Correcting corrupt AutoCAD files

It is not unusual to have corruption issues when receiving an AutoCAD file from outside of your office. This happens when the drawing file was created in a non-AutoCAD software environment. Several software packages claim to be AutoCAD compatible, when in fact they possess only limited ability to export a DWG file free of error. Corruption can also happen when someone uses AutoCAD tools in non-standard ways, such as creating a text object without any text in it.

In instances when you accidentally delete or remove CAD files or when.dwg files abruptly fail to work or open in the drawing program, there’s noneed for concern as you can still able to retrieve them. Outlined below are some suggestions to restore lost or corrupted AutoCAD files:

Reasons AutoCAD files may get corrupted:

Third party applications running inside AutoCADAutoCAD terminated whilst saving the drawingDWG files created or saved by non-Autodesk or non-Real DWG productsOld drawings used frequently over the course of yearsNetwork irregularities such as file locking, transmission errors, latent writing of dataDefective or failing RAMIssues regarding to the operating systemPower surges and outdated software

Issues with AutoCAD files:

File won’t open and would hang or crash AutoCADPerformance quite slow when editing and manipulating the fileError message when opening or when working in the fileSome commands refrain from working or have a substantial delayFile size increases without any real reasonMissing drawing elements

Recover AutoCAD files with Recover Command

This command lets you directly restore lost AutoCAD files when you delete or lose them by following the outlined steps:

Open a new drawing in AutoCADSelect File> Drawing Utilities> RecoverSelect the drawing from the dialog box and click OK

This way you can recover your lost AutoCAD files by the Recover Command

Restore lost.dwg CAD files from Auto Save Feature

Open AutoCAD> Tools> OptionsClick Files> Automatic Save File Location and check the location of the autosave files which are normally saved under this pathYou can navigate to locate your CAD file by name, check the modified date of such files and choose the correct version; the one that you lost or deleted and then change the file extension from.sv$ to.bak to.dwg

What if the Drawing File (DWG) doesn’t open at all?

Your drawing might display the message as ‘Drawing file isn’t valid,’ display a message about errors being found, crash or hang during the open process or simply might not appear in AutoCAD after you’ve chosen to open it.

Refer to Error: "Drawing file is not valid" while opening a file in AutoCAD if you receive the ‘Drawing file is not valid’ error when opening the DWG file.You could have leftover.dwl or.dwl 2 files in the folder directory. These are two hidden files having the same name as the.dwg file but with the extensions.dwl and.dwl2.

Author Bio:

Prabhat Singh heads Grey Edge, a leading Autodesk CAD Training Centre in Mumbai (http://www.grey-edge.com/autodesk-cad-training-center-mumbai/) and one of the leading providers of AutoCAD courses in Mumbai, India (http://www.grey-edge.com/course/autocad-courses-mumbai/). He has been instrumental in designing CAD curriculums for students and professionals related to domains, such as architecture, engineering and interior design.

Prabhat Singh heads Grey Edge, a leading Autodesk Revit MEP Training Centre in Mumbai. Prabhat has been instrumental in designing many types of curriculum related to domains, such as architecture, interior design and web designing and development.