can someone tell me if the worst I fear has happened? I was working on my challenge image and realized I'd made lots of tiny changes and hadn't saved it. I'd opened some other programs in the meantime and realized Bryce was taking an awfully long time to save, so I started closing the others, just in case that was the problem. I thought Bryce had finished saving and clicked to exit the program when it locked up. Not a normal lock up, but a completely white screen. I had to ctrl-alt-del and end task to get out of it. Now, when I go to open my file, it's there, but it doesn't open anything. Seems to, but there's just the normal new document stuff there. My file is still there, all 90+Mb of it, but it won't open. Have I lost my scene? Should I say ARUGH! now or wait until later? I really, really, really don't want to try to recreate this! Susan

The file probably got corrupted and is gone. Check the temp folder where you have Bryce installed, there's a slim chance it may be there but because Bryce crashed completely it may have erased the temp file. I beleive it normally erases that file anyway when you shut down Bryce. It sucks I know. unfortunately bryce doesn't play nice with other programs running.

It sure it's too late for you, but maybe this could be useful to others: I simply can't leave the PC to work only with Bryce, because is also my work machine, and I'm very short on RAM also. With some larger files (about 100-150Megs), it often freezes, and I discovered that, most times, it's enough to press Ctrl+Alt+Del, select "Bryce (stopped)" and then CANCEL (not End Task) to exit the dialog. I sure as hell don't know why this happens, but doing this, 90 times out of 100 Bryce unfreezes and resume working.

Just my 2c. I really hope you can retrieve your file, 'cuz the image was really beautiful. Let us know.

Stefano

Susan, I can't help with your image, but when you scream and flail about, I suggest lying on the bed so you don't hurt yourself. Move any lamps out of the way. I hope Alderon's tip helps get your image back. Lin

If you have Norton and a protected trash you can probably rescue the previous save. I went in and found two copies with my same working name. I rescued these as file001 and file002,renaming them so they would not write over each other. The first one wouldn't open in Bryce. The second one was the previous day's work without my latest changes, but at least I got that much back. Remember that the longer you surf, or the more programs you install or save the bigger the chance that you will write over the file before you can rescue it. All I can say is save early and often. If you have comitted major time you might consider saving a file001, file002, etc so you only have to recreate a day's work if it crashes. Windows also does not see Bryce as a running task. I saved a Bryce file and exited. Unlike microsoft office where it asks you to save your open files, or other apps where a window pops up and asks you to wait to give the program time to quit, Windows will shut down with the drive still running. If you move your mouse to the top of the screen after saving the Bryce top bar will not pop back up until the save is complete. If you quit Bryce and press the save file button watch the drive light on your PC. Don't quit Windows until the light goes off.

and a big wet kiss for Aldaron for reminding me about temp files! (Duh!) I had two temps files and the first one turned out to be my file complete with all the last changes I'd made. I guess it really did save, just not correctly and then fried the real file when I had to cancel out of the program. I've had some problems with Bryce and memory but mostly at home where I've got little memory. What I've learned to do is make my scene in sections then I'll bring the pieces to work and merge them. I've got lots of memory at work but like Stefano, I have to work on other things at the same time. I'd taken lunch and was trying to get this rendered to a bigger size when it all hit the fan. But, I'm saved!!!! Hurrah! :o) Now to render this and post it before something dreadful happens and I can't recover. Susan Oh, and I've found that it's even better to lie on the floor while flailing. Then I don't even risk falling out of bed! :oD

I'm glad it worked for you! electroglyph brought up a good tip, if the menu bar doesn't pop up when the cursor is up top Bryce isn't finished saving. Don't click anything or close until a few seconds after the menu appears again. So far I haven't lost a file. crossed fingers

I'm glad you got your file back. Last night I had been working on a landscape and had been saving it every 30 mins or so, but during about a 3-hr non-stop tree-adding and tweaking session, when I realized I was ready to start the final render, I tried to save, and got the old "Bryce is tired and must go to sleep now without saving your file" (I'm paraphrasing) message. Luckily, the last save was intact but no trees, no tweaked textures and lighting and sky and object positioning changes from 3 hrs. work. Oh, well, "Save, save, save, save, and save out under 2 different file names everytime you save. It's less likely that you will lose both your file and the backup, too. A lesson I had already learned, but when the work is progressing really well, you can get excited and forget to save (Like me). :^(

last save=previous save

Ahhhhhh! I know it well! A couple weeks ago I lost a little over 10 hours worth of work with no mercy. Plop bam, it was all over in the blink of an eye! I was devestated! Great scene I thought too. anyway, really glad you managed to get yours back. It doesn't happen often so feel lucky!