Repairing damaged .psd files?

JD
Posted By
Jerry Davenport
Jul 6, 2003
Views
1237
Replies
20
Status
Closed
One of my project folders got deleted in a freak accident. I won’t go into it, but I recovered one of the .psd files using a commercial undelete program (Fast File Undelete from DTI Data). It didn’t work (go figure) and whenever I try to open the .psd file photoshop (7.0) shows a message box that says, "There was a problem reading the layer data. Read the composite data instead?" When I click the Read Composite Data button another box shows that reads, "Could not open ‘[file name]’ because the file is not compatible with this version of photoshop."
It seems kind of like it is very close to working, because there is even a thumbnail. I also recovered a handful of .jpg’s and .tga’s, which are also broke. Does anyone know of a utility that could attempt to repair a .psd, .tga or .jpg?

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P
Phosphor
Jul 6, 2003
Short answer:

You’re S.O.L.
JC
Josh Conley
Jul 6, 2003
what version of PS are you using? And did you check your recycle bin, i know it sounds dumb but just covering the bases.
JD
Jerry Davenport
Jul 6, 2003
Photoshop 7.0.
Nothing in the recycle bin. I was re-installing an update for a 3D modelling/animation program called Lightwave and the update deleted the entire Lightwave directory, including the images in question. It was deleted so fast I didn’t even realize what had happened.
HD
hot_denim
Jul 6, 2003
Don’t hold your breath because you can get a thumbnail. It is data that only occupies a minor fraction of the whole graphics file.
SS
Sharu Singh
Jul 8, 2003
My .psd file refuses to open up after having saved and closed it the normal way. The error is:"This file uses an unsupported blending mode." It does not allow to substitute normal mode or read composite data. Even renaming the file and opening it doed not help. although i can see the thumbnail of the file . File size is: 6.76 mb.
Pls pass on any solution you might have for the same problem.
P
Phosphor
Jul 8, 2003
Sharu…

Are you trying to open that odd file in the same or later version of Photoshop? Is this happening all within your own desktop environment, or is it being transferred to another system?

If in the same version of Photoshop, and/or on the same system, this may be a question for one of the Adobe engineers that stop in here occasionally.
S
swordwell
Jul 18, 2003
I have same problem,Who can give some solution?
NL
Nick Lynch
Jul 19, 2003
In a related question… One of my employees has a rather annoying habit of working many hours on a project and forgetting to save his progress periodically. As you may have guessed, the system he’s using "occasionally" locks or freezes on him to the point where the only option is to completely restart the computer..This, as far as I can tell completely erases/destroys any work done that wasnt implicitly saved in photoshop 7..Does anyone know if there is a "recovery" or "repair" option either built-into Photoshop or maybe a program from a third-party co. that could allow for a recovery of work completed proir to the crash.( And PLEASE I KNOW HE SHOULD JUST SAVE HIS WORK AS HE GOES, TRUST ME, I’VE BEEN SAYING THAT FOR 2 YEARS!>.LOL) tHANKS sooo MUCH FOR ANY HELP!
Y
YrbkMgr
Jul 19, 2003
Nick,

No. No secret recovery. The image is toast, notify its next of kin. Your only option is to save early and save often. Or as the saying goes:

Save As = Save Ass.
DM
Don McCahill
Jul 19, 2003
Nick

Maybe you can get a personal address manager program that will pop up every 10-15 minutes with a "Save your file, stupid" (or something nicer) message.

Normally losing a file makes people frustrated in having to do stuff over again. Your guy seems odd.

Everyone

When you save your file, it is also smart to save under a different name each time. Switch back and forth between file0.psd and file1.psd, for instance.

This means if the lockup happens in the middle of the save process, you don’t toast the only file you have. There will be the older backup.
DM
Don McCahill
Aug 6, 2003
Re; I still have a 450Mb TMP file… Is there anything I could do with it?

Yes … delete it. Your work is toast. (I assume trying to open it from PS failed … it always has for me, but I generally try.)

This is why when I save files, I change the name every hour or so, in case a crash happens during the save. At least then you only lose an hours work.
C
Cheesefood
Aug 6, 2003
If you’re on a network, make part of everyone’s work flow to occasionally save the file on the network as well as their HD.

I’d love it if someone could tell me a way to sync a network folder with a local folder, so when I save locally it also saves on my network. Or a script that does a double-save.

If your employee refuses to save, then that’s a major refusal to follow the specified work flow. The time he/she spends recreating is costing you a lot of money. I’d tell that person to follow your orders or find a place that’s willing to waste money on a lazy employee.
Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 6, 2003
One cool feature of PaintShop Pro, is that they have AutoSave that allows you to set the intervals for saving.

I used to have it turned on all the time when I began image editing (Pre-photoshop days).

Sounds to me like it wouldn’t be the worst feature to incorporate into PS.
C
Cheesefood
Aug 6, 2003
Sounds to me like it wouldn’t be the worst feature to incorporate into PS.

Oh yes it would! Can you imagine what would happen if your Autosave decided to kick in after you applied a filter you didn’t want, flattened an image to test it, or performed any one of a million operations that are irreversible?

I hate the Autosave feature in Excel or Word. If you can’t remember to save often and save always, then you deserve the lessons you learn.
DM
dave milbut
Aug 6, 2003
Can you imagine what would happen if your Autosave decided to kick in after you applied a filter you didn’t want, flattened an image to test it, or performed any one of a million operations that are irreversible?

um, you’d step back in the history palette? 🙂
L
LenHewitt
Aug 7, 2003
Tony,

Sounds to me like it wouldn’t be the worst feature to incorporate into
PS.<<

Fine if you doing web-graphics all day, but an absolute killer for those working regularly with 300Mbyte files! – and of course, THOSE are the very files which need saving regularly.

But imagine the frustration if every five minutes your work came to a complete standstill while Autosave kicked in.

CF’s point is entirely moot since any autosave would NOT save to the original file at all and would not affect the file in memory in anyway whatsoever…..but the disruption to workflow would, I am certain, create many howls of protest….
V
viol8ion
Aug 7, 2003
How so? I thought that’s what Auto-Save did, save the file being worked on. Are you saying it would create a new file?

I have seen Autosave works boths ways… I think in old Word Perfect it saved to a back-up copy that could be retrieved if you lost or corrupted the working copy. It was an annoying feature, and we were forced by policy to use it. I turned it off as my boss pretty much gave me autonomy as long as I gave him his results.

I forget which app I used that it saved to the original, but I know it messed me up more than once as I edited and saved-as when I completed the document. I opened the original only to find out that I had 2 copies of the new version. This is going back to Win3.1 days.
V
viol8ion
Aug 7, 2003
WP (and Word) autosave feature works thusly (and always has):

I stand corrected. I must have been confused the apps and save options.. my error (or senility). It has been so long since I have opend a Word Processor other than to read other people’s documents, and I will not allow any app to auto-save ever since 1996 just because of the annoynaces.
DM
dave milbut
Aug 8, 2003
wp 4.x dos used to keep a seperate file. forget the name but if it’s that important to you, i can look it up in my manual (when I find it).
Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 8, 2003
Len,

You’re right about work coming to a standstill when AutoSave kicks in. That’s why I disabled it eventually in Paint Shop Pro.

However…those that are willing to live with the trade off would have the option. AutoSave in PaintShop Pro *does* save the original file – that can suck too when you want to File|Revert.

Point is, there’s no perfect solution, I’m sure Adobe have thought about this, after all, they aren’t dummies.

Personally, I think the current mechanism is the best and the safest: if you forget to lock your car door, doo doo happens; if you for get to save, same thing.

It’s about learning some discipline, and mostly about learning to live in an imperfect world.

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