Methods of correcting corrupt AutoCAD files

Methods Of Correcting Corrupt AutoCAD Files

It’s quite possible that on occasion you’ll receive an AutoCAD drawing file that’s corrupted. It might have some sort of glitch in its data. This can happen, for instance, when the drawing was created in a non-AutoCAD software environment. Several software packages available in the market claim to be compatible with AutoCAD, when in reality they have only limited capability to export a good DWG file. Using AutoCAD tools in non-standard ways, intentionally or unintentionally, such as making a zero length line or generating a text object that has no text in it can also lead to corruption in the files. If you refrain from removing the corrupt elements, the drawing might cause issues or worse lead to a blue screen crash. Luckily, cleaning a corrupted file is generally easy and it’s vital that you check regularly to ensure your dwg format file is clean and free of glitches.

Issues of Corrupted Files

  • File doesn’t open, hangs or crashes AutoCAD
  • The performance slows down when one edits and manipulates the file
  • When opening or working in the file, an error message crops up
  • Some commands don’t work or have a substantial delay
  • The file size increases without any knowledge
  • Problems related to Display/Regen surface
  • Drawing elements are missing

Causes for Corrupted Files

  • Third party applications running inside AutoCAD is one of the main causes for corrupted files
  • DWG files created or saved by non-Autodesk or non-RealDWG products
  • Old drawings used repeatedly over the course of years
  • Defective or failing RAM
  • Storage media degradation
  • Issues related to operating system and surging of power

Repair and Recovery

If a drawing file gets damaged, some or all of the data can be recovered by using commands to determine and correct errors. These commands can be learnt in depth by anyone who attends an AutoCAD course. When an error occurs, diagnostic information is recorded in the acad.err file or acadlt.err file for AutoCAD LT, which you can use to report a problem. If the corrupted data gets detected then a drawing file is marked as damaged, or even if you request that the drawing be saved after a program failure. If the damage is minor, at times you can repair the drawing just by opening it. You will receive a recovery notification that is displayed whilst opening the drawing file that is damaged and requires recovery. Here you can

  • Recover – performs an audit on, and attempts to open, any drawing file
  • Recover all – similar to recover, this additionally operates on all nested xrefs. The results are displayed in the Drawing Recovery Log window
  • Audit – locates and corrects errors in the current drawing
  • RecoverAuto – controls the display of recovery notifications prior to or after opening a damaged drawing file

A professional having undergone online Revit training or CAD training has the ability and responsibility not to leave a corruption problem uncorrected, as it can lead into wasted man hours and lost productivity, both for the person currently using the file and for those who work with the drawing file further down the line.

Grey Edge’s leading Revit and CAD training centre constantly strives to provide the best AutoCAD courses in Mumbai to the aspirant. Backed by experienced and well trained faculty and the best infrastructure, including online and classroom tutorials, we offer the best architectural internships in India.

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Prathamesh Bagare

Trainer at Grey Edge
Prathamesh is a specialist in CAD/BIM training and has a total of 6 months of training experience. He likes to read and discuss about current affairs. When he is not doing training, he loves spending time on Quora.

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