Musecore 4 Autosave Location
I attempted to open a project on MuseScore 4 recently, and I got the following error and was unable to open the project:
Error=XML_ERROR_EMPTY_DOCUMENT ErrorID=13 (0xd) Line number=0
After reading through other posts on this error, I came to the conclusion that this file, and the most recent saved version in the backup folder, were not of use any more, as they are both empty.
However, I would really like to recover this project, so I attempted to find the autosave files. I am able to find autosave files from MuseScore 3, but I am not able to find them for MuseScore 4. I know I have autosave files, because MuseScore 4 has recovered projects from an autosave before in the event of a crash. Where should they be located? I am on a Mac.
Comments
Occasionally files will give this error not because they are empty but because theZIP header is corrupt, and it might be possible to repair them, So feel free to attach the file here so people can take a look.
It would be extremely rare for the backup to have the same issue - are you sure you opened it and not the actual file?
What could be happening is that both of these files are in fact but it's the autosave that is corrupt, and MuseScore is attempting to open the autosave because it thinks it is doing you a favor. So, you do want to find the automsave to test this - first by renaming it so MuseScore can't find it and then reopening the original file. If that doesn't help, then indeed try opening the autosave.
To find it, enable hidden files and look in the same folder as the actual score.
In reply to Occasionally files will give… by Marc Sabatella
Both the original and the backup are zero bytes, but I have attached them here.
As for the autosave, I am unable to find it. Am I correct in saying the same of the autosave file should be "sc," followed by a number? I don't see any such files when looking through the hidden files.
In reply to Both the original and the… by crachiolaj
Those are entirely empty, 0 bytes
In reply to Both the original and the… by crachiolaj
No, the autosave in MU4 will have the same name as your actual score, just with ".autosave" appended. The "scXXXX" business was Mu3 and earlier.
Another possibility is to use your OS file history mechanism to restore an older version - OneDrive on Windows, Time Machine on macOS, etc.
In reply to No, the autosave in MU4 will… by Marc Sabatella
Time Machine does have a very early version of the project, but there is little value in it.
I am unable to find any files with ".autosave" on my computer. Where would they be located? They are not in the same folder as the original project. Is there a reason that MuseScore would not be autosaving?
My settings say it autosaves every 3 minutes, and I was certainly on the project for over 3 minutes.
In reply to Time Machine does have a… by crachiolaj
The autosave - which lives in the same folder as the score itself - is meant only for crash recovery. If the score is closed normally, then the autosave is deleted.
In reply to The autosave - which lives… by Marc Sabatella
I see. In that case I will not be able to recover the score.
Do you have any advice to prevent this issue from happening in the future? Is there a specific process that is known to cause this type of corruption?
Thank you for your assistance.
In reply to I see. In that case I will… by crachiolaj
So far no one has been able to figure out what causes it. I would simply suggest saving often and making your OS is set to save backups of every save. Then you can always return to a recently-saved file. FWIW, though, it's almost unheard for both the primary file and backup to be corrupt in this way. Makes me wonder if you have a bad sector on your drive.