Production workflow · DaVinci Resolve workflow
DaVinci Resolve: original path points to the wrong volume
How do I fix an old drive path in DaVinci Resolve before recovery?
Short answer
First mount the drive and compare paths, then relink: in DaVinci Resolve, select the offline clips, use Relink Media or Change Source Folder and map the old folder path to the new volume. Check one clip's name and duration afterwards. A recovery scan only makes sense if the file is missing on every mounted drive.
The situation
DaVinci Resolve expects a drive name, letter or folder that no longer matches the mounted storage.
Resolve remembers whole folder paths, which is why a renamed or re-lettered volume knocks out an entire shoot at once rather than single clips. The footage has not changed; the address written in the project has, and addresses can be rewritten.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Projects that travel between workstations are the classic case: the same media sits under a different mount point on each machine, so opening the project elsewhere marks everything offline. A drive letter that shifted after a reboot, a volume renamed for clarity, or media restored from a backup into a new folder tree produce the same result for a whole folder at once.
Absolute paths can break even while the file remains intact elsewhere. For DaVinci Resolve, this matters because DaVinci Resolve can keep references or helper media without containing a complete independent original
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Mount the media volume and check its current name and letter, then keep the same connection order for future sessions on this machine.
- 2
Compare the folder path stored with the offline clips against the folder that now holds the footage, down to the exact subfolder names.
- 3
Select the offline clips in the Media Pool and map the old folder to the new one, so the whole shoot reconnects in a single operation.
- 4
Check one reconnected clip for name, duration and codec, and reserve a read-only scan for clips that are absent from every mounted volume.
Do not move or rename the media folders to match the old path while the project is open, and do not relink to a proxy folder by mistake. Both leave a project that looks connected while pointing at the wrong material.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
Remapping only helps while the files exist on some mounted disk. File Recovery Hero reads exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 volumes and uncompressed images read-only; it cannot address a shared network volume, an unmounting drive or encrypted media.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The remap has worked when no clip is flagged offline after closing and reopening the project, the stored paths all name the current volume, and a spot check confirms the durations still match the original camera files rather than a shorter transcode.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can DaVinci Resolve workflow be recovered in this situation?+
Resolve remembers whole folder paths, which is why a renamed or re-lettered volume knocks out an entire shoot at once rather than single clips. The footage has not changed; the address written in the project has, and addresses can be rewritten. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not move or rename the media folders to match the old path while the project is open, and do not relink to a proxy folder by mistake.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.