"Could not complete your request because the file is empty." appears when trying to open PS files

[EasternDune]

Hi,

I was working on a digital painting in Photoshop CC 2017, but it was lagging so I duplicated the file and tried deleting some groups and layers to make it smaller. I force-quit for a third time after it was becoming unresponsive, but when I tried re-opening the file the thumbnail had changed to the Photoshop application logo and the error message "Could not complete your request because the file is empty." appears for both files - the unaltered one and now the new one. It also says that it's "zero bytes" in size. All other files open with no problem.

I've already tried Apple Support and they redirected me here. Time Machine is not set up so I cannot use that to regain past saves.

How can I recover this file? My Macbook is 10.13.6 High Sierra. Please help, I spent a lot of time on this image!

Many thanks.

[Sahil.Chawla]

Hi there,

We're sorry to hear about this, it seems that the file is corrupt due to the freeze.

• Open Finder
• Open the Go menu
• Press and hold Alt/Opt to see, and then click on Library.
• From there you can see the path on the bottom of the screen shot:
  Application Support > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 > AutoRecover

Please let us know if you're able to recover the file.

Regards,
Sahil

[EasternDune]

I'm sorry to say but AutoRecover was completely empty. Is there anything I can try?