Illustrator could not open this file. We tried to read it but it's too damaged to recover

[brittneyv20955540]

I was working on a file today, and mid trying to save it, my laptop died. (so annoying)

When I got my laptop back up and running a few minutes later, I tried to open the document (didn't care if my most recent changes were gone) and I got this error.

I emailed that address like it said to but was wondering if anyone had a quicker fix.

NOTE: I do not have this in PDF form so there's no PDF to try to recover the info either.

I've been working on this file for the last 3 days without any problems. I also checked my recovery file and it's empty.

[Jacob Bugge · Accepted solution]

Brittney,

I have tried to alert an Adobe staff friend about this.

No backup?

It is always recommended to create backups with different names regularly, and to store backups in more than one place/way.

And also to save often.

You may use Autosaviour,
https://astutegraphics.com/plugins/autosaviour

If you have a CC subscription, saving files in your Creative Cloud Files folder will automatically create and keep versions up to 10 days,
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/crash-file-data-recovery.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/sync-files.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/versioning-faq.html

And there is also the new concept of Cloud documents,
https://helpx.adobe.com/in/illustrator/using/cloud-documents.html

[brittneyv20955540]

Ah yes. Thank you. For some reason, my recovery saving was inactive. Not sure why but I changed that.

I also don't seem to have the checkbox option to save to the cloud. Oh well!

I want to get my file recovered. I'll keep waiting for my response from Adobe. Thank you though. 

[patriciam3146867]

Hi, I have the same problem.

Has your file been recovered? I just sent the file to adobe email.

I am trying to recover the file on websites and programs, but they are paid.

If Adobe doesn't answer me I will have to pay to try to resolve it.

I read the comment above, but the program doesn't save complex files. So in my case it had autosave active, but it didn't because it was a 1Gb file.

If you managed to recover the file, can you help me please? Thanks!

[Jacob Bugge]

Patricia,

We have never seen what happened, but you can try to use the email and follow the instructions in the answer here by Rama to get help from our Adobe staff friends:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/the-file-is-damaged-and-could-not-be-repaired-in-illustra...

The email: ShareWithAi@adobe.com

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @patriciam3146867,

Sorry to hear about that. Would it be possible for you to share the file with me? You can upload it to creative cloud/ Dropbox/ Google Drive and share the download link here or via DM. We'll try to recover it.
I must also inform you that file recovery can't be guaranteed with 100% success. We'll surely try our best.

Regards,

Anshul Saini 

[Jacob Bugge]

Hi Anshul.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Jacob Bugge, 

Happy New Year!

[Jacob Bugge]

And Happy New Year to you, Anshul.

[Juman24938756subo]

Hello Anshul, I have a file with the same problem, any chance you could help?

[Anshul_Saini]

HI @Juman24938756subo,

Sorry for the delayed response. Please share your file over DM, and I will try my best to recover it.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[thehycut]

hello sir, I experienced the same thing today. I sent a DM to you. Thanks!

[hassoun26938645rh1z]

Hello, me too I have the issue with a file,

If you found the solution just reply here please.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @thehycut,

Thanks for sending the file via DM. I was able to recover a thumbnail but was unable to successfully open the file. I have forwarded the file to the product team. We'll try our best to recover the file.

Please allow us some time to investigate it further and stay patient.

Thanks,
Anshul Siani

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @hassoun26938645rh1z,

Thanks for reaching out. I would suggest sending the download link to the file over DM with me, as there are no steps or guides to recover corrupt files. We test & try to revive the file source code, like the header and footers. etc.

Looking forward to the file.

Thanks,

Anshul Saini

[mdjoynal26990466p9rn]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_nr5wKIBsk_Lcj45cND-keOH2ej3N4-t/view?usp=sharing please try to recover this!! I am so tired to trying for recover the file!! 

[mdjoynal26990466p9rn]

please try to recover this!! I am so tired to trying for recover the file!! 

[mdjoynal26990466p9rn]

@Anshul_Saini

[Udara27556210q3jc]

Hello Anshul, I have a file with the same problem, any chance you could help?

[Anshul_Saini]

HI @Udara27556210q3jc,

Thanks for reaching out. Please share your file over DM, and I will try my best to recover it.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[yulioadicandra]

I have the same problem, but after I convert my file to pdf (you could try an online converter) its works for me

[Monika Gause]

---

@yulioadicandra  schrieb:

I have the same problem, but after I convert my file to pdf (you could try an online converter) its works for me

---

If that works, then probably what you can do is:

1. Create a new Illustrator file

2. Place the corrupt file in it.

The "online converter" will possibly ruin a lot ion your file. Also: you might not want to upload your precious file to a third party you don't even know.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @yulioadicandra,

Thank you for sharing your experience with the community. It's great to hear that converting your file to PDF helped resolve the issue for you. However, we understand that this may not be a viable solution for everyone.

In order to better understand the issue and potentially find a fix, it would be extremely helpful if you could share the problematic file and the recovered converted file with us. Our product team is always looking for ways to improve the performance and stability of our products, and having access to these files may help them get more insight into the issue.

Thank you for your willingness to help us resolve this problem. We appreciate your support and look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Best regards,

Anshul Saini

[Haleema23740992051h]

Hello Anshul,

I have sent my file to file@adobe.com can you please let me know how much time does it normally take?

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Haleema23740992051h,

Thank you for reaching out. I've received the file you sent, and I've spent some time trying to recover it. Unfortunately, it appears that the file is badly corrupted, and despite our best efforts, only the artboard 20 was recoverable.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. However, I will be sharing the recovered artboard with you via direct message shortly. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to let me know.

Best regards,

Anshul