If media becomes offline, what is the likely cause?

• A. The files are read-only
• B. The media is offline due to a temporary glitch
• C. File links broken
• D. The cache is corrupted

Answer: (C)

When media goes offline in DaVinci Resolve, the most likely reason is that the file links used by the project are broken. Resolve stores exact paths to each media file, and if a file is moved, renamed, or a drive is disconnected, those paths no longer point to the real files. The media then appears offline until you relink or reconnect the files to their new location.

Other possibilities don’t usually cause this state: a read-only file doesn’t prevent Resolve from finding it, a temporary glitch may disappear on retry but doesn’t explain a persistent offline status, and cache corruption affects playback data rather than the actual file paths Resolve uses to locate media. To fix, locate the missing clips and relink them to their current locations.