AutoCAD Unable to Recover Drawing Files? Fix It Now!

AutoCAD is widely used by architects, designers, and other users to create designs or models on the computer. However, issues such as accidental deletion, file corruption, or software crashes can result in the loss of drawing files.

In such cases, recovery solutions are required, but sometimes, you may encounter failures when attempting to restore AutoCAD files. So, why is AutoCAD unable to recover the drawing file? Don’t worry. This article will help you fix this issue and recover lost data effectively.

Two Ways to Recover Lost AutoCAD Files

Before diving into how to resolve the issue, let’s first explore two practical methods to restore lost files. Whether your AutoCAD files have been saved or not before missing, you can retrieve them by following the steps below.

Solution 1. Restore Unsaved Files from the Autosaved Files

Sometimes, you may lose a file without saving it properly. Fortunately, AutoCAD includes a built-in feature to automatically save your projects at a set interval. Even if your computer or application shuts down, you can recover your files effortlessly.

Follow these steps to enable the Auto-Save feature and recover your unsaved drawing files in AutoCAD:

Step 1: Open AutoCAD and type options in the command line. If you cannot see the command line, press Ctrl + 9 to display it. 

Step 2: After opening the Options window, click the Open and Save tab to check if the Automatic save box is ticked. Here you can set the time intervals as needed.

Step 3: If the feature is enabled beforehand, go to the Files tab and click on the Automatic Save File Location to check the saving path. Typically, the autosaved files are saved at: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\LocalTemp.

Step 4: Open the File Explorer and navigate to the saving path.

Step 5: Find the file with a .sv$ extension.

Step 6: Change the extension of the file you want to restore from .sv$ to .dwg, then move it to the folder where you store the AutoCAD files.

Solution 2. Recover Lost Drawing Files Using Software

If your AutoCAD files have been saved before losing them, consider using a third-party tool to retrieve them. AOMEI FastRecovery, a professional data recovery tool, can help you restore lost or deleted files from various devices on Windows PCs (11, 10, 8, 7) and servers. Whether your data was lost due to system errors, accidental deletion, or disk failures, you can get it back with ease.

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Here’s how to use AOMEI FastRecovery to recover lost drawing files:

Step 1: Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery first, and then choose the exact partition or drive where the deleted files were originally located.

Step 2: Scan the selected drive. It will execute a Quick Scan first to find your data fast, followed by a Deep Scan to search for additional lost data comprehensively.

Step 3: Once the scan is complete, all recoverable files will be listed. Please pick out the files you want to recover, then click Recover.

Step 4: Choose a destination folder where you want to save the recovered files and wait for the recovery process to finish.

Why is AutoCAD Unable to Recover the Drawing Files?

Although the methods mentioned above are effective for recovering lost drawing files, they may not always succeed. Failing to recover the drawing files can happen for various reasons. The most common one is that your AutoCAD files are corrupted due to sudden system crashes, improper operations, or other reasons. Once the drawing file is damaged, AutoCAD may not be able to recover it properly.

3 Ways to Fix Unable to Recover Drawing Files in AutoCAD

If you are unable to recover drawing files in AutoCAD due to file corruption, scroll down to learn several effective ways to fix this issue.

Solution 1. Repair Corrupted AutoCAD Files Using Commands

If you try to open a .dwg file but are prompted that "AutoCAD recover drawing file is not valid" or encounter other errors, consider running the RECOVER command in AutoCAD to repair and recover your file.

Step 1: Open a blank .dwg file in AutoCAD.

Step 2: Press Ctrl + 9 to display the command line, type the following commands, and press Enter.

RECOVER: Repair only the main drawing file.
RECOVERALL: Repairs the main drawing file and all Xrefs. (It might take longer but is suitable for complex drawings.)

Step 3: Select the file you want to repair and let AutoCAD fix it. If the file can be repaired, it will open in the workspace.

Step 4: If your file is severely damaged, type INSERT in the command line and press Enter.

Step 5: Choose the corrupted file to see if it will be inserted. If it does, run EXPLODE and choose the inserted block. 

Step 6: Then, type the following commands and press Enter. 

AUDIT: Checks and repairs any remaining errors in the drawing files.
PURGE: Removes unused or problematic objects, layers, or data from the files.

Step 7: Once the block is exploded and the file is cleaned, type the SAVEAS command to save the repaired files.

Step 8: Go to the same directory to check if there is a .bak file with the same name as the corrupted file. If so, rename it from .bak to .dwg and try to open it in AutoCAD.

Step 9: Alternatively, go to the temporary folder and find the files with the .sv$ extension and the same name as the corrupted file. Then rename the file from .sv$ to .dwg and try to open it in AutoCAD.

You can try each of these steps separately. After each one, try to open the file again. There's no need to do the rest of the steps if the file is already opened.

Solution 2. Repair AutoCAD Files Using Drawing Utilities

In addition to using commands, you can repair files using AutoCAD’s built-in Drawing Utilities feature. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Open the corrupted .dwg file in AutoCAD.

Step 2: Click the AutoCAD icon at the top-left corner and select Drawing Utilities > Recover.

Step 3: Then it will repair the corrupted drawing file automatically. 

Step 4: If it fails to repair the drawing file, select the Audit option in Drawing Utilities.

Step 5: Click Yes on the prompted window to execute the command and repair errors on the local drive, and then wait for the process to complete.

Step 6: Check if the AutoCAD file has been repaired successfully.

Solution 3. Repair Openable AutoCAD Files

If your AutoCAD file can be opened but there are some potential issues, follow these steps to repair it:

Step 1: Open the corrupted .dwg file in AutoCAD.

Step 2: Press Ctrl + 9 to display the command line, type -PURGE, and press Enter.

Step 3: Type R and press Enter to select registered applications for purging. When prompted to verify each name, type N and press Enter.

Step 4: Type PURGE in the command line and press Enter.

Step 5: Ensure all checkboxes in the dialogue box are selected, then click Purge All to remove unused objects.

Step 6: Type AUDIT in the command line and press Enter. Type Y when prompted to fix all errors.

Step 7: Save the repaired file using the SAVEAS command.

Conclusion

File recovery is essential when your AutoCAD files are unexpectedly deleted or lost. This article outlines two methods to help you restore your files, whether they were saved or not. If you encounter the issue "AutoCAD is unable to recover drawing files," don’t worry—read on to discover effective solutions to resolve the issue.