

On a preventative note, I have gotten in the habit of not immediately deleting tracks I don't *think* I like. I simply mute them and then record a new track intended as the replacement. If I like the new track, then I'll go ahead and delete the old one. It has made me more methodical about dumping unacceptable tracks--and because it's me we're talking about a lot of deletions!

rjames1973 · #5 01-09-2012, 02:48 PM

Sombras,

I've muted tracks before, but didn't use good judgment and do that in this case. I guess we all make mistakes, so I intend to remember this one and not make it again!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sombras

I have *a little* experience using Garageband. It may be that the tracks you lost are gone forever, unless someone has a genius workaround. I hope that happens!

On a preventative note, I have gotten in the habit of not immediately deleting tracks I don't *think* I like. I simply mute them and then record a new track intended as the replacement. If I like the new track, then I'll go ahead and delete the old one. It has made me more methodical about dumping unacceptable tracks--and because it's me we're talking about a lot of deletions!

mchalebk · #6 01-09-2012, 03:14 PM

I would highly recommend taking advantage of Time Machine. It is perfect for slip ups like this.

Sombras · #7 01-09-2012, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjames1973

Sombras,

I've muted tracks before, but didn't use good judgment and do that in this case. I guess we all make mistakes, so I intend to remember this one and not make it again!

I hope my post didn't sound judgmental--I should have mentioned that I only figured that out because I also lost a couple tracks. NOW I see that I could have gone to Time Machine and found the backup files. ARGH!

rjames1973 · #8 01-10-2012, 06:37 AM

Sombras,

No, I didn't take it that way at all! I'm glad I have this message board to ask questions and learn from my mistakes. I appreciate the input!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sombras

I hope my post didn't sound judgmental--I should have mentioned that I only figured that out because I also lost a couple tracks. NOW I see that I could have gone to Time Machine and found the backup files. ARGH!

rdm321 · #9 01-10-2012, 12:05 PM

Is it possible that the deleted tracks can be recovered from the Mac's trash?

mchalebk · #10 01-10-2012, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdm321

Is it possible that the deleted tracks can be recovered from the Mac's trash?

If you delete tracks from a Garageband project, they're just deleted from the project. They're not files in and of themselves, so wouldn't go to the trash.

The key when you have a Mac is to use Time Machine. It's as simple as a backup program can be and will solve issues like this. It's not the only backup plan you should have, but it's a great first tier. (In addition to using Time Machine for regular backups, I use CarbonCopyCloner to copy all my hard drives once a month, then store it off site. These backups are bootable. If something should happen to my computer and Time Machine backups at the same time, such as theft or fire, I won't lose more than the last month's worth of data.)