---
title: "How to Fix Relink Media Errors in DaVinci Resolve"
author: "Alex Johnson"
category: Troubleshooting
excerpt: "Direct solutions for fixing failed media relinking and offline clips in DaVinci Resolve."
image: "/cutsio-thumbnail.svg"
tags: "DaVinci Resolve, Relink Media, Offline Clips, Troubleshooting"
---

Relink media errors in DaVinci Resolve are typically caused by missing file extensions, drastically altered file names, or missing timecode metadata.

Here are the direct methods to fix media that refuses to relink.

## How do you force a deep search for missing media?
If the standard "Relink Media" button fails to find your files, DaVinci Resolve's basic search algorithm might be looking in the wrong subfolders.

To force a deep search:
1. Select the offline clips in the **Media Pool**.
2. Right-click and select **Relink Selected Clips**.
3. Choose the highest-level folder possible (e.g., your entire external hard drive, not just a specific project folder).
4. Click **Select Folder**. Resolve will now scan every single subfolder on the drive to find the matching file.

## How do you fix relinking errors caused by changed file extensions?
If you converted a `.mp4` file to a `.mov` file outside of Resolve, the software will refuse to relink it because it considers it a completely different file.

To relink a file with a changed extension:
1. Go to the **Media Pool**.
2. Right-click the offline clip and select **Replace Selected Clip**.
3. Navigate to the new `.mov` file on your hard drive and select it.
4. Click **Open**. Resolve will force the timeline to use the new file, ignoring the extension mismatch.

## How do you relink media with missing timecodes?
If you are trying to relink proxy files to original camera files, but it fails instantly, the files likely lack matching timecode metadata.

To fix timecode mismatch errors during relinking:
1. Go to the **Media Pool** and select the offline clips.
2. Click the **List View** icon at the top right of the Media Pool.
3. Look at the **Start TC** and **End TC** columns for your offline clips. If they start at `00:00:00:00`, the files lack timecode.
4. You cannot use the standard relink tool. You must right-click and use **Replace Selected Clip** manually for each file, or re-transcode the proxies using software that preserves timecode metadata.

## How do you fix relink errors caused by renamed files?
If you completely changed the name of a video file on your hard drive, DaVinci Resolve will not be able to find it automatically.

To relink renamed files:
1. Go to the **Media Pool**.
2. Select the offline clip.
3. Open the **Inspector** panel and click the **File** tab.
4. Look at the **File Name** field to see exactly what Resolve is looking for.
5. Either rename the file on your hard drive back to this exact name, or right-click the clip in Resolve and use **Replace Selected Clip** to point it to the new name.