Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project database

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gregoryw

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Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project database

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 12:58 am

Hi,

We accidentally deleted a project in DaVinci Team Project (not local file based database).
We do not have the postgresql backup from a recent past.

Question:

is the project's data still available in the postgresql database and can be recovered? or once it is deleted, it is deleted from the postgresql database as well and is gone forever?

Thanks!
Greg
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Dwaine Maggart

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 2:09 am

Nope. If you delete a project in a PostgreSQL database, it's gone.
Dwaine Maggart
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gregoryw

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 3:26 am

Dwaine Maggart wrote:Nope. If you delete a project in a PostgreSQL database, it's gone.


thanks Dwaine for your quick reply...
just to clarify it is not directly deleted from the Postgresql via pgadmin... it is deleted by an editor on her workstation via DaVinci resolve with the team project loaded... in this case, is the deleted project still available in postgresql?
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Dwaine Maggart

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 4:56 pm

If you delete a project from a Network Project Library on a Resolve system, it is deleted in PostgreSQL.

No pgAdmin needed.
Dwaine Maggart
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waltervolpatto

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 5:18 pm

gregoryw wrote:Hi,

We accidentally deleted a project in DaVinci Team Project (not local file based database).
We do not have the postgresql backup from a recent past.

Question:

is the project's data still available in the postgresql database and can be recovered? or once it is deleted, it is deleted from the postgresql database as well and is gone forever?

Thanks!
Greg


Do you have a backup by any chance?
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gregoryw

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 9:18 pm

waltervolpatto wrote:
gregoryw wrote:Hi,

Do you have a backup by any chance?


Unfortunately no recent backup that has the project...we will exercise regular/daily backup moving forward...
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gregoryw

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 9:19 pm

Dwaine Maggart wrote:If you delete a project from a Network Project Library on a Resolve system, it is deleted in PostgreSQL.

No pgAdmin needed.


Thanks for clarification on this...We will exercise daily backup of the team project moving forward...
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Joe Shapiro

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Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project database

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 9:23 pm

Another good reason for putting them in the Trash instead. And by Trash I mean a Trash folder in the database.

And of course I expect someone will chime in and say the user shouldn't delete something if they don't mean it. For those people: do you turn off the Trash on your computer 'cause you're just that good?
Director, Editor, Problem Solver. Been cutting indie features for 23 years. FCP editor from version 2 to 7.
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gregoryw

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 9:48 pm

Joe Shapiro wrote:Another good reason for putting them in the Trash instead. And by Trash I mean a Trash folder in the database.


That is a good idea! we will do this... thanks!
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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 10:00 pm

I'm far from a Resolve expert but do know about computers. Seriously consider some type of automated backup to another device. On my Linux systems I use Rsnapshot. It can do periodic backups without any human intervention. You can decide how often and it stores versions from multiple hours / days / weeks / months depending on how it is set up. It can also run a script to do a database dump and back that up. I generally back up on a schedule of how much work I would not want to lose. Some things are daily and some even hourly.

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/backup.html

If you have a backup system, you have to check periodically to assure you can actually restore what you have. Also, some protection of backups from malware should be in place. Best is media that goes offline. If it is not connected, malware can't erase it no matter how deep it gets into your system.

Regards,

Mark
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waltervolpatto

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 10:14 pm

Joe Shapiro wrote:Another good reason for putting them in the Trash instead. And by Trash I mean a Trash folder in the database.

And of course I expect someone will chime in and say the user shouldn't delete something if they don't mean it. For those people: do you turn off the Trash on your computer 'cause you're just that good?


Yep, we have a folder called [zzz_old] where we drag the unused project, then when is a good moment we will delete them.

But i also do duplicate the project and add a erosion number every now and then

[projectname_feature_r01_v01]
[projectname_feature_r01_v02]
[projectname_feature_r01_v03]

And so on….
W10-19043.1645- Supermicro MB C9X299-PGF - RAM 128GB CPU i9-10980XE 16c 4.3GHz (Oc) Water cooled
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Resolve 18.5.1 / fusion studio 18
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gregoryw

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostThu Mar 23, 2023 11:05 pm

marklg wrote:I'm far from a Resolve expert but do know about computers. Seriously consider some type of automated backup to another device. On my Linux systems I use Rsnapshot. It can do periodic backups without any human intervention. You can decide how often and it stores versions from multiple hours / days / weeks / months depending on how it is set up. It can also run a script to do a database dump and back that up. I generally back up on a schedule of how much work I would not want to lose. Some things are daily and some even hourly.

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/backup.html

If you have a backup system, you have to check periodically to assure you can actually restore what you have. Also, some protection of backups from malware should be in place. Best is media that goes offline. If it is not connected, malware can't erase it no matter how deep it gets into your system.

Regards,

Mark


Cool! Thanks for sharing your experience!
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Marc Wielage

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Re: Recover a deleted project in DaVinci team project databa

PostFri Mar 24, 2023 12:31 am

I commiserate -- we've all made this mistake... but hopefully only once.

Our advice:

• keep Live Save on
• manually save a few times during the session
• export a backup DRP session file once or twice a day (especially if it's a longterm project)
• keep the backup DRP file in different places, like a Cloud backup or on a thumb drive.
• consider using the automatic backup option, available in the User Prefs -> Project Save & Load options.

We're constantly vigilant about backups. Particularly for long-term projects (anything you're working on for more than a day or a week), I think it's a wise idea to manually export a backup at the end of each day. Create a "Color" folder in the source media folder of your project, and add the date at the end of the file name, like "client_project_episode_today's_date." Now, you can see at a glance what was done on any given day, and import that session and revert back if you really had to, or if you just needed to compare one version with another (as Walter suggests above).

As a double-secret backup, you can copy this file to a thumbdrive that goes in your pocket or to a Cloud backup. Over a period of time, you'll be able to check each version, in the (unlikely) event the client says, "hey, I prefer last Thursday's version to today's." You can backup sessions either with a Save-As, or with the Export function within the Project Database. In some cases, we'll do a "belt and suspenders" backup and save XMLs of each timeline edit list as well. In addition,

Resolve 17 & 18 can export individual timelines in the "DRT" format. You also have the option of using a Cloud database, provided you have a reliable internet connection. Resolve's built-in Live Save and Backup features generally work well, and both are covered at length in the v18.1 manual, Chapter 3: "Managing Projects & Databases," starting on page 65.

It may seem complicated, but it's honestly harder to explain than to do, and it's easy to deal with on a day to day basis. In 12 years, I don't think I've ever lost more than about 4 hours of work (total) with Resolve, and that was because of a drive failure -- not a Resolve problem per se. It's generally been a rock-solid system for us, and we've only had to resort to using the backup sessions maybe 5 or 6 times, just to solve a very specific (short) problem.
marc wielage, csi • VP/color & workflow • chroma | hollywood

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