Do I need all those media cache files in my user profile?

Hello Forum,
When I installed Win 7 and Adobe Production Premium on a 120Gig SSD, I made this mistake of not putting only the essential part of Windows on this System and Apps drive. (I have separate 1Tb HDDs for media and rendering, and work with compressed HD files). I noticed that my user profile has grown enormous, to the point of filling up the SSD, and when I searched to see why, the main problem is a substantial accumulation of media cache files in the folder...
user/App Data/Roaming/Common/Media Cache Files
Judging by their names, sizes, and dates, they seem to pretty much replicate all my raw media files on my media HDD, from all the projects I've done since last summer. This folder is about 40 gigs.
So what is the function of this media cache folder? Can I move it, or direct PP to put this stuff on some other drive than my SSD? Do I even need the contents of this folder? All my scratch files go to the F: Rendering HDD.
Thanks.
PS: If any of you have suggestions on how to move my user profiles off the boot/apps SSD to one of the HDDS, without reinstalling everything, I'm all ears.

To follow up, I now see this is a product of running AME, and AME gives me options of where to put all this stuff. Can I just change those options to my F: Rendering Drive, and move the contents of this folder there?

Similar Messages

Media Cache Files? Do I need them?

I was checking what's taking place of my hard drive and found about 22 GB of hard disk space occupied from this folder
C:\Users\Me\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Common\Media Cache Files
In this Media Cache Files folder there were 459 files of type .cfa and .pek files. 13 of the .cfa files were about 1.6 GB size each
What are these files for and do I need to keep them?

Read about 'em:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WSa41b87baf39dd9b0-4a7aee25125bce32690-80 00.html
Bottom line, if you clean the media cache using one of the apps (Encore or Premiere for example) and the source files are still on line, it won't delete them. You can manually delete those pek and cfa, and if you open a project with those files, it will recreate them.
Note that Encore help only says:
Clean Database . Frees up additional disc space by removing old files in the media cache database shared by Adobe audio and video applications. The database tracks media accelerator files that improve performance and speed. For example, if Adobe Premiere Pro creates a conformed audio file, and you import media with that audio into Encore, Encore uses the file from Adobe Premiere Pro instead of creating a new conformed file. The media cache database informs Encore of the conformed file’s location.

Do I realy need the Media cache files for archiving

Hi I am arc hiving some projects and the Media Cache Files are huge over 7GB. The project this is from is a 2hr dvd so I expect big files, but I can't fit 7GB on a data DVD for backup. Can I delete this cache folder and will Encore DVD 2.0 rebuild these files the next time I try to access the project?
Matt

I wouldn't delete any if it if you want to absolutely positively guarantee it all works later. However, the PK files and CFA files can be deleted if you like, and it shouldn't bother Encore too much. Next time you open the project they will be automatically re-created (no way around it), so take that into consideration as far as your time is concerned - you will have to wait while those suckers are re-built.
If you have transcoded assets, Encore can get fussy looking for them, even if you have the original untranscoded assets recognized. My choice...delete the CFA files and PK files and archive the rest for safety. The CFA files take up a huge chunk anyways, so that should help with 1 or 2 GB of space.

[BUG] Media Cache Files

Windows7 x64, SP1
Media Cache Files recreating each time when I open a project. But when I close Premier Pro- this folder was not cleared automatically. This is bug for end-user because this folder "eat" huge disk space.
Who know why and how it can be cleared? Only advanced users. And the rest will see "out of space".
You need to fix Premier Pro so Media Cache Files folder can be cleared after Premier Pro is closed.

If the cache cleared every shut-down, it wouldn't be 'cache'.
Clearing cache between projects is a fine idea. Here are some other thoughts on the subject.
Clean those Adobe Media Cache Files by Scott Simmons
MediaStorm Guide to the Adobe Premiere Pro Media Cache Database

What are the advantages/disadvantages to "Save Media Cache files next to originals when possible?

I just noticed that I have over 7,000 files and 46.7 GB in my Media Cache Files folder. I know I can just delete all the files in this folder and Premiere will automatically rebuild the files when needed. But, are there any advantages or disadvantages to saving the files next to the originals? I assume that means that it will write these files wherever I'm storing my media files...

I'd say storing your cache with your media would decrease your performance. Having them on separate volumes/drives means that Premiere can read/write from them at the same time, instead of having to read/write one or the other, one at a time.
Additionally, PPro is create cache files from your original media, and it's always best practice to read from one drive, while writing to another.
TL;DR It's for Performance. ! ! ! !

Can I delete adobe/common/media cache files?

I've a seriously shrinking hard disk. Have found 20 gig of data in my Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Media Cache Files.
Am I right in assuming I can safely delete these files and if I need them again, all apps that created them (e.g. Adobe Premiere Pro etc) will just rebuild them?

I recommend you to use specific software like Onyx or CleanMyMac to delete cache files. These programs aren't perfect, but it's very difficult to have a problem with them.

Video media cache files

Lightroom is using up a chunk of C drive storing media cache files for some video clips that I have in with the rest of my media. As of now, I don't have any plans to use lightroom to edit video clips. Is there any way to have lightroom ignore video files and prevent it from generating all these video cache files?

You can easily delete the media cache files using normal OS delete command. Any video file already in Lr catalog are easily removed. Remember to use the 'Remove form Catalog' option not 'Delete form Disk'. In future, the video files can be unchecked in Import window. This prevents them from being imported into Lr. However, you'll need to copy them to your hard disk manually if on a flash card.

Media cache files: Premiere Elements 9 with SSD

Hello you fine Adobe people.
I apologize if this has been asked before, if so please could somebody direct me to an answer?
I have Premiere Elements 9 on Windows 7. My issue is pretty simple: my shiny new SSD is getting full of temp files from the "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Common\Media Cache Files" location every time I work on a project. I have set all other cache items I can see in "Preferences" to my mechanical disk, but I am alarmed to see this folder filling up with huge files on my SSD. Aside from the unneccessary reads and writes, it will be filled up in no time. It seems in Premiere Pro you can direct this folder to an external drive, but I cannot find this option in Premiere Elements.
Please tell me there is a way to move the media cache files directory to another drive than C:\ ?
Thank you in advance
A Craven

alistair78
The answer is that you need Premiere Elements answers for Premiere Elements questions.
The conformed audio files (cfa and pek) are stored in the Media Cache Files Folder. By default, that folder is found in Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 64 bit.
Libraries/Documents/Adobe/Premiere Elements/10 (if 10 is your version). You set the save location for the Media Cache Files Folder in Premiere Elements Editor workspace Edit Menu/Preferences/Scratch Disks and the "Media Cache" category.
The conformed video files (mcdb) are can be accessed via the Premiere Elements Editor workspace Edit Menu/Preferences/Media and its Media Cache Database area. There you will find a Clean up to clear them and set limits. The actual files (which have a .mcdb file extension) can be found via the path shown in that area. This appears to be an unchangeable location.
Preview files from rendering of Timeline content to get the best possible preview at play back of the Timeline content in the Edit area monitor are stored in the Adobe Premiere Elements Previews File Folder. By default, that folder is found in Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 64 bit Libaries/Documents/Adobe/Premiere Elements/10 (if 10 is your version). You set that save location for the Adobe Premiere Elements Elements Previews File Folder in Premiere Elements Editor workspace Edit Menu/Preferences/Scratch Disks and the Video Previews category.
Please let us know if you are now clear about Premiere Elements and how it relates to Media Cache et al.
Please ask if any further questions on this or need clarification.
ATR

How to manage media cache files in Premiere Pro CS5.5?

I hope my question is not too complicated but I still haven't figured this one out.
Here goes:
Whenever I open a project in Premiere Pro, the media cache files used are always the same ones from a prior project.
For example, if I open project ABC, the scratch disk used, the media cache and media cache files are from the ABC project file.
Then, if I open another document, XYZ, the scratch disk and the media cache files are again stored in the ABC project file.
HOW DO I CHANGE THE SETTINGS SO THE SCRATCH DISK AND MEDIA CACHE ARE THE ONES SPECIFIC TO THE PARTICULAR PROJECT I OPEN?
So I don't have to move all the cache files manually or change the settings in Premiere every time I open a project.
Sorry for the long description. Thanks for your help. Daniel Martel. Quebec. Canada.

You can't (unless you want to store them next to the originals, a proposition I find untenable). Some of the scratch disk settings are stored at the project level (things like video and audio previews), but the one's you're talking about are global - one setting for the whole program.
I don't like that arrangement myself. ALL scratch disks should be stored per project.
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

"Media Cache Files" is a huge folder - is it necessary data or temporary data that I could delete?

My folder "Media Cache Files" (found in: profiles > appdata > roaming > adobe > common > media cache files) is currently over 200 GB big and I was wondering whether all of this data is necessary for my projects (or for anything else?) or whether it is temporary data that I can delete without causing any problems for my saved projects or the programme itself? Does anybody know? Thanks in advance!!!

Mylenium, Thanks for your immediate reply! This helps me a lot! ... and my laptop will be oh so happy to have less GB.

CC 2014 Media Cache Files duplication...

Windows 8 Pro
CC 2014
3930k
Titan Black
SSD C:, raid, and storage
As of the latest update for CC 2014, any time I open any audio file from CC with Audition it is now saving a PFK and Extracted audio file next to the original in addition to the folder I have designated for these files.. I do NOT have the box checked for "Save media cache files next to originals when possible".
I didn't notice this problem until almost finishing a very large project with hundreds of sound effects that now have PFK files and Extracted files sitting next to them all over my effects and music folders.
This problem is NOT happening is plain old CC... only 2014.
I have tried pointing it to a new folder, and have also tried checking and unchecking the box.
Anyone else have this issue? Any possible solution I have not tried?
Thanks

Win 7 64
CC 2014
3930k
Titan Black
All SSD
64 gigs ram
Exactly the same issue as Jeckle. Without having the box checked "save media cache files next to originals", every single file I've imported into 2014 has created a pkf file directly next to the original, as well as in the location I specified for the cache. This is eating my drive space pretty quick. Anyone?
Tested with fresh project file in both CC and CC 2014 - no problems at all with CC...
Any help appreciated...

Premier Media Cache Files eating up Drive Space

Using Premiere Pro CS 5.5, Media Cache files are eating up the Boot Drive. I keep media and render files on 2 additional internal drives. When I tried to move the Media Cache files from inside Premiere Pro, it resulted in an inability to read the drives from the Startup> Computer menu on the Desktop. This window would open but it was blank with green bar scrolling across the top (as though the computer was trying to read the 3 internal drives. I had to restore the System to correct the problem. How do I reset the Media Cache files to my Render drive which has the most available space without causing a read system problem. When can one safely delete the Media Cache files?
I was an FCP user and all we had to do was delete the render files and/or the media files to get space back. Never had a read system problem from it.

You can do three things.
1 Go to EDIT - Preferences - Media and CLEAN your cache.
2. You can also browse via explorer to the MEDIA CACH. The directory path is shown there in the screen where you CLEAN.
Usually the name is ..../user/yourname/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Common/MediaCache - the path is shown on that screen and then delete items and render files etc.
3. At that screen, you can also change your Media CACHE to be stored with your Project Files and Autosave files.
4. I think you can delete them anytime, because even if you delete them. Adobe will re-create them next time you open the project, but it will want to relink. But maybe double cheque on this before doing. I have deleted render files out of here with no negative effect. But there are also other files here. That I would want
to do more investigation before deleted. But as it is relinking..don't touch ANYTHING until it completes relinking because that seems to cause the sound and vision to go out of sync. It seems a bit of a bug in Adobe.

You don't need all those previews

Seriously! You really don't need all those previews.
I have an article up now on when you actually do need previews and how to make them when needed:
http://homepage.mac.com/bagelturf/
More on the mysteries of previews soon.

Well, I don't think it is correct that previews are
only used for slide shows. For example, previews are
used for on-screen display in a situation where you
store your master images on a separate volume and
this volume is offline. Previews can be extremely
useful if the storage capacity on your computer is
limited (e.g laptop).
MacBook Pro 15
Mac OS X
(10.4.7)
Of course, but that's not a situation I will deal with as I don't use a laptop. Also, you can make just those previews that you will need for a presentation. I don't (for my purposes, yours may differ) see a need to keep 20 or 30 thousand preview files on my hardrive. It certainly faster and more economical to kick out the 4 or 500 previews you may need for a presentation than maintaining a whole image library worth.
Also, though it would eventually finish, as the preview's were being generated it bogged down my machine and made Aperture function like it did in version 1.1.2, sticky sliders, beachballs etc. heck even with the previews this version was still much better than the last. W/O the prev. generation, my iMac G5 is like a brand new fast computer. The speed and functionally gain is night and day. Now maybe when it finished making the thousands of previews it was generating the speed-up would occur, I suspect it would. But all those previews, to me, are just a waste of resources.

How do I move all my files from one User Profile (account) into another? I needed to create a new account and want all of my files accessible in the new one.

How do I move all my files from one User Profile (account) into another?
I needed to create a new account and want all of my files accessible in the new one.

ok, what you're learning right now is 101 unix, which is good. Unix is a good thing
now: the way unix works, and macos (which uses unix underneath) the files and folders work like a hierarchy.
the start of that tree is /
so, if you were to do:
cd /
(cd means change directory)
it will bring you at the highest branch of the file system.
cd /Users
will bring you to where all the users are.
to see whats in /Users you can use your friend ls command
ls means list files/directories
so:
cd /Users
ls -la
(the -la here means show all (even hidden) and long format (very verbose)) this flag is very optional.
you will see
fred
user2
for example.
if you want to see the desktop of user2 you would change directory to it then list the files.
for example:
cd /Users/user2/Desktop
Note that the files and directory are case sensitive, so, desktop is NOT the same as Desktop, or DESKTOP
ls -la
you should then be able to see everything in users2 desktop
you could have done as well the same thing in smaller steps, for example:
cd /
cd Users
cd user2
cd Desktop
this is the equivalent of cd /Users/user2/Desktop
So, for your file, i don't know where it was, but know that if you log in as user2, it will directly put you in
/Users/user2
which most likely the file you had created from the other user was in /Users/user1
if you copied all the files from /Users/original_user to /Users/secondUser
most likely yes, all your mail, bookmarks etc would be copied over.
so in your case.
sudo chown -R seconduser:staff /Users/secondUser
should work
Remember that if you start a path with the character / it means start from the root of the file system, at the highest top you can ever get.
so
cd /Users/fred
is not the same as
cd Users/fred
unless you were in / already
i know it may be confusing at first but it's actually very logical if you play with it.
to simplify, think of it that / means C:\ on windows
you can't go any higher than C:\ (in a way)
if you're unsure which directory you're currently in, you can always type:
pwd
it will tell you where you are.
for example:
cd /
pwd
this shows /
cd Users
pwd
this now shows /Users
cd /System/Library
pwd will show /System/Library
cd /
cd /Users
cd fred
cd Library
pwd will show /Users/fred/Library
unix can look very scary but it's actually vital and very necessary to do tasks sometimes that would take for ever to do via the windows. This is good learning.
so for the myfile you had created, i can't tell you where it is, at the time you created, if you can do a pwd command you'll know the path,
ls -la (this shows all the files where you are)
if you see myfile in the list
do a pwd
whatever is return, the real location of the file would be:
whatever pwd returned / myfile
I hope that makes sense.

Why is this massive media cache file on my C drive?

Running Adobe CS5 (NOT 6) on a Windows 7 PC.
I thought I had made sure that everything was on my D or E drives since my C drive is an SSD and I don't want anything but the basics on it.
Well, I have nearly 4GB of Media Cache eating up SSD space and no way to know if I can delete it, how to delete it, how to move that directory, etc.
Whenever I start a project I have my source files on my E drive and I list my D drive as my scratch drive.
Here is a screenshot showing the exact location of this huge Media Cashe folder.
Gents, I'd greatly appreciate some assistance. My SSD is being eaten alive.
Can this stuff be deleted? If so, how? What exactly IS that stuff and why is it on the C drive?

Hi msp1518,
Thanks for the posting adobe forums,
These are the files for conforming audio, generating peak files for audio.
Yes, you can delete these files once you have completed the project in premiere pro.
Just, close the premiere pro : Just delete the files inside the Media cache files and Media Cache folder.
Regards,
Sandeep

Do I need all those media cache files in my user profile?

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