What is wrong with Ableton that it misses media files from time to time? The problem occurs regardless the version. And Ableton is a culprit because the sample files are there in the folder. They are not moved, edited or opened by another app. Ableton just stopped seeing them suddenly. That’s it.
Now it happened in Live 12 in Windows 11. When I open Manage Files and then Manage Set or Project and use Automatic Search Ableton is showing me five candidates. Candidates look the same. Physically there is only one file in the folder. I use this sample five times in the track.
What is wrong with Ableton and how to avoid and repair the set and project?
Is there any definite solution?

 

Last edited: Feb 6, 2025

Most of the errors are user-made, most do not uninstall their software
completely, the leftover files then lead to the errors you mentioned.

Installation instructions to avoid errors

1. Always back up the files you have created first
2. Before updating, uninstall Ableton and all leftover files
3. Restart your PC
4. Install the latest version of Ableton
5. Go to the options and set the paths, USB interface, etc.

Delete:
C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Ableton

Uninstall and please delete (it's a hidden folder):
C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\Ableton
C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Ableton
C:\ProgramData\Ableton

Registry --> Regedit
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Ableton
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Ableton

After the deletion process, use Free CCleaner and restart the PC.

 

Should I uninstall Ableton? What for? One project gives me problem.

 

Try "Collect All and Save", choose a different location. It should copy everything needed to that folder. If factory sounds are a problem, select "Files from Factory Packs" in the dialog (everything else is selected by default IIRC).

Does that work for you?

 

@Will Kweks The missing sample is my reversed sample. I saved as a new project and All Collected and Saved. So the missing sample is in the place but the connection was lost with Ableton.

 

@Radio Yes, it was a user-made error but... I have found the culprit for the missing files. It can be quite interesting. I zipped my project for sending it out. And then I extracted it by manually dragging the folder from the archive using WinRAR. MISTAKE! I should have used Right Mouse and Extract or Extract Here from the context menu. The project is loading properly now.