File not valid #2

[enemigoman]

Hello. I have the exact same problem as pgw in this thread: http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?73087-quot-drawing-file-not-valid-quot. It's just that I didn't want to crash in it.

 

Let me wrap things up. We have three old drawings (saved in the year 2009) that we are trying to open with AutoCAD 2013 and we keep getting the message "Drawing File is not valid".

 

I have done the following:

 

Files do have a file size. Sometimes, files have 0 KB size, but not these ones.

 

We tried to open the files using AutoCAD 2013, AutoCAD Architecture 2012 and DWG TrueView (downloaded today!) and in all instances we get the same message.

 

We tried recovering and the message is "unable to recover the drawing file"

 

We tried inserting as a block and, in the command line we get "...was created by an incompatible version of AutoCAD *Invalid*" Again, the file is genuinely older than our current AutoCAD.

 

I followed the other thread's suggestion to convert to text and, while it does not immediately start with AC1015, that is 8th line, preceeded by 0, SECTION, 2, HEADER, 9, $ACADVER, 1, all of which is written in their own lines.

 

I'm out of tricks here and I see that the previously mentioned post, did not provide a definite answer. I was naively hoping that someone would have come up with a newer idea in this month and a half. Thanks anyway.

[Cad64]

These files were created by someone in your company? Or did they come from another office?

 

It sounds like those files may be corrupt.

[enemigoman]

They were created by someone in my company, but I was not involved. Thanks.

[Cad64]

Do you have printed copies of these drawings, because if all of your previous efforts to recover them have failed, you may end up having to redraw them.

[enemigoman]

I was fearing that response. No, we don't. In-house, it is mandatory that people at least make one pdf copy of every delivery. Not these time. Hello Mr Murphy. Thanks anyway.

[Murph_map]

I was fearing that response. No, we don't. In-house, it is mandatory that people at least make one pdf copy of every delivery. Not these time. Hello Mr Murphy. Thanks anyway.

 

YES. What you don't like my laws?

 

One thing you might try is open the files in a text editor and see if the first two characters (and only readable to human eyes) are AC followed by 4 numbers.

[enemigoman]

Hello Murph.

 

Indeed, I don't like your laws I see AC1015 in the file-as-text content; however, it is not the first thing there. As previously stated, I see it like this:

 

0

SECTION

2

HEADER

9

$ACADVER

1

AC1015

 

etc., etc.

 

Thanks.

[Tyke]

What you have there is DXF File. What's the extension that you have on the file? If it's '.dwg' change it to'.DXF' and try opening it as a DXF file from AutoCAD. But first of all make a copy of the original.

 

If you cannot open the DXF file in AutoCAD 2013, try opening it in an older version and then resave it. Or if you have other software that can open or import a DXF file, do that and then save or export to a new file name.

[enemigoman]

Hello Tyke.

 

Thank you sooooo much. You were absolutely right. I just changed the file extension to dxf and now I can open the files without a problem.

[Tyke]

I'm glad that I could help

 

I've come across that one a couple of times, someone did it deliberately, sabotage. It would lead to instant dismissal if it happened here.