Reading old files

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frisket
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:42 am
Finale Version: 25
Operating System: Mac

Post by frisket » Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:55 am

[Apologies if this appears again: my original post on the topic has vanished]

I have several hundred Finale 2.6 files from 1992 which I want to open in a current version (I downloaded the free trial but that will now have expired).

They apparently ought to open (they were Mac files but have been renamed to end in .mus), but they don't: Finale v25 claims it "cannot open this filetype" but does not give any further information, so it is not possible to diagnose the error.

Does anyone out there have any files of this age that they could check out the first few bytes with a hex editor and let me know how they start? The ones I have start with x00x00x00x00x00x00x99xFFxC0.

Is anyone in a position to let me send them a few of the files and see if they open in some other version of Finale. The project to which the files belong cannot spend the money for a new version unless they know it will open all the files.

Peter


BuonTempi
Posts: 1297
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:59 am
Finale Version: Finale 27
Operating System: Mac

Post by BuonTempi » Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:35 am

frisket wrote: The ones I have start with x00x00x00x00x00x00x99xFFxC0.
That doesn't sound good. Finale files start with the text: "ENIGMA BINARY FILE Finale(R) 2007 Copyright (c) 1987-2006 MakeMusic Inc." (or variations).
Check your backups for different versions of these files. Note that Mac Finale files before 2002 were saved in a special Mac way, which would not survive non-Mac environments, like being sent as email attachments or on Windows disks.

The free trial of Finale should still open files: it just can't save or print.

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N Grossingink
Posts: 1786
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 2:50 pm
Finale Version: 27.3
Operating System: Mac

Post by N Grossingink » Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:32 pm

I'd suggest you send one of these files to Make Music. Ask if there is any way to repair them. You might get lucky, but as it stands things are looking pretty grim.

You say there are hundreds of files. How complex are these files? Might they be of shorter length, such as musical examples for a book? If you have hard copy printouts, it might be worth investigating one of the more advanced scanning programs that convert scanned images to Music XML which can be imported directly into Finale. Not an ideal solution, but some report good results.

It might help to post one of the files here for folks to tinker with. Archive the file with ZIP before posting it here.

N.
N. Grossingink
Educational Band, Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble a specialty
Sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pFF5OeJDeLFGHMRyXrubFqZWXBubErw4/view?usp=share_link


Mac Mini 2014 2.6 Ghz, 8Gb RAM
OSX 10.15.7
Finale 2012c, 25.5, 26.3, 27.3

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zuill
Posts: 4418
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:35 pm
Finale Version: Finale 2011-v26.3.1
Operating System: Windows

Post by zuill » Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:34 pm

I suppose you could attach one here as well to see if anyone can open it.

Zuill

P.S.: Something else you mentioned that interests me. You said you changed the extension to .mus. What was the extension before?
Windows 10, Finale 2011-v26.3.1
"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

BuonTempi
Posts: 1297
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:59 am
Finale Version: Finale 27
Operating System: Mac

Post by BuonTempi » Thu Aug 17, 2017 2:58 pm

zuill wrote:You said you changed the extension to .mus. What was the extension before?
Old Mac files didn't need file extensions, so they were frequently omitted. The data type and app association was held in metadata.

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