Photoshop CC 2019 Suddenly Won't Open Any Files I Created Over 1 Month Ago

[ty semaka]

Photoshop CC 2019 Suddenly Won't Open Any Files I Created Over 1 Month Ago. It says "Could not complete your request because it is not a valid Photoshop document. I have tried opening several psd files and it says the same thing. It seems I CAN open files created in the last month but I need to open several files I made in May 2019.

[Bob_Hallam]

Sounds like there may be a disk issue or that the file extension is incorrect.   If it's a disk issue, Try Disk Drill to recover the files.  If it's an extension issue, try opening one of the files as text in Microsoft Word.  Then look through the first part of the file (Header) to see what is written.  If it says it is a Photoshop file then you will need to recover the files from the bad disk,   If it's not a PS file, change the file extension to what the header says and open it normally.  Sometimes people can save files with the wrong extensions accidentally and then find they wont open normally later. 

[Ronald Keller · Accepted solution]

I hate to bring bad news but I fear the files are damaged due to disk failures. You could try Open As and choose the psd format if it's only an extension problem but am I clutching at straws here...

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

Where were these files saved to? A removable or networked storage?

[ty semaka]

They were saved to an external drive, yes. I brought a copy of them over to my computer but they're still not opening. However, I've since tried open even older psd files and they're opening just fine. Someone suggested I may have just given them the wrong extension, but there's no way I gave 30+ files all the same wrong extension in the same folder.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

Saving directly to an external is never recommended by Adobe especially with Photoshop. The read/write speeds can cause issues with the files. If your write speed is lagging behind the PS save speed or if there is a connection glitch you can run into this issue.

I've experienced this and seen it too many times to count.

Its recommended to save local then drag to an external drive - that way you are writing files at the same speed that the drive can handle via the OS.

Troubleshoot issues with networks, removable media in Photoshop

[ty semaka]

I never save directly to an external drive. It was a backup. But unfortunately I didn't keep the originals on my computer. I do however have it backed up on two other drives and the files on those other drives work. It seems just that folder on 30+ files became corrupted somehow.