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"Unexpected end of file..." message - All files corrupted


Peter Kovacs

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Hi

We have encountered a serious problem with one of our single vw project file under VW 2017 SP5. The file got corrupted with the following message: "Unexpected end of file encountered during file read operation. (Failure on attempt to read file)". We then tried to open 3no. of backups which were created by autosaving on that day. Surprisingly none of them could be opened as we got the same error message. We then turned to our Time Machine (All Mac environment) and restored the file from the day before and we thought that okay, we might have lost a day of work but at least it would work. And it was working!

...For half a day, until that file got corrupted too and the same procedure repeated. All backups got corrupted too.

 

Has anyone encountered similar problem? I attach the file just in case someone wants to look into it.

 

Ps: I am a bit reluctant to contact VSS as they have been very slow on problem solving recently and some of our issues were simply ignored and they never came back to us. We have been thinking about sending an official complaint as we are paying for this service. It is unacceptable that we need to chase them after weeks of silence on a particular issue.

3191_Modelamended_(original).vwx

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Had this too a while ago and also wondered why all VW Backups were corrupt as well.

Also had to go back to Time Machine or a manual Backup a day a go.

At least for me it didn't corrupt again (so far).

 

And I also wait until my last SR gets answered, repaired or denied until I send another :)

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Thanks for the reply Zoomer.

 

We had to go back days to find a working backup and are still waiting to hear back something from VSS. Until getting response we are working on the project knowing that it can get corrupted any time again which is anything but reassuring.

 

I am unsure whether other users in different countries are having similar issues like we have here in the UK but we simply had to contact the UK based VSS guys by a long complaint letter. They already talked to us - the discussion over the phone yesterday went for an hour! - and they seemed to be open to make changes in their system of managing user requests to sort out issues. No one has days or even weeks to wait for problem-solving in this industry.

 

The more complicated project we work on the less reliance we place in VW support team to be entirely honest. Stableness, reliability and tech support are way behind the industry leaders' (Revit, ArchiCAD).

Edited by Peter Kovacs
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If it is urgent I would also try by phone.

But I think with problems not related to localized tools only, the local support has to call

US mothership anyway. They can just try to confirm the problem and send a developer

readable translation of that request.

You could try to send @JimWa message, maybe he knows the best suited person

to send to for problem solving.

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Hi @Peter Kovacs @zoomer Just wanted to check if you had resolved this issue at all.  We are having the same problem with our newly purchased VW 2019.  File is corrupted and somehow even autosave and backup files are corrupted which makes no sense.   As usual when you have a deadline to meet.  Any help appreciated, Thanks!

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Hi @SPARK, I am afraid I cannot help... This particular issue happened to us a while back and all I can remember is that somehow we managed to resolve it but I cannot recall how exactly. I have recently changed workplace as well and my current practice use Revit so I no longer have access to the Vectorworks ‘world’. I hope that Zoomer can help you out though!

Edited by Peter Kovacs
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23 hours ago, SPARK said:

Hi @Peter Kovacs @zoomer Just wanted to check if you had resolved this issue at all.  We are having the same problem with our newly purchased VW 2019.  File is corrupted and somehow even autosave and backup files are corrupted which makes no sense.   As usual when you have a deadline to meet.  Any help appreciated, Thanks!

Hi @SPARK,

 

@zoomer has mentioned that using the Mac's Time Machine has resolved their issue.  If this doesn't work then please contact your local technical support.

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Thanks @Adam Robinson & @Peter Kovacs - Im in touch with technical support now to see if we can find out more.  Seems like the file was corrupt since earlier in the day and it didn't show up until we closed the file and it would not open again with the "Unexpected end of file..." message .  So we've lost most of the days work and our autosaves and version histories were also just backups of a corrupt file.  Will post anything we find out in case it can be prevented or if others might encounter the same issue.  Seems like its not very common thankfully.  

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We have also been having this problem regularly in the last three weeks. It happens in project sharing files as well as plain Vectorworks files. We are a two person firm, and it happens to both of us. There doesn't appear to be an easy fix or workaround. Because the backups can be contaminated somehow, we regularly duplicate the files that we're working in so that we can go back to those when the "unexpected end of file..." error happens. It only happens when we are opening a file, the file doesn't crash during use. Either this issue arises during saving and closing, or it happens during use and VW doesn't identify a problem until reopening the file. I have to say, we've lost a lot of time (and money) dealing with this. It's incredibly frustrating.

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On 9/4/2019 at 12:45 PM, KIT KOLLMEYER said:

We have also been having this problem regularly in the last three weeks. It happens in project sharing files as well as plain Vectorworks files. We are a two person firm, and it happens to both of us. There doesn't appear to be an easy fix or workaround. Because the backups can be contaminated somehow, we regularly duplicate the files that we're working in so that we can go back to those when the "unexpected end of file..." error happens. It only happens when we are opening a file, the file doesn't crash during use. Either this issue arises during saving and closing, or it happens during use and VW doesn't identify a problem until reopening the file. I have to say, we've lost a lot of time (and money) dealing with this. It's incredibly frustrating.

 

@KIT KOLLMEYER SAME!

 

And I have contacted VWX support MULTIPLE times for many MANY hours of pointless phone conversations and investigations for them to try and figure out the issue (which they should be doing without me on the phone), and it always ends with sorry we can't do anything right now but they always promise the engineering team will prioritize it and they will absolutely keep me updated as they solve the problems. All of this and not a single follow up email. And based on the question archive on here, it seems this has been a serious unresolved problem for years! This is a major issue with their core product and causes it not to function as advertised because it cannot be trusted.

 

Oh, and on a working file that is for a project sharing project: My working file along with 3 or 4 backups went corrupt with the "unexpected end of file..." error. I finally opened maybe the 5th latest backup working file but because me in the now corrupt working file hadn't saved, committed, and released the work I had done, the new me in this backup file was not allowed to do anything because it was all locked up. An administrative release would just revert all of the work I had done back to square one. So what is the point of a backup file when using a project sharing/working file if the engineering team hasn't accounted for this type of situation?

 

And why are the backup files even going corrupt in the first place? Engineers - find a way to keep them isolated and have the program recognize when you (the same user) is trying to revert to a backup file!

 

Also, let us copy and paste viewports into different documents! This would at least buy back so much time when we are having to spend hours re-doing our corrupted work!!! Just make them as windows into world-based space so that the coordinates of the window follow into the new file... so as long as a paste my drawings in place, the viewports will align and so will the annotations!

Edited by VWX USER 1
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@KIT KOLLMEYER @VWX USER 1 Frustration knee high!

Since February I have been having the same problems on Vectorworks 2019 OZ SP6 when I started to document in 3D: "Unexpected end of file encountered during file read operation. (Failure on attempt to read file)." I am the only person working on this file and it is on my computer (after the first corrupt file) not on the server.

After I've lost all work for the first time I have increased my backup setting to 10 copies every 5 min. This is so frustrating, it doesn't matter how many backups you have, you always loose at least one hour of your work, as at least half of the backups go corrupt. Half of your time is spent trying to remember what information you've lost! Now it is happening two - three times/day somedays. This is not life! Sometimes I think that I successfully saved and closed the file; oh no, when you try to open it gives me the same warning. So I am saving the file under a new name a few times during the day just in case.

This is mostly happening when I am working on the sheet layer trying to update the view so I can get a pdf. Also on the sheet layer despite the fact that every necessary class/layer is on, some of 2D drawings would not show or go wireframe by itself. 

I would appreciate it, if someone let me know of a solution since January...

 

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On 4/23/2020 at 3:09 PM, KIT KOLLMEYER said:

We haven't had this problem since January. We copied content into new files, redid our sheets, and stopped using project sharing. I've been afraid to use Project sharing since then, so we just don't work on the same project at the same time. It's not ideal, but at least we aren't back-tracking anymore.

 

 

But how is that practical? Does a project sharing equivalent work on other softwares? I will have to consider switching over if Vectorworks doesn't make collaboration possible.

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@VWX USER 1

I should update this. We have been back on project sharing for a year now and no longer have this problem. Maybe a service pack fixed the issue, or maybe our new habits and dropbox organization fixed the issue:

- We keep the project file in a separate folder from working files

- At each phase of the project we move the project file into an archive folder, then duplicate it back into the project folder with a new name

 

We are now working with several users per project and this problem seems to be resolved for us.

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