Cannot open file - 53838 error message

[areyouguystwins]

Don't know if this is the right discussion to post to but...

Been using Anime Pro for a few months now on Windows XP, version 5.5, Build 20060822P.

Spent a full day on a one minute animation file (working on a feature length animation film cut apart into 70 separate anime files). Saved the file continuously as I worked as Anime has a tendency to crash periodically (flakey program).

The computer shut down in the middle of me doing a camera angle (my fault for hitting the computer on/off button with my foot accidently, duh). Brought the computer back up, tried to open the file I was working on and received the following vague error message:

COULD NOT OPEN FILE.
ERROR DETAILS:
Read Error at line 53838. In code file C:\Documents and Settings\Mike Clifton\My Documents\Develop\lm_tree\lib_moho\m_mesh.cpp, line 143.

Can't get any more vague than *that* error message.

Needless to say, I don't want to re-animate the entire file again (it is a 4 mg file). Anyone have any clue on how I can fix this error? I searched the web -- no luck. I searched these forums - no luck. Only one other person had this problem on this forum and it was never answered.

If it is corrupted and I can't fix the file -- then I have to make it a habit to save duplicate files as I work in Anime Pro. Kind of irritating but what other choice do I have? We do have a lot of power outages around here, the next time it might not be my fault if the program shuts down in the middle of animating, I need to be prepared not to lose data and animation time.

Hey, does Anime Pro have backup files? Can't find any backup files on my computer nor in Anime's very limited *documentation.*

Most programs generate backup files as you work (even freeware such as Audacity) -- helps with corruption issues (sometimes).

Anyway, any help would be appreciated. But I am guessing it is yet another quirk with this program and I will have to work around it.

That sucks.

[areyouguystwins]

[crickets chirping in the background]

Anyone?

Anyone from Lost Marble ever read the topics in this forum?

Are the developers ever interested in helping out users with vague error messages that are generated from their own software?

Oh well. I re-animated the scene last night, took another six hours. I figured it was a lost cause so I might as well get it done and move on.

Will find a freeware backup program that will back up the current Anime file I am working on evey 5-10 minutes in order to solve any future corruption problem with Anime files should my computer shut off unexpectadley while I am animating.

Also, when I get too many errors stating "Anime Pro encountered an error and needs to close" -- I just reload the software and that seems to cut down on the errors for a while. I guess Anime Pro and Windows XP are not best buddies. Can't wait to try it on my mew computer with Vista -- should work like a charm! [sarcasm intended]

Live and learn -- and I am defintely learning to live with Anime's flakiness. What the hell it is cheap, and works well enough when it works. I guess I can't complain too much.

[slowtiger]

I have to make it a habit to save duplicate files as I work

You should get used to it if you work with files for a living. I learned this the hard way years ago, as everyone does and you do now.

But of course it is better strategy to fix those bugs in a program than to add some backup automatism (although its not really a bad thing to have this, as long as it can be switched offf).

Anyway, if the computer crashes, no program can do much about it when this happens right in the middle of a writing cycle. Of course the program should not cause the crash!

As I work on a Mac I can't help you with this. The description of your installation's behaviour sounds a bit awkward, I can't remember having found "Anime Pro encountered an error and needs to close" mentioned often here. Without knowing your system I can only guess: fast harddrive with lots of free space? More than 1.5 GB Ram? Other programs having similar problems?

[toonertime]

I use AS on my e-machine with windows XP
and it is very stable. I, unfortunately, am not!

[JimmyC]

I always do an incremental save when I am drawing something. For example 'Toon Car 1.anme' 'Toon Car 2.anme' etc.etc. That way I never lose too much if a crash happens.

I have never had a crash on XP with AS, but I never use very large files either.

[Genete]

COULD NOT OPEN FILE.
ERROR DETAILS:
Read Error at line 53838. In code file C:\Documents and Settings\Mike Clifton\My Documents\Develop\lm_tree\lib_moho\m_mesh.cpp, line 143.

It is the weirdst thing I've never have seen about programs error messages.

That's the type of errors that are given whe you're running a program under a debugger. If you have acompiled version of the program then it doesn't take care of where the .ccp file is or the line where the error is. Normally runtime errors are more "machine languaje like" (Excepcion threaded... Float point error ... Divided by 0 exception... Runtime error stack overflow...or something like that). Take account that once the programmer compiles the program then it is converted to machine code and the information on where the code cpp file is or the line number of the error is lost.

Weird, weird. Very strange...

-G

[heyvern]

The computer shut down in the middle of me doing a camera angle (my fault for hitting the computer on/off button with my foot accidently, duh).

That's your problem right there... it aint the "flakey" software...

When you crash like that you can do all kinds of nasty damage to your system, files that are open... running applications... computers ARE NOT meant to be shut down like that.

If you can post the damaged file somewhere so I could look at it I could tell you very quickly if it is recoverable.

The AS file format is plain text. You can open the files in any text editor and even make changes. I do this all the time. Not making any promises but I even managed to fix some files that were broken.

My prediction is that it is most likely completely toast. Probably a chunk of the file was corrupted when the computer shut down... maybe the bad spot could be "removed"... or "patched"... like the missing DNA from those dinosaurs in that movie...

You must do 2 things right away... move the switch that shuts off your computer AWAY FROM YOUR FEET and start doing incremental saves of large important files you have worked on for hours or days.

Daily backups might not be a bad idea... but from my experience expecting that to happen is a bit much. Most people I know will thank me profusely, promise me anything and listen to my advice AFTER I fix their computer troubles...

... but will ignore me totally when things are going well. I can't get anyone in my family to do a simple backup onto a floppy or CD of their important work.

-vern

[areyouguystwins]

That's your problem right there... it aint the "flakey" software...

Yeah, I know *that* it was my problem, I stated as such. But I don't understand why the flakey software generates such vague error messages. And yeah, Anime is flakey -- kind of reminds me of Microsoft Access.

When you crash like that you can do all kinds of nasty damage to your system, files that are open... running applications... computers ARE NOT meant to be shut down like that.

Yeah, I know that. I have been working with computers for close to twenty years. Still, many software programs generate back up files which "sometimes" can help when a computer shuts down unexpectedly, looks like Anime is a tad bit different regarding that aspect of software development.

My prediction is that it is most likely completely toast. Probably a chunk of the file was corrupted when the computer shut down... maybe the bad spot could be "removed"... or "patched"... like the missing DNA from those dinosaurs in that movie...

Yeah, I kind of knew it was toast that is why I re-animated it last night.

You must do 2 things right away... move the switch that shuts off your computer AWAY FROM YOUR FEET and start doing incremental saves of large important files you have worked on for hours or days.

Yeah, I know, that is what I stated in my original post. I would do copies of the current file I am working on.

Daily backups might not be a bad idea... but from my experience expecting that to happen is a bit much. Most people I know will thank me profusely, promise me anything and listen to my advice AFTER I fix their computer troubles...

I back up all Anime files I work on each day to two separate hard drives.

-- Calling Mike Clifton I need your C: drive!

[JimmyC]

But I don't understand why the flakey software generates such vague error messages.

I was a programmer for 20 years, and I have never seen a less 'vague' error message in my life

It gives you everything you could ever wish to know, right down to the line number where the error occurred. Great error trap (if you are Mike Clifton )

[areyouguystwins]

Anyway, if the computer crashes, no program can do much about it when this happens right in the middle of a writing cycle. Of course the program should not cause the crash!

As I work on a Mac I can't help you with this. The description of your installation's behaviour sounds a bit awkward, I can't remember having found "Anime Pro encountered an error and needs to close" mentioned often here. Without knowing your system I can only guess: fast harddrive with lots of free space? More than 1.5 GB Ram? Other programs having similar problems?

Ughh!!! Anime!

Anyway, been away awhile putting together new hardware for a faster system.

Loaded Anime Pro 5.4.0.1 on my new computer and guess what?

Same old "Anime Pro encountered an error and needs to close" messages. Doesn't happen all the time, usually once or twice a day (I work on Anime 5-6 hours a day).

So here is the lowdown:

I bought the retail package of Anime Pro 5.4.0.1 in March 2007 and installed it from a CD on the following system:

Windows XP SP2
1.4 ghz cpu
.5 gig of RAM
250 gig HD
no video card (use chipset on MB)

Started to get "Anime Pro encountered an error and needs to close" error messages off and on. Figured my system was too slow to properly run Anime.

I then installed it on the following system:

Windows XP SP2
3.0 ghz cpu Pentium 3
1 gig RAM
video card installed
250 gig HD

Same old error messages off and on. Anime crashes for no good reason. I am in the habit of saving every minute, plus doing backups of the anime file every 5 minutes.

I then put together a top of the line system this past week (I think so at least) hoping it will help out with Anime's flakiness:

Windows Vista
2.13 ghz cou Intel Core 2 Duo
2 gig RAM
256 MB video card
320 gig HD

Lo and behold same old "Anime Pro encountered an error and needs to close" error messages pop up intermittently.

What gives?

Did I get a bad installer disk?

Should I contact Lost Marble?

Does anyone have a clue on what could be causing the problem on three separate computer systems?

I don't have this problem with other software running on the systems. Ugh!

Oh well, I guess I put up with it until I can afford a better animation package.

[heyvern]

This is weird. I don't think I ever hear about crashing at all on this forum.

I too run ASP for hours and hours. I leave it running all the time even when I do other things. I hardly ever quit. The only time it "crashes" is when I MAKE it crash fiddling with scripting. When I'm just "working" it never crashes.

I am on a Mac but I also use ASP on a PC just not for the same extended periods. Same thing though. I don't crash. I don't think ASP has crashed once on my PC... maybe I don't use it long enough... although I did do a long tutorial recording recently with all the steps which took a couple of hours.

This does sound strange. I can't imagine it is a "damaged" disk. If the disk were damaged the program would even run at all in my opinion.

The only thing I can think of is....

What ELSE have you installed on these machines? Something you put in there that might be running at the system level to cause a conflict? Maybe there is some other program most of us don't have that is specifically conflicting with ASP.

Maybe it is bad ram? Bad sector on the hard drive? Too much of a coincidence I suppose unless you used any bits from one system in the other.

Another thing could be... what are doing with ASP? Just like any program there is a way to crash it if you... push it too far. I can make it crash if I create a certain combination of constraints. I can make it crash when I create shapes in a weird way... it only happens once in a blue moon (once a week? Once every few days?) but I can "tell" it was that crazy shape thing I did. I just don't know exactly what it is.

To be honest since I use scripting and custom scripted tools for EVERY file I create I can't consider my crashes the same as others. Even so, I don't crash very often.

-vern

[heyvern]

Using the undo with complicated scripts in the middle of the time line will often crash AS.

If you use the undo A LOT this may account for crashing.... just a guess though.

-vern

[AmigaMan]

I use AS a lot recently. The week before last I used it all day for 5 days solid and didn't have a single crash! This is on XP on a, by todays standards, not very hi spec laptop.

I know that doesn't help you much Areyouguystwins but I'm sure the problems you are encountering aren't the 'norm' (certainly not in my experience) and maybe something else is causing it such as your 'unstable power supply' as you suggested earlier? Just a thought.

[heyvern]

If you live in an area that has frequent spikes or drop outs in the power to your house this could cause all kinds of issues like corrupted system and application files.

I had to buy a UPS for all my stuff because at least once or twice a month the power "flicks" off and on for a split second which would wreak havoc on my system.

Another thing too... sometimes we exaggerate problems like this because we don't remember exactly how often it happens. We just "feel" that it happens "all the time".

It would be helpful if you tried to keep a crash log to verify when and how often you really are crashing. Write down how many times and when it crashes. Write down what you were working on at that moment, bones, vectors, shapes etc. What other applications were running. Were you doing something else like a big download or playing a video? Those kinds of things could help track down the source of the problem.

AS is one of those rock solid apps. I use a TON of flakey software... and ASP just doesn't fit that category.

-vern

[slowtiger]

Just for the record:

I use AS on a Mac (PPC G5) and it usually runs a week without interruption, then I reboot just for safety and because I have the impression that everything slows down a lot. During this time other applications run as well, like Safari, Photoshop, Mirage, Flash and so on.

AS crashes - but only once in a while and usually in a situation where I have several complex characters in a scene, the video file is visible, onionskinning is on, and I do some point animation. Other than that it runs smoothly.

Since other programs crash as well (every fortnight or so), I guess that there's a problem with the system's graphic routines. The common pattern seems to be that I do a sequence of actions but the Mac can't follow fast enough, so it gets trapped between updating the screen, closing a window, and showing the dreaded beach ball (would be the watch in windows). Basically I want to work faster than my graphic card allows.

In the two or more years I use Moho/AS now, I never experienced a corrupted file.