AutoCAD 2008 User's Guide > Start, Organize, and Save a Drawing > Repair, Restore, or Recover Drawing Files > 
Recover from a System Failure
Concept Procedure Quick Reference
 
 
 

A hardware problem, power failure, or software problem can cause this program to terminate unexpectedly. If this happens, you can restore the drawing files that were open.

If the program fails, you can save your current work to a different file. This file uses the format, DrawingFileName_recover.dwg, where DrawingFileName is the file name of your current drawing.

Resolve Drawing Files

After a program or system failure, the Drawing Recovery Manager opens the next time you start AutoCAD. Drawing Recovery Manager displays a list of all drawing files that were open, including the following drawing file types:

NoteUnsaved drawings that are open at the time of an unexpected failure are not tracked by the Drawing Recovery Manager. Be sure to save your work after you begin, and regularly thereafter.

For each drawing, you can open and choose from the following files if they exist:

NoteThe drawing, backup, and recover files are listed in the order of their time stamps—the time when they were last saved.

Double-click a top-level drawing node listed under Backup Files to display up to four files as listed above. Right-click any node under Backup Files to display shortcut menu options.

If you close the Drawing Recovery window before resolving all affected drawings, you can open Drawing Recovery at a later time with the DRAWINGRECOVERY command.

Send an Error Report Automatically to Autodesk

If the program encounters a problem and closes unexpectedly, you can send an error report to help Autodesk diagnose problems with the software. The error report includes information about the state of your system at the time the error occurred. You can also add other information, such as what you were doing at the time of the error. The REPORTERROR system variable controls whether the error-reporting feature is available.