Finale 2012 Not Backing Up: Cannot Find Specified Path

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:28 pm

All of a sudden, My Finale is not backing up to AVS files. When I close, the program does save changes, however. While working, everytime Finale tries to save a backup I get the Cannot Find Specified Path prompt. Also when closing the program. Using Windows 8.


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zuill
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Post by zuill » Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:41 pm

In Preferences, the path is indicated. Make sure Finale can find the folder.

Zuill
Windows 10, Finale 2011-v26.3.1
"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:49 pm

Hello, I see the paths in preferences. How do I make Finale see them, please?

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:55 pm

zuill wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:41 pm
In Preferences, the path is indicated. Make sure Finale can find the folder.

Zuill
Hello, I see the paths in preferences. How do I make Finale see them, please?

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zuill
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Post by zuill » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:04 pm

If the path is correct and the folder is where preferences looks for it, then you should be okay. If Saving and backing up (bak) files are going where they should go, then it appears Finale is working correctly. If this suddenly started, and nothing else has changed, then possibly your Preferences got corrupted. In that case, back up the preferences file and regenerate Preferences. That might fix things. If not, you can go back to your old preferences to save resetting all your fine tunings in preferences.

Zuill
Windows 10, Finale 2011-v26.3.1
"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:51 pm

zuill wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:04 pm
If the path is correct and the folder is where preferences looks for it, then you should be okay. If Saving and backing up (bak) files are going where they should go, then it appears Finale is working correctly. If this suddenly started, and nothing else has changed, then possibly your Preferences got corrupted. In that case, back up the preferences file and regenerate Preferences. That might fix things. If not, you can go back to your old preferences to save resetting all your fine tunings in preferences.

Zuill
Not sure how to go about that. I Googled a little but couldn't find much on that.

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miker
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Post by miker » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:44 pm

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motet
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Post by motet » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:54 pm

Billy May wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:28 pm
All of a sudden, My Finale is not backing up to AVS files. When I close, the program does save changes, however. While working, everytime Finale tries to save a backup I get the Cannot Find Specified Path prompt. Also when closing the program. Using Windows 8.
Sounds like you're talking about autosave files (.asv or asvx), not backup files (.bak. or .bakx). Preferences also specifies a folder for those. If it's blank, it goes where the .mus or .musx file lives. In Preferences/Save, make sure Autosave is checked.

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motet
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Post by motet » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:55 pm

Billy May wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:28 pm
Cannot Find Specified Path prompt. Also when closing the program.
This sounds like the age-old, catastrophic temp file bug.

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Mon Apr 19, 2021 2:28 pm

Make sure the path and folder exists. Finale doesn't create either. You need to do that if you have specified a path and folder other than the default.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:24 am

Thank you. That did the trick. All set. Up and running like usual. Have bookmarked that page. Now, all I gotta do is figure out how to afford a Mac. :lol:

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:25 am

ebiggs1 wrote:
Mon Apr 19, 2021 2:28 pm
Make sure the path and folder exists. Finale doesn't create either. You need to do that if you have specified a path and folder other than the default.
Thank you very much.

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:28 am

motet wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:54 pm
Billy May wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:28 pm
All of a sudden, My Finale is not backing up to AVS files. When I close, the program does save changes, however. While working, everytime Finale tries to save a backup I get the Cannot Find Specified Path prompt. Also when closing the program. Using Windows 8.
Sounds like you're talking about autosave files (.asv or asvx), not backup files (.bak. or .bakx). Preferences also specifies a folder for those. If it's blank, it goes where the .mus or .musx file lives. In Preferences/Save, make sure Autosave is checked.
Yes, ASV :oops: Thank you. Autosave checked. All's good. Now if only I could afford a Mac! Maybe refurbished.

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miker
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Post by miker » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:57 am

Billy May wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:24 am
Thank you. That did the trick. All set. Up and running like usual. Have bookmarked that page. Now, all I gotta do is figure out how to afford a Mac. :lol:
Skip the lattes! It's worth it.

In all seriousness, refurbished is certainty a good way to go. You can get genuine Apple refurbs, at https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished

I would stay away from the products on Amazon, because they weren't done by Apple. Just my opinion...
Finale 27 | SmartScorePro 64
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zuill
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Post by zuill » Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:16 am

I am sure that Windows is not the cause of the ASV file issue. I have been a user of Finale on windows for 25 years and have never had a problem with ASV files. I know that Finale was originally introduced on Mac. However, they seem to have put much, if not more attention to the Win version of Finale in recent years. And I can run older versions of Finale on the latest release of Windows 10 (currently I have 2011, 2012, 2014, 2014.5, v25 and v26 installed). Just saying.

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motet
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Post by motet » Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:43 am

As Zuill alludes to, the downside of Finale on the Mac is that new versions of the MacOS almost always break Finale, so you're forced to upgrade to the latest version, and not just of Finale. Whereas I'm still using Finale 2014.5, Office 2010, and my favorite paint program, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, from 2004 (later sold to Corel, who made it crappy).

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:10 am

zuill wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:16 am
I am sure that Windows is not the cause of the ASV file issue. I have been a user of Finale on windows for 25 years and have never had a problem with ASV files. I know that Finale was originally introduced on Mac. However, they seem to have put much, if not more attention to the Win version of Finale in recent years. And I can run older versions of Finale on the latest release of Windows 10 (currently I have 2011, 2012, 2014, 2014.5, v25 and v26 installed). Just saying.

Zuill
I'm glad you talked about that! I have a Windows 10 PC for work only, no online, no Windows updates. I have 32 GB memory in the 10 machine, yet Finale runs better on my Windows 8 PC. On the 10, instruments momentarily disappear from the audio and there are times all the instruments go flat in pitch! Considering (hoping to afford) a Mac. But then, as motet points out, I'd have to buy the latest Finale too.

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:15 am

motet wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:43 am
As Zuill alludes to, the downside of Finale on the Mac is that new versions of the MacOS almost always break Finale, so you're forced to upgrade to the latest version, and not just of Finale. Whereas I'm still using Finale 2014.5, Office 2010, and my favorite paint program, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, from 2004 (later sold to Corel, who made it crappy).
Hi, great that you brought this up. As I told Zuill, my Finale 2012 works better on my old Windows 8 PC. On my newer 10 PC, with 32 GB memory, instruments momentarily drop out and entire sections of instruments go flat in pitch. So, I've been hoping maybe I can afford a Apple refurbed Mac.

So, not only would I have to upgrade to the latest Finale, but you're saying I'd have to upgrade my Garritan and Aria too?

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:24 am

miker wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:57 am
Billy May wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:24 am
Thank you. That did the trick. All set. Up and running like usual. Have bookmarked that page. Now, all I gotta do is figure out how to afford a Mac. :lol:
Skip the lattes! It's worth it.

In all seriousness, refurbished is certainty a good way to go. You can get genuine Apple refurbs, at https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished

I would stay away from the products on Amazon, because they weren't done by Apple. Just my opinion...

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Billy May
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Post by Billy May » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:27 am

miker wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:57 am
Billy May wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:24 am
Thank you. That did the trick. All set. Up and running like usual. Have bookmarked that page. Now, all I gotta do is figure out how to afford a Mac. :lol:
Skip the lattes! It's worth it.

In all seriousness, refurbished is certainty a good way to go. You can get genuine Apple refurbs, at https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished

I would stay away from the products on Amazon, because they weren't done by Apple. Just my opinion...
A big thank you for that. Have never owned a Mac. I Googled a little and it seems a popular Mac choice for music production is the Retina 27" laptop type? Over 160 GB memory can be installed!?

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:19 pm

If you think you have problems with Finale on a Windows machine just wait until you get that Mac!
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

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miker
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Post by miker » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:36 pm

ebiggs1 wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:19 pm
If you think you have problems with Finale on a Windows machine just wait until you get that Mac!
Can you be specific, rather than anecdotal? The only problem that I see is, as Motet mentioned, having to keep a close eye on what programs may stop working after major system updates.
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BuonTempi
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Post by BuonTempi » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:42 pm

Billy May wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:15 am
So, not only would I have to upgrade to the latest Finale, but you're saying I'd have to upgrade my Garritan and Aria too?
Garritan Libraries haven't been updated for years. They are just files, apart from ARIA. There are free updates for the Aria player and plug-ins.

To be fair, most of the reasons for older Finale versions not working on newer Mac OS versions were due to bugs in Finale or seriously old code. It's really only the 32-bit cut-off (ok, and the PPC cut-off in 2010) that have been Apple's doing.

One would hope that with all the 'modernization' work they've been doing for the last 10 years, Finale 26 should be fairly robust for several years.

I haven't had a single app fail because of a Mac OS upgrade for years -- and where there have been minor problems, free updates have fixed them in due course.

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ebiggs1
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Post by ebiggs1 » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:47 pm

I was a beta tester for two different fairly large companies for years. I can confidently say 80% of all the issues we had were with Mac's.
Personally I have no preference for either because once up and running the software is essentially the same. A few minor differences.

The main most reason I have Windows is because of price. To get the same machine or equivalent in a Mac would be double, or more, the coat of what I have in my Windows, Dell machine. But like the response above if there is an OS change, or upgrade, or software upgrade, get ready for a challenge on your Mac.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

BuonTempi
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Post by BuonTempi » Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:24 pm

ebiggs1 wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:47 pm

The main most reason I have Windows is because of price. To get the same machine or equivalent in a Mac would be double, or more, the coat of what I have in my Windows, Dell machine. But like the response above if there is an OS change, or upgrade, or software upgrade, get ready for a challenge on your Mac.
Gross generalisations always have huge error bars. Yes, you can make a PC that Apple doesn't sell, but a similarly specced HP or Dell to an actual Mac product will be about the same price.

For most use cases, the choice is entirely personal preference. For a small margin, there are some use cases where one or other platform has advantages/disadvantages.
Last edited by BuonTempi on Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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