Funny, lost my entire project!!!!

Please, I hope someone can help. I'm using Autocad 2005. I save my project every 5 minutes, no problem. I boot down at the end of the day and boot back up in the mornings, no problems. All of a sudden, after three weeks of work, all but the last day of work has disappeared completely from my project file! I've tried "drawing utilities-recovery" and it finds nothing wrong. I do see pieces of the missing work in a thumbnail preview before opening the drawing. Also my backup file is unreadable "make sure the file exists..." is the error message. Anyone know what the heck happened? Does anyone recommend I hire an expert to come out and take a look? Hopeless? Thanks you very much!

Sounds like your using Xrefs and the reference files have been moved.

Only thing I would suggest if you have not already done so you can look for the Auto save files if you have the auto save feature turned on in autocad. These files have a sv$ file extension. They can be renamed to a dwg file extension.

Hope this helps some.

give us some more info about the type of file structure you use for the project. I.e. weather it is in one file it is a group of files etc.

to use th bakup files you have to rename them from .bak to.dwg also it may not work becaus eit will show you the last days work probably.

I usually have the habbit of deleting .bak files some days & in that case some times i get 2-3 dyas back work from recycle bin if required

Also a shot in the dark, it may work, open a blank drawing & bring in the content of your project file into this drawing using 'insert' command. it will recover the model space dat if it exists in the file.

AutoSnaps

 

Magnet. Attracts and locks the cursor onto the nearest detected snap points. Provides a visual cue, similar to snapping to a grid.

how this relates to OP's question.

may be you wanted to write this in this thread http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26960

Thank you Dipali. The hand was quicker than the mind.

thank you gentlemen. I discovered the hidden .bak files in the hard-to-find-for-boneheads sv$ folder. Recovered my entire project! Lesson learned. Us CAD illiterates really appreciate your help. Keep up the good advice! If you ever come to California, I'll teach you how to surf... just kidding, I don't surf, its a bad stereotype..

Something you may want to think about it is setting up a folder for your Autosave files in a location easy for you to find. Then go into the options and the Files tab. From there look for "Automatic Save File Location" and direct it to save the files in the folder you set up. This will help in the future not to mention if its in a location you see everyday you can go in and occasionally clean out old files which will free up space.

Glad you retrieved your project.

Great to hear, "project saved."

Like sab423 wrote, set up a folder and direct "Automatic Save File Location" to point to the file you've just set up.

And that's why AutoCAD gives you the option to save a .bak file too. Cheap insurance if you ask me. They can always be cleaned out at the end of the day, week, month or project.