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Computer crashed & now VW2008 files think they are still in use...


lwaIT

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My computer crashed (Finder & all apps froze) while I had 4 VW2008 drawings open. I had no choice but to restart the computer. After restarting I attempted to access my files, but am getting the message "The file is currently in a read-only state (file may be in use by another application). Do you want to open a copy of it with a new name?". I am quite sure that nobody else has the files open & after several attempts at opening the files, quitting VW2008, restarting my computers, etc. the files are still on lock-down. Will this eventually time-out? Is there a way to unlock the files? I can't move, delete, overwrite, or open my work.

Edited by lwaIT
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After restarting I attempted to access my files, but am getting the message "The file is currently in a read-only state (file may be in use by another application). Do you want to open a copy of it with a new name?".

From the error message and the behavior (can't move, delete, overwrite, open), it sounds like you're on a mixed OS X/Windows network and that the files are served by a Windows computer or were open on a Windows computer when your computer crashed.

Be that as it may, a few things to try:

A) What happens of you hit "OK"? If it opens a copy, you should be able to save it as a new file.

B) Check Ownership and Permissions in the Get Info panel for each file. They should be set to "Read & Write" for Owner. If they're shared files, they should also be "Read & Write" for Group.

C) If you turned on automatic backup in VW preferences, you should be able to recover most of your work by opening the backup file and saving it with a new name.

D) Are the files stored on a local drive or a network drive? (Since you mention restarting multiple computers and nobody else having the files open, it sounds like you're on a network.) If on a network, the server may be reading the file status as open, particularly if the file is stored on a Windows computer. Try restarting the network server and/or the computer the files are stored on. (Also disconnect and reconnect your computer from the network.)

E) If you're NOT on a network or the files are stored on a local drive, try repairing permissions in Disk Utility.

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Laura,

Whenever a user has a VW file open, it creates a hidden lock file (.lck), that prevents another instance of VW from opening it. When you crashed, the .lck file was probably left behind.

On the Mac, you'll need a utility that lets you see hidden files and manipulate them. You can do this via the terminal, but let's not get that geeky, for now.

I suggest that you download and install Onyx for Leopard . It has lots of useful utilities, including manipulating hidden system settings like showing hidden files. This can be found in the Onyx dialog "Parmeters>Finder tab>Misc Options>Show hidden files and folders.

Even simpler is a little utility 'Reveal Hidden Files' for OS X.

. Download, unzip and run the little program and select Reveal.

Next, open a Finder window and navigate to the folder the original VWX file is in. Look for a file with the same name, but with a .lck extension. Select and delete it. DON'T DELETE ANYTHING ELSE!!!

Run the utility again and select Hide.

The file should open just fine.

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I am working on an Apple computer and we have an OS X server. There isn't a single Windows computer on the network.

A) I can open the file as read-only and I have saved the files with new names. Hopefully that will be a temporary fix because other users are referencing these files and the name change breaks the references (they keep referencing the old files unless the reference is modified).

Furthermore, I opened one of the files and tried a "Save As..." to overwrite the file and I got the error messages "(Failure on attempt to write to file)" followed by "An error occurred while saving this file. The file is now corrupt on disk. Try saving this file to a different location. Ifyou close this file before you successfully save it, it will be completely lost." A resulting 4 KB file took the place of the original file. I am able to delete the 4 KB file, but I cannot subsequently save a file with the same name of the file that was there.

B) Ownership & permissions look like the other files on the server (ones that I can open). Just to be sure, I changed the permissions of the files as a super user from the server itself. It had no effect on the problem.

C) I am not worried about losing my work - I have saved copies to my desktop & I can still open the files as Read-only "Untitled" documents.

D) I will restart the server at some point and see if that helps the problem. Our entire office works off of the server all day, so I will have to wait to restart it. I have ejected the network drives from my computer multiple times and physically unplugged my computer from the network with no result.

E) Since the files are stored on a server & I am the administrator of the server, I could try repairing the disk permissions of the files. What effect would this have beyond what I already did by changing file permissions to RWX for all users as a super user?

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Downloading the utility (and showing hidden files via Terminal) allowed me to see the DS files, etc., but there were no .lck files visible in the folder with my files (or anywhere else). I have tried everything I can think of, including changing ownership and permissions through the Terminal window as a super user. The permissions look fine, but all of the files are still giving the error message "The file is currently in a read-only state (file may be in use by another application). Do you want to open a copy of it with a new name?" even though the files are not open anywhere in the office. I will try restarting the server tonight and see if it fixes the situation.

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I can open the file with a new name, but I cannot overwrite/replace the original file by doing a "Save As..." I can save it with a new name, but I would prefer to keep the original name of the file because other files are referencing that file. I don't want to open the other 8 files and reroute the reference to the file with the new name. Furthermore, I do not want 4 files sitting on my server that can't be opened, deleted, or modified.

This is what happens when I try to save over or delete the original file that thinks it's in use even though it isn't:

I opened "A4.01 BUILDING SECTIONS" in a "read-only state" and tried to "Save As..." "A4.01 BUILDING SECTIONS" (the original file name). Two error messages popped up in succession:

1. "(Failure on attempt to write to file)"

2. "An error occurred while saving this file. The file is now corrupt on disk. Try saving this file to a different location. If you close this file before you successfully save it, it will be completely lost."

In Finder a 4 KB file appeared with the name "A4.01 BUILDING SECTIONS." It does not open as a VectorWorks file - it is corrupt as it said it would be.

If I delete the 4 KB "corrupt file" it disappears in Finder (and is not showing up as a hidden file either).

After the file has been deleted, if I try to Copy & Paste a file with the name "A4.01 BUILDING SECTIONS" via Finder to the server folder, I get an error message saying I don't have permission to write the file. If I try to do a "Save As..." from Vectorworks I get another corrupt file error message.

This seems to be a VectorWorks issue or compatibility issue between VW & the OS X server.

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Downloading the utility (and showing hidden files via Terminal) allowed me to see the DS files, etc., but there were no .lck files visible in the folder with my files (or anywhere else).

Pretty basic question, but since we're troubleshooting ... I presume you searched for the .lck file on both the server and the local disk?

Since you mentioned Terminal, I also presume you searched for the file using something other than Spotlight (which, IMO, is less than useless)?

I can save it with a new name, but I would prefer to keep the original name of the file because other files are referencing that file. I don't want to open the other 8 files and reroute the reference to the file with the new name. Furthermore, I do not want 4 files sitting on my server that can't be opened, deleted, or modified.

Temporarily save a copy of the problem file under a new name.

Connect a laptop to your server via Firewire then reboot the server as a Firewire drive.

When the drive mounts on the laptop's desktop, navigate to the problem file(s) and delete it (them), then transfer the temporary copy to the server HD and rename it to the name of the original file.

If OX S squawks about not being able to delete the file, hold down Option" and select "Secure Empty Trash" in the Finder window.

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