Can't access file database: Database Error: Disk I/O error

  • Live Versions: All
  • Operating System: All

The following error messages might appear while launching Live or while accessing the Live browser:

  • Can't Access Database: Disk I/O Error
  • Can't access file database: Database Error: Disk I/O error
  • Database disk image is malformed

To solve the problem you'll need to delete the Live Database.

  1. Close Live
  2. Access the Database folder for the Live version currently in use. This folder is located here:
    Live 11, 10, Windows: \Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Ableton\Live Database\
    Live 11, 10, Mac: /Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Ableton/Live Database/
    Live 9, Windows: \Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Ableton\Live 9.7.5\Database\
    Live 9, Mac: /Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Ableton/Live 9.7.5/Database/

    Note: these folders are usually hidden by default. Here's how to access them
  3. Delete the content of the folder, leaving the folder itself in place
  4. Restart Live

At this point, Live will need to re-index all the content added to Places. As soon as the process progresses, your presets will start to appear in the respective categories.

Ableton offers these in-depth help and learning resources: