Fix corrupted .cpr file?

I’m running Cubase 4 on a Win7 32-bit machine and have been for a few years with NO problems.

Today, I was editing a HUGE project when Cubase crashed. I rebooted and tried to re-open the .cpr file and get the “invalid project file” error.

I have a backup, but it’s days old (isn’t it always?). After some searching, I found a thing that said I could send it to Steinberg with my dongle # and they might be able to ressurect it.

Is this still a thing? I’ve searched this forum, but can’t find anything about it. Also, since 4 is no longer supported, is that going to be an issue?

Thanks in advance.

Ian

Go to your “My steinberg” and file a support ticket:

https://www.steinberg.net/en/mysteinberg.html

Thanks, I went to do that yesterday, but couldn’t finish the process since I hadn’t done anything with registering my software since 2009.

I just had to put in the time and install the Cubase 5 i’ve been sitting on for 4 years.

Hoping for the best…

Yeah, I’m editing an audiobook and putting each chapter on a new track. After I finish a chapter, I bounce it and upload it for approval. My last backup was about 20 chapters ago.

So I have the bounces, but they’re processed, so if I have to do any re-recording, it’s going to get complex.

I’ll at least be able to throw the bounced version on a track and line up (not to the sample, that’d be nuts) the unedited track to it. That’s going to be a lot of work, but less than straight up re-doing it.

Also, there were a bunch of markers that I was using as notes- most of those were gone. I was able to throw the .cpr file into a text editor and find the notes. Even though the time doesn’t show, I at least put the chapter the marker was for. Getting the times together will be a drag, but at least I have the info.

It had crashed earlier in the day (which it had never done), but that was totally my fault. That crash didn’t affect the .cpr, but I wound up losing about an hour of work. Thinking that I should turn on the “auto-save” feature that I never use for some reason, I was re-editing and hit - to save it. I think it happened right when the auto save did it, because that’s when it crashed.

That would be the one that took out the .cpr.

The part that just straight up KILLS me is that the backup takes less than a minute, and right when I was starting to edit I thought “hey, I should back up… nah… this program has never crashed on me.”

Applied superstition…

Control+alt+S will save an incremental version of your work. I rely on that and autosave and have only ever lost minutes of work.

Imaging you lost the whole project due to lack of backup… You are a brave soul :smiling_imp:

So, it’s been nearly a month and no reply. Is that a “no” or should I be patient? Should I try again?

I just don’t know what kind of response time they have.
-I

you can have cubase autosave 1-10 *.bak files for you at an interval you set.
I think that goes back to at least SX3?
autosave is sometimes risky business in some programs but cubase does a good job.
cubase is stable enough over here but, you know, sh!t HAS happened, so …
I set my autosave to 3 with an interval of 10 minutes and it has rescued me a few times.

Check the email address you have associated with your mysteinberg account. Maybe you have the wrong email address in there? If that’s not it, I have no idea…

Blow up their mailbox with a explosive cucumber? That will get their attention.

Try P.M.ing a tech support mod too.

I don’t know how it worked for me but all I remember was that I changed the date to previous time when it worked well, and BOOOOOM my file opened.