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

Walker, Matthew Matthew.Walker at tetratech.com
Thu Sep 22 13:13:52 PDT 2011


I selected the "compatibility" option in the eQuest properties and have not repeated any of the previous problems.
Seems to be the fix we were looking for.

Thanks Pasha!

Matthew Walker

From: equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Patrick J. O'Leary, Jr.
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 9:30 AM
To: equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: Re: [Equest-users] file format error! is all my work lost?

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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