[Equest-users] file format error! is all my work lost?

[Patrick J. O'Leary, Jr.]

equest files, like all important files, should be backed up early and 
often.

i typically back up my .pd2 (when using the wizard) every time i exit 
the wizard.  and i exit the wizard a lot just to make sure i've backed 
up what i've already input, especially if using multiple shells.  it's 
just a text file.  copy it to a networked job directory, give it a 
different name (i add a number to the end of the name followed by where 
i'm at in the wizard).  you can do this after hitting the save button in 
equest - no need to actually exit the program.

in detailed mode i do the same thing - except i just copy and rename the 
main .inp file.

and only work on one system at a time.  i have been able to frequently 
crash equest in wizard mode by editing a shell (or more) and then 
editing an hvac or plumbing system.  i stopped doing that years ago when 
i found it to be the cause of a guaranteed crash when existing the 
wizard.  and it is always wise to backup the .pd2 file after entering 
each shell as the shells is where most of the wizard inputs take place.

On 9/22/11 8:47 AM, Maria Karpman wrote:
>
> I had the same problem on Vista a few times. In my experience it only 
> happens with large projects that had parametric runs, which matches 
> Umesh's observation. The most unpleasant symptom was the loss of the 
> main inp file, with its size going to ~0. Overcoming initial shock, I 
> found that it is not too hard to recover from this by using one of the 
> inp files created during simulation.
>
> Let's say the lost project was named <MyProject>. To recover the 
> inputs, I'd go to the project folder and locate 
> <MyProject>-Baseline.inp file. If this file was not affected by the 
> problem (has a reasonable file size), I create a copy of the file and 
> name it <MyProjectX>.inp. If <MyProject>-Baseline.inp is also lost, I 
> pick an inp file created by eQUEST for a parametric run which has the 
> most in common with the main model and that was run recently, and 
> create a copy of this file naming it <MyProjectX>.inp. (The original 
> file would be named <MyProject>-<Parametric Run Label>.inp). When 
> using  inp file for a parametric run to recover a project, you need to 
> remember to revert the parameters that were changed in the parametric 
> run back to the original values once you are able to open the project 
> in the detailed interface. Note also that inp file for a parametric 
> run is only generated when you run calculations for this run, so when 
> using this option you may have to recapture all the changes that were 
> made since the parametric run was last calculated. To get a fresh 
> start, I always create a new PD2 file for the project following the 
> steps described by Brian Fountain in the post on 9/7/2011, and imports 
> <MyProjectX>.inp into this new project. To recover parametric runs, 
> create a copy of <MyProject>.prd file naming if <MyProjectX>.prd and 
> place it in the folder with the rest of the recovered files. I also 
> always restart computer after a crash like that.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Maria
>
>

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