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Gmax file fails to open! Please tell me all isnt lost!

Timmo

Timmo

Messages
558
Country
newzealand
Hi there- I just tried to open my GMax project file (which is95% complete) and get the error: File Open Failed: Filename and path

Is there any hope/things to try or is it stuffed!?....I do have a back up from a while ago that I could revert to but I was literally another day from finishing it!
 
MichaelD

MichaelD

Messages
106
Country
us-texas
Is that the exact error? Before panicking, have you tried the (hopefully) obvious:

Are you trying to open the file from the "Recent Files" list in the File menu and did the file get moved (or renamed)?

What order are you opening? Open Gmax then "File > Open" or double clicking the .gmax file in Explorer? Try both.

Please say you at least have "Auto Backup" enabled (it's on by default). If so, look in the folder:

C:\Gmax\Autoback\...

You should see (by default) 3 files named:

Autobak1.gx, Autobak2.gx, Autobak3.gx

Try opening the most recent from the "File > Open" menu (you will have to select *.* all file types) to see these.

Hopefully one of these is in good working order and should be as recent as the last time you exited Gmax (without crashing).

Assuming this works, (and even if it doesn't) you will then go to the "Customize" menu > Preferences > Files tab, and check the box that says "Increment On Save" and get in the habit of hitting CTRL + S often. :)

Seriously though, I do hope you don't have to start over.

-Michael.


(but I wasn't kidding on that last point.. you will find it to be a God-send).
 
T

toprob

Messages
1,098
Sometimes you can 'merge' the damaged file into a blank project.
EDIT: if you get a list of object to merge, but the merge still fails, try merging just one object at a time to track down the faulty bits.
 
Last edited:
Timmo

Timmo

Messages
558
Country
newzealand
Michael: Yep that is the exact error (of course the "File name and path" is the actual path and file name of my project)

Ive tried opening from explorer, tried opening different ways in Gmax and ive tried moving it to a different disk location.

Ill try looking for the Autobackup data and see how that goes.
 
S

Skydvdan1

Messages
192
Country
germany
Timmo said:
Michael: Yep that is the exact error (of course the "File name and path" is the actual path and file name of my project)

Ive tried opening from explorer, tried opening different ways in Gmax and ive tried moving it to a different disk location.

Ill try looking for the Autobackup data and see how that goes.
Click to expand...

Did you ever find a solution to this issue? I'm having it now.
 
Timmo

Timmo

Messages
558
Country
newzealand
I found the autobacked up version and used that- I didnt loose too much luckily
 
Timmo

Timmo

Messages
558
Country
newzealand
I cant remember exactly....mine were still .gmax files with a _recover suffix on the file name?
 
S

Skydvdan1

Messages
192
Country
germany
Timmo said:
I cant remember exactly....mine were still .gmax files with a _recover suffix on the file name?
Click to expand...

Did you ever figure out what was causing the file not to open? For me it seems to happen somewhere around the time that it's textured and exported.
 
Blackbird

Blackbird

Messages
36
Country
unitedstates
This happened to me once, and I did lose some of my hard work. That is why you should ALWAYS save. Save your work, and burn it on a disc. Always!!!!
 
S

Skydvdan1

Messages
192
Country
germany
Blackbird said:
This happened to me once, and I did lose some of my hard work. That is why you should ALWAYS save. Save your work, and burn it on a disc. Always!!!!
Click to expand...

Saving doesn't help because I keep several copies of the same object but they all get corrupted.
 
n4gix

n4gix

Resource contributor
Messages
11,674
Country
unitedstates
Skydvdan1 said:
How did you open the autobacked one? Isn't it a gx file?
Click to expand...

They will load in GMax just fine. The .gx files are those that're created according to the schedule you set up in Customize/Preferences.

Just choose to display "All Files" and pick the .gx file with the latest timestamp.
 
S

Skydvdan1

Messages
192
Country
germany
n4gix said:
They will load in GMax just fine. The .gx files are those that're created according to the schedule you set up in Customize/Preferences.

Just choose to display "All Files" and pick the .gx file with the latest timestamp.
Click to expand...

Yeah I got that part figured out after Timmo told me about the autoback up. Thanks for the helping hand though. Now, any idea why it's not opening files?
 
n4gix

n4gix

Resource contributor
Messages
11,674
Country
unitedstates
Well, the "bad" part about the timed auto-back files is that they are simply "snapshots" of an in-progress modeling session, and given enough time, will simply begin overwriting themselves...

What this means, is that xxx1.gx will be "recycled" once the xxx5.gx file is written (assuming you have set up five as the number of auto-back files).

Consequently, if an error gets introduced into the modeling session, then eventually ALL of the .gx autoback files will contain that error! :yikes:

The main advantage of the autoback .gx files is for those times when Max/GMax unexpectedly crashes to desktop... with no option to attempt saving the scene. :rolleyes:

That is why it is critically important that the modeler also get into the habit of periodically saving an "incremental backup" manually.

My practice is to make an incremental save before beginning any "major alteration/change" to my project.

During the lifetime of an average aircraft project, it would not be unusual for me to make >200 incremental saves... :D

Granted, having so many incremental saves takes up a lot of hd space, so I do routinely purge the ten oldest files, leaving me about 20 'fallbacks' in place in case they are ever needed.
 
CrashGate3

CrashGate3

Messages
205
Country
unitedkingdom
A habit I've got into is whenever I save in gmax, I immediately go to 'open' and select the file I've just saved (don't actually open it though). If its been damaged, the thumbnail won't display in the file browser and you can just save it again - usually it saves ok the second time.
 
B

BrBlazer

Messages
478
Using the incremental save option is usually a good option too. A tip I got on this very forum a couple of years back.
 
M

Mace

Messages
997
Country
us-missouri
This same error just hit me!

Fortunately it was on a minor object file, that I hadn't done much work on (about 1-2 hours worth)

No recovery was possible from the /autoback files.

I keep up with my backups, but I hadn't yet backed up that object.

I still don't understand exactly what causes this error; this object consisted of six boxes--that was all so far. I did do a Boolean operation to cut an opening in one of them--perhaps that introduced the error?
 
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