Project File won't load?

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Project File won't load?

By joelsquare Fri Jun 26, 2026 4:23 pm
Hi all,

I've got a bit of a concerning situation. I'm on an MPC Live 3 (3.9) and I've got a project that won't open. It's not a huge deal if I've lost that file, but what concerns me is that it happened at all. I'd like to get to the bottom of this before it happens on more crucial material.

Have other people experienced this, and if so, how often should I expect this to happen (I'm a relatively new user)?

Cheers,
J
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Re: Project File won't load?

By MPC-Tutor Fri Jun 26, 2026 5:18 pm
That's unusual, it's not something that ever happens unless the original project file was somehow corrupted, typically because the disk you saved it on is corrupted. Of course with a new firmware it's possible that you've discovered a bug, but I haven't heard of this issue anywhere.

As always the devil is in the detail. What error message are you seeing? Some errors are quite generic, others are more specific (e.g. missing samples, unsupported clip rows etc). Where is the project currently stored, factory disk or removable? Which firmware was it created on?
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Re: Project File won't load?

By Lampdog Fri Jun 26, 2026 7:34 pm
Where FIRMWARE was the project file originally created on?

Is the media corrupt?

Did you not eject the media with the project on several times?
Could cause corruption.

Did you rename/change any part of the saved project file on computer?

Re: Project File won't load?

By J.O.BEATS Fri Jun 26, 2026 8:55 pm
Open the project on your computer and see if there are any weird named files. Or just load the individual programs and sequences instead of the project file

Re: Project File won't load?

By joelsquare Sat Jun 27, 2026 12:39 am
MPC-Tutor wrote:That's unusual, it's not something that ever happens unless the original project file was somehow corrupted, typically because the disk you saved it on is corrupted. Of course with a new firmware it's possible that you've discovered a bug, but I haven't heard of this issue anywhere.

As always the devil is in the detail. What error message are you seeing? Some errors are quite generic, others are more specific (e.g. missing samples, unsupported clip rows etc). Where is the project currently stored, factory disk or removable? Which firmware was it created on?


Hi, thanks for responding. There actually isn’t an error, it just blinks momentarily and then returns to the same screen. The project is stored internally on the factory disk.

This was actually my first project on 3.9. I’d been testing the limits of a drum patch built with the new oscillators - really more of an “experiment” than a “track” - so I’m more concerned than heartbroken, and I definitely want to know if I did something to cause it, or if there’s a glitch, or if my hard drive has an issue?

Re: Project File won't load?

By joelsquare Sat Jun 27, 2026 12:48 am
Lampdog wrote:Where FIRMWARE was the project file originally created on?

Is the media corrupt?

Did you not eject the media with the project on several times?
Could cause corruption.

Did you rename/change any part of the saved project file on computer?


Hi!

I don’t *think* the media is corrupt. I hope not - it’s the internal drive. This is the only file that has ever caused an issue. I don’t think I ejected anything incorrectly, but it’s possible? And no, I didn’t change the name.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Re: Project File won't load?

By joelsquare Sat Jun 27, 2026 12:50 am
J.O.BEATS wrote:Open the project on your computer and see if there are any weird named files. Or just load the individual programs and sequences instead of the project file


When I try to open in on my computer, it behaves the same as it does on the MPC; doesn’t really do anything, not even give an error message.

I’ll try to load the individual programs tomorrow to see if I can.

Thanks!

Re: Project File won't load?

By joelsquare Sat Jun 27, 2026 9:26 pm
[/quote]
Cool, but did you reset the Preferences after you upgraded to 3.9.[/quote]

Hmmm... I don't *think* I did? Since reading this, I have reset preference. The file is still corrupted, but I think I would have saved this before I did the update. Also, it wasn't just one night's work; I had managed to create the file, save, load and save again a few times before it stopped loading, all without resetting.

Thank you!
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Re: Project File won't load?

By Lampdog Sun Jun 28, 2026 12:20 am
J.O.BEATS wrote:Open the project on your computer and see if there are any weird named files. Or just load the individual programs and sequences instead of the project file

I’ve also done this for decades. Usually I gain back enough to recreate some things and they most times turn out better. Yep, completely ignore the project file and attempt to load individuals, into software, into standalone, piece together whatever is left behind, whatever is still useable.

Re: Project File won't load?

By joelsquare Wed Jul 01, 2026 3:40 pm
Hi all,

Just to wrap up this thread - it's confirmed from Akai that the file did get corrupted somehow and it's irretrievable. It's not the end of the world for me given this specific file, and the fact it was really just me experimenting with oscillators. It does shake my confidence a bit - but I'll get over it.

I'll definitely be more rigid about resetting the preferences after OS updates. Seems odd as there's no preference that says "Corrupt File When Saving ✅" but if that's standard procedure, I'll definitely adopt it!

Thanks everyone for your help, I appreciate it greatly. By the way, Akai's response has been fast & friendly, even if they couldn't solve the issue. I wish I could say the same for other companies!
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