Corrupted File
Hello.
Attached I have a file I have been working on for the past week or so. It contains about 30 pages of music and it is by Beethoven. However, this morning the file corrupted on me when I was finishing engraving.
I don't want to lose that much work. Is their any way someone can help me?
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Opus 1 No. 1 (Full Score).mscz | 0 bytes |
Comments
Sorry, that is just a 0 bytes size file and as such entirely empty, not a score at all
In reply to Sorry, that is just a b… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes, that is my corrupted file. I don't know how to fix it. When it corrupted the file was gone completely. I attached it to see if anyone could open it. I don't know what to do
In reply to Yes, that is my corrupted… by leeayres01
It isn't just corrupt, it is entirely empty, 0 bytes, beyond any repair
In reply to It isn't just corrupt, it is… by Jojo-Schmitz
I can see that. I just want some help on how to recover the file or how to get a backup. I am using MS4
In reply to Sorry, that is just a b… by Jojo-Schmitz
Sorry to jump in, but I'm having the same problem and I've only found that you are able to fix it. My original and backup file are corrupted, but the original still has a file size. I'll attach it below, if you could help that would be great!
...30 pages of music!!!!!
![Muse_oh2.png]( "Muse_oh2.png")
Perhaps you can find a backup:
https://musescore.org/en/node/52116
In reply to ...30 pages of music!!!!! … by Jm6stringer
This is for MS3. My file relates to MS4.
and yes, 30 pages of music ALL GONE!!
In reply to This is for MS3. My file… by leeayres01
For MS4:
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/backup-and-recovered-files
The MS4 handbook, as you can see, is still in the works.
Read the MS3 link and substitute MS4 for MS3.
In reply to For MS4: https://musescore… by Jm6stringer
In reply to This is for MS3. My file… by leeayres01
Sorry to hear you're having trouble, but almost certainly, there is a way to get your work back.
While the specific details in the article mentioned before are about MU3, the same basic principles apply to MU4. Things are just bit simpler now. The backup file is in a folder underneath the folder where the score itself lives. The autosave file is in the same folder as the score, with the word "autosave" appended. Turn on display hidden files & folder in your file browser and you should be able to find both.
Also, on many systems, there is automatic cloud sync and backup/versioning of your files you can use to restore to a previous point. E.g., on Windows, unless you disabled OneDrive, it probably made copies for you that you can restore easily.
In reply to SOrry to hear you're having… by Marc Sabatella
The backup file was in their, but that was corrupted as well, for some reason
In reply to The backup file was in their… by leeayres01
Was it empty (0 bytes in size) too?
In reply to Was it empty too? by Jojo-Schmitz
No. It is 111KB in size. However, it still says it has corruption issues when I try and open it
In reply to No. It is 111KB in size… by leeayres01
Please share it, so we can check whether it can get recovered
In reply to Please share it, so we can… by Jojo-Schmitz
I can't seem to share it. This is so frustrating!
In reply to I can't seem to share it by leeayres01
Just attach it to a post here, like you did earlier
In reply to Just attach it to a post… by Jojo-Schmitz
I tried to do that earlier, a message popped up saying that it was an unsupported file type
In reply to I tried to do that earlier,… by leeayres01
Rename or zip it
In reply to Rename or zip it by Jojo-Schmitz
Here you go
In reply to Here you go by leeayres01
try this
In reply to try this by Jojo-Schmitz
Thank you so much! That worked wonders. I appreciate what you did!
In reply to try this by Jojo-Schmitz
Hi jojo i would really appreciate your help if you could please help me figure out how to restore this corrupted file I have as well from musescore 4. I have the same error as the original user and I was able to find the backup score but when I try to open the backup in musescore 4 it says it is corrupted as well so I was wondering if you can help me out. I tried converting it to an xml file but I cant do so unless I can open the file in muescore itself, no online converters work (i was thinking once in mxl I could open it in musescore 3 and that then it might work). I cant open it in musesocre 3 at all because it gives me an error. I am not sure if opening it in musescore 3 would even work but I was just trying anything. I will attacth the backup file and please let me know if you can help me out asap. I have lost over 15 hours worth of work probably if I cant recover this. PLease let me know if you want me to do anything else as well.
In reply to Hi jojo i would really… by Extras
That file is just full of zeroes, nothing to recover
In reply to That file is just full of… by Jojo-Schmitz
could I send the original corrupted version and maybe something could be done with that one? I guess if its full of 0's then the backup I had sent you is corrupt as well.
In reply to could I sent the original… by Extras
It is worth a try.
In reply to I tried to do that earlier,… by leeayres01
> I tried to do that earlier, a message popped up saying that it was an unsupported file type
It is a backup file. Its name is ".Opus 1 No. 1 (Full Score).mscz~". You need to remove the dot at the beginning of the name and remove the tilde at the end of the extension - the convention for MuseScore backup files.
Unfortunately, Windows does not display the extension by default. You have to enable this in the options from Explorer.
The file can then be opened normally (if it is not corrupted) and also attached here.
In reply to It is a backup file. Its… by HildeK
Which is what I did
In reply to Which is what I did by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes, of course.
I was trying to explain how to do it to give leeayres01 some guidance on how he/she can help themselves with the backup files.
In reply to Yes, of course. I was trying… by HildeK
I see, I was to lazy for that explanation ;-)
In reply to I see, I was to lazy for… by Jojo-Schmitz
You have my assistance:-)
In reply to You have my assistance:-) by HildeK
Helloo may I seek for your help please 😭. I encountered the same problem and I'm very frustrated because I have a deadline for my forum which will be my final grade. pleaseee helppp meee, it's not yet finish and I want to finish it; I don't want to start a new progress again 😭😭
In reply to Helloo may I seek for your… by nikkoplaza30
Matcha is not repairable - there is no mscx file included. I am sorry.
Perhaps you can find a backup file on your computer.
Attempt 1 (0-1-4) (2).mscz
I opened it with MuS 3.6.2 without errors. You should be able to open it with MuS 4.
In reply to Matcha is not repairable -… by HildeK
omg thank you very much!! What do you mean backup file? I have a pdf but it doesn't have an accompaniment yet. The matcha that I sent have the accompaniment and I saved it before it got corrupted, but I don't have a copy for a matcha pdf that has accompaniment. Is there no other way to retrieve or locate the mscx file of matcha?
In reply to omg thank you very much!!… by nikkoplaza30
> What do you mean backup file?
Musescore creates hidden files and folders where backups are stored.
For Windows and MuS 3.6.2 there is a folder .mscbackup (it is hidden) and in this folder there is a file with the name ".NAME.mscz~". If you find such a file, remove the dot at the beginning and the '~' at the end and try it.
And here: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore3
are also files with random names. But AppData is also hidden.
Hidden files and folders can be made visible in the options of the file explorer.
Of course a PDF is not the backup I meant. But to make regular backup copies on e.g. an external disk is recommended anyway. Also for all other files you have created yourself.
In reply to Matcha is not repairable -… by HildeK
should I save it every time I make a small changes? or I should just save it if I'm done? I', scared to add some changes because it might get corrupt again.
In reply to should I save it every time… by nikkoplaza30
As I work with MuS 3.6.2 it is sufficient to press save from time to time.
I don't know on which action MuS 4 corrupts files. There are a lot of different types of corruptions reported here in the forum.
Some are caused by the zip action (mscz is a zipped file), others leave empty files, or files with only zeros - there are different errors probably caused by different actions.
If the causes were well known, they would have been fixed long ago.
In reply to As I work with MuS 3.6.2 it… by HildeK
To be clear: the bug where occasionally files get corrupted by becoming empty or filled with zeroes or having an invalid header exist with 3.6.2 too and are indeed far more common in that version than MuseScore 4. Saving files often is good in any version, but it won't prevent this bug from occasionally striking. Seems to happen on average once every million saves or so, based on the number of users we are known to have, the numbers of scores posted on musescore.com, and the number of reports here. Clearly, it happens during the save, but the big unknown is, why does it happen on some saves but not the vast majority of others> So far no one has come up with precise steps to reproduce the problem.
I personally suspect it has to do with something else going on at the same time. Like if the save happens at the exact moment some other process - like a backup service - is attempting to access the file.
In reply to should I save it every time… by nikkoplaza30
You should absolutely save often, not for any reasons related to this particular extremely rare bug, but just because it's common sense good practice with any computer program. Work not saved is work that can potentially be lost, and that happens far more often than an actual save operation going awry.
In reply to should I save it every time… by nikkoplaza30
Musescore 4.0.2 checks for corruption at open and and every save (Mu3 only checked on open and on save online), so you'd be made aware when a corruption crept in pretty quick if you saved often
In reply to Musescore 4.0.2 checks for… by Jojo-Schmitz
True, but only "regular" score corruptions, not these weird ZIP issues (empty archive, file filled with zeroes, bad header, etc). There is no reason to believe frequency of saving would have any impact on the likelihood of those kinds of errors presenting problems. Whatever one-in-a-million or so chance there is of a save going bad, it would apply equally to your most recent save whether the previous save was a minute earlier or an hour earlier.
Actually, though, the more frequently you save, the better the chance your backup will be useful, at least in MU4. In MU3, backups were only created once per session, but in MU4, they are created on each and every save. The chances of both the original file and the backup both being affected by one of these ZIP issues is extremely low, but with MU4, if you save often, the backup will be as recent as your second-to-last save. In Mu3 - or if you don't save often in MU4 your backup will likely be extremely old.
So again, saving often is just good common sense.
In reply to True, but only "regular"… by Marc Sabatella
Yes, only 'regular' corruptions
In reply to Yes, only 'regular'… by Jojo-Schmitz
I'm having the same problem. Can you help me?
In reply to I'm having the same problem… by rczerin
.zip
In reply to .zip by rczerin
As this one proves (zeros do compress pretty good ;-))
In reply to I'm having the same problem… by rczerin
The MSCZ file only contains a lot of bytes of value 00. The zip file contains the title of the MSCZ file and a section of compressed data equivalent to 36k of 00's. This is a failure of the file to compress and save properly but whether it is the fault of MuseScore, the Qt library or Windows i can't tell. I have my suspicions, though, never having seen it in Linux.
In reply to I'm having the same problem… by rczerin
See above for info on how to find the backup file, and also try using OneDrive or whatever other backup/sync service you normally use on your computer to recover a previously-saved version of the file.
In reply to See above for info on how to… by Marc Sabatella
The backup file is also corrupted. I guess it's over. Thanks anyway
In reply to I'm having the same problem… by rczerin
Nope, that is broken beyond repair, all zeroes
In reply to Please share it, so we can… by Jojo-Schmitz
Hello Jo, is there any way you can fix this score.
In reply to Hello Jo, is there any way… by carnegiem
Also broken beyond repair. All zeros in both files ...
In reply to Was it empty too? by Jojo-Schmitz
Hello, hope you are doing well. I have almost the same problem with my score. I am not even able to open it anymore. I don't know what to do. Help please
In reply to Hello, hope you are doing… by nobjoseph2005
This opened OK for me
OS: Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore version (64-bit): 4.0.2-230651545, revision: dbe7c6d
In reply to This opened OK for me OS:… by underquark
Same for me, Same MuseScore version, Windows 11
In reply to Same for me, Same MuseScore… by Jojo-Schmitz
Kind sir, could you help me out with this file? Appears corrupted but it shows file size so maybe recoverable... Thanks!
In reply to Kind sir, could you help me… by Esqualo
Unfortunately the zip process was buggy. The included mscx cannot be extracted.
Anyway, it is not possible with 7-zip and probably can not be fixed.
In reply to Hello, hope you are doing… by nobjoseph2005
Try to open that. It has been extracted from your file.
please help me to fix my very important mu4 file
I have attached the file that shown "Error=XML_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT ErrorID=13 (0xd) Line number=0"
Can you help me to repair this file? I need your help please
In reply to please help me to fix my… by Wicitra Agustya
The .mscx file was able to be extracted from your .mscz file. I opened and saved in MU4.
Here it is:
NKB 93 - Segala Puji Bagi-Nya-2.mscz
See if it opens for you.
In reply to The .mscx file was able to… by Jm6stringer
thank you for the help!
In reply to The .mscx file was able to… by Jm6stringer
Good day, Sir, I've been working on this score for my project but during the scoring process, it got corrupted. please kindly help me fix it because I am far behind time to score it again.
In reply to Good day, Sir, I've been… by Charles K
Try this
Does anyone know if these files can be saved? I've been working on a large transcription and discovered that both the original and backup files were corrupted. I tried using 7zip, but didn't have success extracting the files.
In reply to Does anyone know if these… by Desertanu
These files cannot be recovered because they contain only ~37kBytes of zeros. Both files are irreparably damaged and almost identical.
In reply to These files cannot be… by HildeK
Thanks for informing me. Is there anything I can do to prevent this sort of thing from occurring in the future?
In reply to Thanks for informing me. Is… by Desertanu
Create backups often
In reply to Create backups often by Jojo-Schmitz
Hello. First off just wanted to say how I'm grateful for all the work you do (repair plugin + helping others from what I've seen).
I've tried loading the backup (which still comes up corrupted), opening with 7zip, etc. Whenever I try to open the score normally, it gives me the XML_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT message seen above. If I open it from my fie explorer, the application opens but it's just a blank background with the palette on the side.
I've attached the original file below.
In reply to Hello. First off just wanted… by MaPrai29
It is 64.3 KB of zeros, so beyond repair
In reply to It is 64.3 KB of zeroes by Jojo-Schmitz
Figured. Thanks for your activity!
In reply to Thanks for informing me. Is… by Desertanu
Take advantage of the various automatic cloud backup services that are out there. On Windows, for instance, unless you go out of your way to disable it, OneDrive is always there making backup copies for you, so that might be an option for you. On macOS, Time Machine can be set up to do this (not sure if it happens by default). Various packages are available for Linux. You can also set up Google Drive or Dropbox to automatically sync to your computer, and then use a folder on one of those systems to save your scores.
Help me out, this file is corrupt. I tried getting the back up but it's also corrupt.
In reply to Help me out, this file is… by nguyenhenry22
As with many of these "corrupt files", they contain nothing but thousands of bytes set to 00.
The first thing I do with these queries is read the file using an editor (in this case, Bless in ubuntu, but there are similar programs for other platforms). If it's all 00 then Game Over.
MuseScore .MSCZ files are .ZIP archive files, so If it contains data along the lines of "50 4B 03 04 14 00 / PK........." then try a ZIP repair program or extract the ,MSCX file or delete the Excerpts folder.
Next person to ask the same question, please try opening your file in the latest stable version of MuseScore and then try reading it with a file editing program and then look for backups if your file is empty or try an archive program if it might still contain data.
In reply to As with many of these … by underquark
Here's another example. I did Ctrl-s many times as I went. Both my last file and the autosaved version (renamed) are attached. Both have one corruption
Error=XML_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT ErrorID=13 (0xd) Line number=0
and neither will 'open anyway'. Must one not only keep saving but keep saving with new names, or check each saved file??
In reply to Here's another example. I… by jwpratt
@jwpratt
Attached is a recovered version of Mvt 4. This is what I did:
1. Using the free 7-Zip tool I opened the Zip archive of your .mscz file.
2. In 7-Zip I deleted the entire "Excerpts" folder - that deletes all the parts, leaving only the full score.
3. In 7-Zip I extracted the .mscx file of the full score.
4. With Mu4 I opened the .mscx file and saved it as a new .mscz file.
"Must one not only keep saving but keep saving with new names, or check each saved file??"
I can't answer that question, because I am still using Mu3 for all my serious work. Judging by the corruption reports, Mu4 still has some way to go before it can be regarded as "mature".
In reply to @jwpratt Attached is a… by DanielR
> This is what I did:
Perhaps it is enough to delete the "Excerpts" folder in 7-zip. But I don't know which detail caused the error message.
In MuS 3.7 both files open without an error message.
In reply to > This is what I did:… by HildeK
"Perhaps it is enough to delete the "Excerpts" folder in 7-zip."
![Mu4_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT.png]( "Mu4_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT.png")
Sorry, but that doesn't work on its own. Mu 4.2.1. wrongly reports ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT:
But extracting the .mscx file shows that the file is certainly not empty - it has real content. When viewed in Notepadd++ the file has 122340 lines and size 3507KB, shows the expected structure and opens in Mu4.
In reply to "Perhaps it is enough to… by DanielR
Yes, it is clear that the document is not empty. Otherwise MuS 3.7 wouldn't open the mscz without an error.
This "XML_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT" message seems to be used for many different problems and has little significance. This is my impression from the many scores for which MuS 4 reports this error.
In reply to Yes, it is clear that the… by HildeK
Would be interesting to check what the log says
In reply to > This is what I did:… by HildeK
You don't need to touch Excerpts folder here. Moreover, the file opens fine if you simply add a dot at the beginning of the file name
In reply to You don't need to touch… by mercuree
Do you have an explanation for the other behavior with the dot in front of the file name?
In reply to Do you have an explanation… by HildeK
It is a bug, fixed in 4.3
In reply to It is a bug, fixed in 4.3 by Jojo-Schmitz
OK, it can happen.
However, I was confused by the posts by mercuree, who once wrote:
the file opens fine if you simply add a dot at the beginning of the file name
and then further down:
I fixed ... by removing the period at the beginning of the file name
???
In reply to OK, it can happen. However,… by HildeK
Either add it to the .mscz file name, or remove it from the .mscx inside that mscz
In reply to Either add it to the .mscz… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks. I didn't notice that the mscx had a dot.
In reply to @jwpratt Attached is a… by DanielR
Many thanks, but that file behaved the same way for me as my original file. Removing the . in front didn't help. I had already tried that with my file, btw. I am using 4.2, probably by now updated however the management urges. Marc S strongly recommended 4.2 over 3.6 long ago, for much better layout, and I thought by now it would be safe. The placement of slurs, for example, does indeed seem much better.
In reply to Here's another example. I… by jwpratt
I fixed String_Quintet_No._4_in_G_minor_K.516__Mvt._4 fl new.mscz
by removing the period at the beginning of the file name ".String_Quintet_No._4_in_G_minor_K.516__Mvt._4 fl new.mscx"
This is known issue. It will be fixed in MuseScore 4.3.0
In reply to I fixed String_Quintet_No._4… by mercuree
And in container.xml too
In reply to I fixed String_Quintet_No._4… by mercuree
That file opens properly for me! Many, many thanks!! But why did the same fix repeatedly not work for me when I tried it??
Hello.
I am posting this on behalf of my daughter who has also experienced a 0 bytes file corruption on saving her A Level composition this weekend.
Is there any chance of retrieving all her hard work - feeling devastated.
Apologies if this isn't the correct way to ask for help - never encountered this before.
Her usual iCloud backup has just saved the 0 bytes corrupt file in backup but I have this version attached below.
So grateful for any help at all..
Amanda
In reply to Hello. I am posting this on… by clementsa24
95 Bytes is way too small to be useful
In reply to 95 Bytes is way too small to… by Jojo-Schmitz
I'm sorry that I don't understand; the last version we can recover dated 29 November is only 36 Bytes and we can open that one?
Thank you for any help you can give us.
Amanda
In reply to I'm sorry that I don't… by clementsa24
We receive the error
Error=XML_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT Error ID=13 (0xd) Line number=0
In reply to We receive the error Error… by clementsa24
Sorry I realised my mistake before but here are the latest with 0 bytes which she tried to save as normal on 2nd February.
Is there any hope of recovering her work?
Many thanks again!
In reply to Sorry I realised my mistake… by clementsa24
And here is the 0 bytes file - hoping you can help! thank you
In reply to And here is the 0 bytes file… by clementsa24
It is a file with zero bytes. That means: completely empty, no content! Unfortunately, there is nothing more to save.
In reply to It is a file with zero bytes… by HildeK
Thank you. So the file she has been working on and saving to her desktop backed up in iCloud has corrupted on pressing 'save' this final time on Sunday?
Assuming now she has to go back to Nov 29th version and repeat all her hard work.
What advice to stop this happening again please?
In reply to Thank you. So the file she… by clementsa24
I don't remember having this problem in the past with MuS 3.6.2.
My advice, which applies to all important documents that you don't want to lose: Make regular backups! After every (major) change resp. some hours of work, save the score under a new name, preferably on a USB stick or an external hard disk, for example.
In reply to I don't remember having this… by HildeK
These zero size files and full of zeros files happen since quite long (never to me though), they get reported since years.
But creating backups is sound advice indeed ;-)
In reply to These zero size files and… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks.
She was relying on her iCloud backup but I now understand this was a mistake as it has also simply backed up her 0 bytes.
She plans to save (often) to school Google Drive file - presumably that will work.
In reply to Thanks. She was relying on… by clementsa24
Just saving a file is no guarantee of it being preserved since a damaged file can overwrite a good file. Save frequently and use a different filename each time and then there will always be a version with at least some work completed that you can go back to.
In reply to Just saving a file is no… by underquark
I already have a dizzying number of files, so a new name every half-hour or so is not practical. Alternating between two is more practical, but then it seems one must check that the latest save is not corrupted before moving on, a considerable nuisance. That's what I had in mind when I asked, "Must one not only keep saving but keep saving with new names, or check each saved file??" Other suggestions are beyond my paygrade.
In reply to I already have a dizzying… by jwpratt
If you're on Windows, then unless you went out of your way to disable OneDrive, you already have a version history kept automatically. If for some reason you did disable it, just re-enable it now. It's a life saver. On macOS, check out Time Machine. Or use a Google Drive or Dropbox folder to save your scores to, and these are also backed up with version history completely automatically.
But also, for perspective: I have been a heavy (to say the least!) user of MuseScore for over 10 years. I can't even begin to guess how many tens or even hundreds of thousands of saves I've done. Once I had a glitch saving that made a file unopenable; the backup was fine. And there are millions of users and probably millions of saves done every day, and we get but a small handful of reports of problems. It's not really something you need to worry that much about. Basic simple steps like making sure you have OneDrive / Time Machine / Google Drive / Dropbox enabled are simple peace of mind for the one-in-million chance of file becoming inaccessible for whatever reason - not just in MuseScore, but in any program. I've used those services to bail me out of all sorts of problems. If you're not using one or something like it, make that #1 priority and then there is nothing further to worry about.
In reply to I already have a dizzying… by jwpratt
@jw pratt:
"I already have a dizzying number of files..."
Well, then, I fear that you will continue to face the problems that you have. I repeat, "saving" a file doesn't save it, it just overwrites the existing file and that is fine if everything goes well but not fine if it doesn't. Good luck with your own strategy.
In reply to I'm sorry that I don't… by clementsa24
No, this version from November 29th has 34kByte and works perfectly.