Skip to main content
Nicholas32139075y31a
Nicholas32139075y31a
Participant
March 13, 2026
Question

Recovery failed after crash - Illustrator on Windows

  • March 13, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 32 views

I recently spent some time working on a file and when I went to go look at recently added fonts, the whole application crashed. However when reopening the file, I clicked “OKAY” when opening my recovery file but it opened the old file, never offered the recovery file and no recovery file can be found at all within the windows folder. Is there anything I can do? I looked at every version of adobe illustration and followed all the instructions.

    3 replies

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    March 30, 2026

    Hi ​@Nicholas32139075y31a,

     

    Just wanted to check if you’ve experienced a similar crash again with any of your newer files, and whether you’re still facing the same issue with recovery not working as expected.

    Please share an update so we can assist you further accordingly.

     

    Looking forward to your response.

    Abhishek

    Anubhav M
    Community Manager
    Anubhav MCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    March 20, 2026

    Hello ​@Nicholas32139075y31a 

     

    I’m sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind providing details on the circumstances under which these files were saved or edited, and the locations where they were stored?
     
    Additionally, for help with crashes, please try the suggestions shared in this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/fix-crash-on-launch-issues.html) and let us know how it goes.

     

    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Anubhav

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 17, 2026

    File recovery is not a backup. It can often save you the last couple of minutes before a crash, but you should never rely on any saving automatism of any software. Saving a file is a precarious moment. If a crash happens while you save, the whole file is most certainly toast. That is also the reason why you should never rely on one copy of a file. ALways have at least one backup of your files.

    With File recovery you get what you get. There is sadly nothing you can do to change anything about it.

     

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices