MAX and DRF files are corrupted after installing Windows® 2000 Service Pack 4

Products

Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2004
Autodesk® Building Systems 2004
Autodesk® VIZ 4
3D Studio VIZ® R3i
3D Studio VIZ® R3

Issue

You installed Service Pack 4 for Windows® 2000, and you can no longer use Autodesk® VIZ 4, 3D Studio VIZ® 3i, or 3D Studio VIZ 3.0 to open MAX files that were saved after the service pack was installed or VIZ Render to open DRF files that were saved after the service pack was installed.

Solution

Autodesk has confirmed that installing the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 causes the corruption of MAX and DRF files. Our Engineering Team is working with Microsoft to resolve this issue.

In the interim is it strongly advised that Autodesk VIZ 4, 3D Studio VIZ 3.0/3i, Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2004, and Autodesk® Building Systems 2004 users do not install the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4. If you have already installed the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, it is recommended that you temporarily uninstall the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, which will alleviate this issue.

Autodesk VIZ 4 (MAX) files and VIZ Render (DRF) files created while Windows 2000 SP4 is installed can be retrieved through either of following work-arounds.

Method #1

Important: Some data may be lost if you use this method to work around the issue.

  1. Uninstall the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.
  2. Use the File Merge command to retrieve data from the corrupted MAX or DRF files and then save the files.

Note: If you have Render Effects or Atmospherics in your MAX or DRF file, use the Merge button in the respective dialog boxes.

Method #2

  1. Uninstall the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.
  2. Open corrupted MAX or DRF files in Windows XP, then save the files and return to the system on which the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 has been uninstalled.

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