Participant

Question

File Corruption Issue in InDesign 21.2 on Windows 11

Forum|Forum|22 days ago
February 2, 2026
15 replies
1319 views

There is a bug in InDesign 21.2 (and Windows 11 Enterprise): our latest files were corrupted and unavailable when we opened them this morning. (Error message and warning sign.).

No actions were possible, screen freezes

We were all completely blocked, because the previous versions are unable to open our latest files.

Thank’s

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi everyone,

Thank you for sharing your updates here, and I’m sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I understand how disruptive and stressful this situation has been.

As some of the experts have already mentioned, I’d like to confirm that the issue where files were showing as damaged and could not be saved was a known problem caused by a Windows update, and it has since been addressed by Microsoft. In many cases, this behavior was seen when working with synced storage locations such as OneDrive, Dropbox, or other cloud folders, and was not occurring when files were saved locally on the machine.

You can find more details in this related community thread here:
https://community.adobe.com/questions-671/indesign-files-corrupted-and-unable-to-save-after-windows-11-update-kb5074109-january-2026-post-2-1546893?postid=7484108#post7484108

We’ve also published a HelpX article with the latest update and guidance to help resolve this issue, which you can refer to here:
https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/error-2-or-crash-during-file-save-operations.html

If you’ve already installed the latest Windows updates and are still seeing crashes or save errors, please let us know along with your Windows version and InDesign version so we can look into this further.

Also, regarding the original post by @elisabethd64374840 , this appears to be different from the known Windows-related issue and may be specific to the file itself. Could you please let us know if this problem has been resolved for you, or if you are still experiencing it? Your update will help us understand how best to assist you.

Thank you again for your patience and for working with us on this. Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

E

Engelhardt_Medien

Known Participant

Hi,

i still have problems with my INDD files, savegames crashing and files being corrupted afterwards:

Current windows version: 25H2

Installed Patches:

KB5074109 on 16. Jan 2026
KB5078127 on 27. Jan 2026
KB5074105 on 31. Jan 2026
KB5077181 on 12. Feb 2026
no further updates available till now…

Indesign Versions with problems: all 21.xx

Indesign without problems: I’ve downgraded to 20.5.2. and i haven’t seen damaged files so far…

The problem occurs on my local HDD not on Cloud or Dropbox storage! I’ve checked HDD/RAM already and cannot find problems there.

best regards

E

Engelhardt_Medien

Known Participant

@Abhishek Rao Hi Abhishek Rao,

it does not happen to all files but only 2 files by now of maybe 30 or 40 files. I’m working with Indesign like atleast 3+ hours a day beside other stuff, so i actually don’t have time to try to reproduce the error and risk more damaged files but i will give you as much information as i have (still working with 20.5.2 without problems so far!):

I’ve tried creating new documents and saving them, resaving then, reopening them several times on monday with v 21.2 but could not reproduce the error. I also moved them between disks and did the same without results.

I’ve also tried resetting my Indesign Preferences several times by holding down Shift+Ctrl+Alt on start.

If a files crashed, the next InDesign start was hanging. The next start after this opened with the attempt to restore the last file. If you tried to restore it crashed again. Needed to manually kill it with task manager and/or trash .idlk files.

I can remember that the InDesign error was: the file is corrupted – Error code: 6

best regards

DailyUser26644176srmh

Participant

I’ve been having issues saving and recovering changes with InDesign and Windows Cloud since Feb. 2.

Starting Feb. 5, the program has been closing randomly or becoming completely unresponsive while working on projects. I cannot complete my work or meet deadlines and have had to use Canva as a temporary workaround.

All of our creative files are backed up to Windows cloud.

Has anyone else experienced this, or is there a known solution/workaround?

leo.r

Community Expert

Does this describe your issue:

https://community.adobe.com/questions%2D671/indesign%2Dfiles%2Dcorrupted%2Dand%2Dunable%2Dto%2Dsave%2Dafter%2Dwindows%2D11%2Dupdate%2Dkb5074109%2Djanuary%2D2026%2Dpost%2D2%2D1546893?tid=1546893&fid=671

DailyUser26644176srmh

Participant

Yes. And I’ve also been experiencing the issues mentioned in this thread.

erikah13630568

Participant

Having all the same issues. Tried repairing all the C++ Redistributables (as was suggested in another post) and still no luck. Every time I try to save the files I’m working on, InDesign says that are corrupted. Now, I’ve literally lost a full day’s work. This is inexcusable.

leo.r

Community Expert

Did you uninstall/install specific Windows updates as described here:

https://community.adobe.com/questions%2D671/indesign%2Dfiles%2Dcorrupted%2Dand%2Dunable%2Dto%2Dsave%2Dafter%2Dwindows%2D11%2Dupdate%2Dkb5074109%2Djanuary%2D2026%2Dpost%2D2%2D1546893?tid=1546893&fid=671

KaisaV

Participant

I have the same problem. When I tried to save the project with another name, I can see it saved, but ID won’t open it.

leo.r

Community Expert

@KaisaV

You need to uninstall/install specific Windows updates as described here:

https://community.adobe.com/questions%2D671/indesign%2Dfiles%2Dcorrupted%2Dand%2Dunable%2Dto%2Dsave%2Dafter%2Dwindows%2D11%2Dupdate%2Dkb5074109%2Djanuary%2D2026%2Dpost%2D2%2D1546893?tid=1546893&fid=671

TomWellstudio

Participant

Just to further update here, I am also getting this error message when unable to save the file

Alphatram

Participant

Hi, have the same problem since two weeks. Impossible to save files because it’s damaged… so impossible to work at all.

leo.r

Community Expert

Hi, have the same problem since two weeks. Impossible to save files because it’s damaged… so impossible to work at all.

You need to uninstall a specific Windows update or install a newer one as discussed here:

InDesign files corrupted and unable to save after Windows 11 update KB5074109 (January 2026) - Post #2

TomWellstudio

Participant

We have the same problem too. With both Adobe InDesign 2026 and 2025.

Old files we open to save as to new files say they are damaged, then we cannot even save the original file. Then often the software just crashes and we have to re-open and it restores the file but then the same issue again - completely stuck! If a fix is not found ASAP I will be writing to Abobe for compensation as this is damaging our business.

An additional issue, is that when we are editing text inside a text box the screen will just randomly go black and we have to Zoom out to then see the screen again

Bozhidar Y Petkov

Participant

This is what I get since last week.
And the file is useless neither can be exported as anythig

leo.r

Community Expert

This is what I get since last week.
And the file is useless neither can be exported as anythig

Uninstall a specific Windows update or install a newer one:

InDesign files corrupted and unable to save after Windows 11 update KB5074109 (January 2026) - Post #2

BobLevine

Community Expert

Hi @leo.r. Those are Mac screenshots.

HARSHIKA_VERMA

Community Manager

Hi All,

We are sorry to hear you are having trouble using InDesign files. We escalated the issue to the product team for investigation. We will keep you posted here if we need more information from you all.

Appreciate your collaboration and patience.

Thanks,

Harshika

Phil the Mack

Participating Frequently

Were these troubles only with files stored on Onedrive or other cloud-base storage?

TheDrMouse

Participant

I’m having this same problem, even tried rolling back to an older version of InDesign and it still happens.

leo.r

Community Expert

I’m having this same problem, even tried rolling back to an older version of InDesign and it still happens.

Just to make sure: Can you please post screenshots of the exact error messages you get? The ones posted by OP are quite unusual, so it’s important to get a solid confirmation you get the same ones.

In addition, another user in this thread suggested exporting to IDML to solve this problem.

Phil the Mack

Participating Frequently

I am getting the same message “Can not save document” also still can’t use Times New Roman, can’t export anything to PDF without crashing InDesign.

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