hi all,My AutoCAD drawing file (. dwg) has become damaged or corrupt… File will not open. How fix it?Many thanks in advance!

Read this, follow the advice and pray.  http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/AutoCAD-File-Corruption.html
John Connor2015-03-24 17:40:50

Use the autosave files to recover your work1. Go to Tools --> Options2. Inside Options go to the “Files” Tab (far left)3. Inside the files tab go to: “Automatic Save File Location” and see where the autosave files are stored. (mine where stored at C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Temp)4. Then access that folder and try to find a file with the same file name but different extension. (The autosave files should have a either a .BAK or a .SV$ extension) (if you can’t see the folder, you need to go to Tools --> folder Options --> View --> and Make sure "show hidden files and folders" is SELECTED) .5. Check the "date modified" of those files, if the date and time makes sense according to when you had the last file crshes, there is a good chance that those files contain the information you need, so there is no need to redraw everything.6. Change the file extension of the file you think it might be the good one from .bak or .sv$ to .dwg (to be able to change the file extension you need to be able to see it. To do that, on any folder go to Tools --> Folder Options --> View --> and make sure that "Hide extensions for known file types" is UNCHECKED)If your auto-save feature is disabled, you can enable it in AutoCAD by going to Tools --> Options --> "Open and Save" Tab --> and there make sure that the "Automatic save" on the lower left corner is active and preferably set to every 10 minutes or less. To easily change the time of the autosave feature, use the SAVETIME system variableCouple helpful resources to get more knowledge about alternative ways of solution...http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-2013-2014-2015-2016/need-assistance-with-recover-dwg-file/td-p/5129136http://www.filerepairforum.com/forum/cad-tools/cad-tools-aa/dwg/1437-dwg-file-error-at-openinghttps://dwg.recoverytoolbox.com/ Recovery Toolbox for DWG

georg: 1) I would follow the advice as given by AutoDesk at their website (click on the link I provided previously) about how to repair a corrupt drawing and not the advice given above by domon who is basically plugging a program called the recoverytoolbox.  He's trying to make the program sound legit by including links to other sites where he offers the same advice.  It's a scam to get you to part with your money when the advice offered by AutoDesk is absolutely free.2) To learn more about bak, sv$ and ac$ files please refer to this article by AutoDesk.  It too is free.http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Understanding-AutoCAD-backup-and-autosave-files.htmlFinally, even a .sc$ file can be corrupt or incomplete so there is no guarantee changing the file extension to .dwg is going to work although it is worth a try.Want to avoid problems like this altogether?  Manually save your drawing using the SAVE or SAVEAS command on a frequent basis and copy the file to a flash drive, CD/DVD or a network drive.  Consider it a form of insurance.


John Connor2015-03-26 12:38:58

FYI - domon, or whatever he calls himself, has tried the same trick elsewhere but his threads have been taken down.